Bachelor Party is a
1984-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.*Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
comedy filmComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending . One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies...
starring
Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
,
Tawny KitaenJulie "Tawny" Kitaen is an American actress and media personality in Southern California. She became famous in the 1980s for appearing in several heavy metal music videos for the band Whitesnake, including the hit "Here I Go Again". Kitaen was married to Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale from...
,
Adrian ZmedAdrian Zmed is a Romanian-American television and film actor. Zmed's roles include "Johnny Nogerelli" in Grease 2, and "Officer Vince Romano" in the T.J...
,
Robert PrescottRobert Prescott is an American actor who has starred in various roles in film and on television. He is best known for his role as Kent in the 1985 hit comedy film Real Genius...
, and
Deborah HarmonDeborah Harmon is an is an American film actress. Born Deborah K. Harmon in Chicago, Illinois, USA.She is the daughter of Frank Harmon..-Filmography:*Imps* ......
, directed by
Neal IsraelNeal Israel is an actor, screenwriter, film and television producer and director best known for his comedic work in the 1980s.-Career:...
.
Party-animal Rick Gassko (
Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
) decides to settle down and marry his girlfriend Debbie Thompson (
Tawny KitaenJulie "Tawny" Kitaen is an American actress and media personality in Southern California. She became famous in the 1980s for appearing in several heavy metal music videos for the band Whitesnake, including the hit "Here I Go Again". Kitaen was married to Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale from...
), so his friends throw him one final debauchery-laden bash. Debbie suspects Rick of cheating on her at this
bachelor partyA bachelor party , stag party, stag night, or stag do , bull's party , or buck's party or buck's night is a party held for a bachelor shortly before he enters marriage, to make the most of his final opportunity to engage in activities a new partner...
and, with the help of her friends and the spouse of her future brother-in-law, Debbie hatches a plan to catch him in the act.
Bachelor Party is a
1984-Events:* The Walt Disney Company founds Touchstone Pictures to release movies with subject matter deemed inappropriate for the Disney name.*Tri-Star Pictures, a joint venture of Columbia Pictures, HBO, and CBS, releases its first film....
comedy filmComedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. Also, films in this style typically have a happy ending . One of the oldest genres in film, some of the very first silent movies were comedies...
starring
Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
,
Tawny KitaenJulie "Tawny" Kitaen is an American actress and media personality in Southern California. She became famous in the 1980s for appearing in several heavy metal music videos for the band Whitesnake, including the hit "Here I Go Again". Kitaen was married to Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale from...
,
Adrian ZmedAdrian Zmed is a Romanian-American television and film actor. Zmed's roles include "Johnny Nogerelli" in Grease 2, and "Officer Vince Romano" in the T.J...
,
Robert PrescottRobert Prescott is an American actor who has starred in various roles in film and on television. He is best known for his role as Kent in the 1985 hit comedy film Real Genius...
, and
Deborah HarmonDeborah Harmon is an is an American film actress. Born Deborah K. Harmon in Chicago, Illinois, USA.She is the daughter of Frank Harmon..-Filmography:*Imps* ......
, directed by
Neal IsraelNeal Israel is an actor, screenwriter, film and television producer and director best known for his comedic work in the 1980s.-Career:...
.
Plot
Party-animal Rick Gassko (
Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
) decides to settle down and marry his girlfriend Debbie Thompson (
Tawny KitaenJulie "Tawny" Kitaen is an American actress and media personality in Southern California. She became famous in the 1980s for appearing in several heavy metal music videos for the band Whitesnake, including the hit "Here I Go Again". Kitaen was married to Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale from...
), so his friends throw him one final debauchery-laden bash. Debbie suspects Rick of cheating on her at this
bachelor partyA bachelor party , stag party, stag night, or stag do , bull's party , or buck's party or buck's night is a party held for a bachelor shortly before he enters marriage, to make the most of his final opportunity to engage in activities a new partner...
and, with the help of her friends and the spouse of her future brother-in-law, Debbie hatches a plan to catch him in the act. A notorious scene in the film involves a
quaaludeMethaqualone is a sedative drug that is similar in effect to barbiturates, a general CNS depressant. Its use peaked in the 1960s and 1970s as a hypnotic, for the treatment of insomnia, and as a sedative and muscle relaxant...
