Stag (1997)

Admirable film.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Things look pretty good for groom to be John Stockwell, where his mates hold him a surprise stag party. His guests are an assortment of characters, some oldies types, that have you questioning, how exactly are these guys related, without never really knowing much about 'em. They are soon wishing it was just a stag party instead of a shag party, when one of two hookers, the prettier, younger one, ends up taking a really bad fall, while being tossed around on a blanket, where she falls face flat on the floor, instantly dead. This is what happens when things get a little too crazy, where alcohol and drugs can really make you do stupid s..t. Too, prior to her death, she had politely asked them to stop, to no avail, and now our men have a situation, where this party has really died. The other hooker, rock singer, Taylor Dane, who in some close ups, horribly resembles a girl I went to acting class with, is kept hostage by this group, who we appallingly discover, with the exclusion of one, are all out to save their own skin. They don't give two hoots about the dead girl, including one promising actor, who doesn't want to throw his career down the toilet on account of a whore. They have plans for the surviving sister too. The rest of the film, impressively intense, at times, deals with the shared conflict between the men, and how they all must agree to do away with the other girl, only we have a greater conflict. Kevin Dillon is the only one not on board. One line of dialogue he uses to describe his friends, and this gutless act, I totally agree with, but really what would you do, if faced with this situation? Would you tell the truth, and risk jail? What if you had everything in front of you, and everything to lose? What if you were that promising actor? Stag, silently raises these questions, and what you would really do in this predicament, where these kind of (before and after) circumstances, could happen tomorrow. That's what I got from this movie, of being any of those guys. They were all in a inescapable dilemma, fate and karma paying one of em, with a heart attack. After all, only earlier was he bonking the deceased. Andrew Mccarthy plays sleaze great here, as a real piece of s..t drug dealer, in probably one of his best performances, the less caring of them all. It was great to see him get his just desserts. Not helping the situation or the men's paranoia, we have some little interruptions by a lonely and annoying old neighbor, guess you can't guess who? Stag eventuates with a realistic, if disillusioned ending, I totally bought, where sometimes, truth can pay off. Good on ya Kev. Stag is one of those better b movies, and when you got a jazzy Tom Jones's number to open it up, you know you're in for something good. A mainstream movie copy followed, Very Bad Things.

I first saw a trailer for this film on a movie we rented and thought 'Hmm, I might quite like to watch that' and then forgot about it after the movie had finished. Then, a few years later, it was on a movie channel, late at night, so I sat up and watched it.Wow - it has since become one of my all-time favourite, story-driven films ever. No kidding. The acting, the editing, the direction, the story - it's brilliantly intense, and Andrew McCarthy is fan-bl**dy-tastic as the guy that tries to keep it together, right down to how he deals with Timon (sp?).This film is beaten in my top ten rankings only by Suicide Kings, but if that didn't have Walken and Leary in it, this would be closer to the 1 spot.

The cover and tagline are appealing, the summary on the back is limited, leading one to believe it should be a pretty good film. But one can easily be misled! I'm ashamed to think this movie was so recent, Andrew McCarthy should be better remembered for his works in the Weekend at Bernie's series. I almost didn't finish watching this film, I wanted to turn it off so badly, but also wanted to see if it would recover in the end, but it didn't. Do not buy, don't even rent it, it's a waste, you're better off with age-old fruit cake as a gift from a loved one.

I actually saw this after "Very Bad Things" and realised where "Very Bad Things" may have gained the basic ideas from. This is actually a more superior film than "Very Bad Things" as it does take the issue seriously and making it seems like it could happen to anyone.The large cast, unfortunately, makes it difficult for specific character developments to arise. Even though at the end of the film we do feel sorry for Taylor Dayne's and Kevin Dillon's character. The acting in the film is quite decent too with Dayne holding herself quite well among the other performer. Kevin Dillon comes close second for his portrayal as a man who painfully tries to do the right thing. The ending, while a little dark, could not have been better executed. Overall, 7.5 out of 10.