-popping,
cocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system and an appetite suppressant...
-snorting
donkeyThe donkey or ass, Equus africanus asinus, is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family, and an odd-toed ungulate. The wild ancestor of the donkey is the African Wild Ass, E. africanus. Traditionally, the scientific name for the donkey is Equus asinus asinus based on the principle of...
who dies of a
drug overdoseThe term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
.
Cast
- Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
as Rick Gassko
- Tawny Kitaen
Julie "Tawny" Kitaen is an American actress and media personality in Southern California. She became famous in the 1980s for appearing in several heavy metal music videos for the band Whitesnake, including the hit "Here I Go Again". Kitaen was married to Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale from...
as Debbie Thompson
- Adrian Zmed
Adrian Zmed is a Romanian-American television and film actor. Zmed's roles include "Johnny Nogerelli" in Grease 2, and "Officer Vince Romano" in the T.J...
as Jay O'Neill
- George Grizzard
George Cooper Grizzard, Jr. was an American actor of film and stage.-Career:Born in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, Grizzard appeared in more than 40 films, dozens of television programs and a number of Broadway plays.Grizzard memorably appeared as an unscrupulous United States senator in the...
as Ed Thompson
- Barbara Stuart
Barbara Stuart is an American actress.-Major roles:Stuart portrayed "Miss Bunny", the blonde girlfriend of Sergeant Vincent Carter, played by Frank Sutton, on the CBS military sitcom Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., starring Jim Nabors...
as Mrs. Thompson
- Robert Prescott
Robert Prescott is an American actor who has starred in various roles in film and on television. He is best known for his role as Kent in the 1985 hit comedy film Real Genius...
as Cole Whittier
- Wendie Jo Sperber
Wendie Jo Sperber was an American actress, best known for her performances in the films I Wanna Hold Your Hand , Bachelor Party and Back to the Future as well as the television sitcom Bosom Buddies .-Life:Sperber was born in Hollywood and aimed for a performing-arts career from high school onward...
as Dr. Tina Gassko
- Michael Dudikoff
Michael Joseph Stephen Dudikoff is an American film actor known for playing martial arts experts. Dudikoff is a native of Redondo Beach, California, and graduated from West Torrance High School...
as Ryko
- Gary Grossman as Gary
- Kenneth Kimmins
Kenneth Kimmins is an American actor, best known for his roles as Doctor Klein on Lois and Clark and Howard Burleigh on the hit TV show, Coach....
as Parkview Hotel Manager
- Rosanne Katon
Rosanne Katon is an American model, actress, comedian and activist. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its September 1978 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Mario Casilli....
as Bridal Shower Hooker
- Deborah Harmon
Deborah Harmon is an is an American film actress. Born Deborah K. Harmon in Chicago, Illinois, USA.She is the daughter of Frank Harmon..-Filmography:*Imps* ......
as Ilene
- Christopher Morley
Christopher Morley was an actor and female impersonator who specialized in cross-dressing roles in the 1970s and '80s. Morely also specialized in playing either female or cross-dressing roles. He played numerous parts in television and movies, most known for his part in Freebie and the Bean in...
as She-Tim
- Monique Gabrielle
Monique Gabrielle is an American model and actress.Gabrielle was the Penthouse Pet of the Month for December 1982. Since then, she has had a career as a B-movie actress. Many of Gabrielle's films have had overtly erotic overtones. Although she was in the 1982 adult film Bad Girls IV , she did...
as Tracey
- Angela Aames
Angela Aames was an American actress known for her buxom blonde bombshell image.-Early years:Aames was born in Pierre, South Dakota. She acted in high school and attended the University of South Dakota before coming to Hollywood in 1978. She trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and...
as Mrs. Klupner, Baby Picture Customer
- Billy Beck
Billy Beck is a character actor who has appeared in small roles in such films as Irma la Douce , The Patsy , The Fortune Cookie , Nickelodeon , House , and the 1988 remake The Blob as the first victim of the title creature....
as Patient
- Milt Kogan
Milt Kogan is an American actor. He is best known for playing the desk sergeant, Officer Kogan, on the television series Barney Miller in 1975....
as Restaurant Customer
- Pat Proft
Pat Proft is an American comedy writer and actor.Proft was born in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, the son of Marguerite and Bob Proft. He began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. In the mid-1970s, he began writing for television and films...
as Screaming Man (Newlywed)
- Tad Horino
Tadashi Horino had a long career in film and television. He appeared in such films as The Kentucky Fried Movie, Oh God! Book II, Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, Bachelor Party, Red Sonja, Remote Control, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles in Time, Surf Ninjas, Mullholland Drive and Kung Pow:...
as Japanese Businessman
- Brett Baxter Clark as Nick the Dick
Pre-production
In 1981,
Tawny KitaenJulie "Tawny" Kitaen is an American actress and media personality in Southern California. She became famous in the 1980s for appearing in several heavy metal music videos for the band Whitesnake, including the hit "Here I Go Again". Kitaen was married to Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale from...
threw a bachelor party for her friend Bob Israel. Inspired by the occasion, Israel and fellow advertising specialist Ron Moler decided to produce a
comedy about the ritual. As first-time producers, they needed to secure financial backing for the film. Normally, this would be accomplished by presenting potential backers a finished script. For
Bachelor Party, Israel and Moler instead created a mock ad campaign that so impressed Twin Continental Films that they provided the producers with the necessary funds to develop the project. Israel brought in his brother Neal to direct, and together they worked out a storyline, that Neal and
Pat ProftPat Proft is an American comedy writer and actor.Proft was born in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, the son of Marguerite and Bob Proft. He began his career at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis. In the mid-1970s, he began writing for television and films...
expanded into a final script. Realizing the project’s commercial potential, executive producer
Joe RothJoe Roth is an American film executive, producer and film director.Roth co-founded Morgan Creek Productions in 1987 and was chairman of Twentieth Century Fox , Caravan Pictures , and Walt Disney Studios before founding Revolution Studios in 2000.Over the course of his career, he has produced...
sent the screenplay - accompanied by the poster campaign - to
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox, is one of the six major American film studios...
, who agreed to distribute the film upon its completion.
Principal photography
Filming of
Bachelor Party began on August 15, 1983, and production was completed on November 11, 1983. Two days into production, filming was suspended and
Bachelor Party went on hiatus for one month while the filmmakers recast the parts. Production resumed in September with the new cast. The following actors were replaced:
- Paul Reiser
Paul Reiser is an American stand-up comedian, actor, author and writer.- Early life :Reiser was born in New York City, the son of Helen, a homemaker, and Sam Reiser, a wholesale health food distributor. Reiser attended the East Side Hebrew Institute on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and...
as Rick Gassko (replaced by Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
)
- Kelly McGillis
Kelly Ann McGillis is an American actress whose movies include Witness, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination, Top Gun, and The Accused.-Career:...
as Debbie Thompson (replaced by Tawny KitaenJulie "Tawny" Kitaen is an American actress and media personality in Southern California. She became famous in the 1980s for appearing in several heavy metal music videos for the band Whitesnake, including the hit "Here I Go Again". Kitaen was married to Whitesnake lead singer David Coverdale from...
)
- Andy Bumatai as Rudy LeForte (replaced by Barry Diamond
Barry Diamond is an American comedian who released one album, Fighter Pilot on IRS Records in 1983. He continues to perform stand-up comedy today....
)
The producers seriously considered then-unknowns
Jim CarreyJames Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and stand-up comedian. Carrey is best known for his performances as multiple characters in the sketch comedy show In Living Color, as the title character in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, as the unlucky TV...
,
Tim RobbinsTimothy Francis "Tim" Robbins is an American actor, screenwriter, director, producer, activist and musician. He is the longtime partner of actress Susan Sarandon...
and
Howie MandelHoward Michael Mandel II is a Canadian stand-up comedian, television host, and actor. He is well known as host of the NBC American game show Deal or No Deal, as well as the show's daytime and Canadian-English counterparts. Before his career as a game show host, Mandel was best known for his role...
for the role of Rick Gassko, and
Julia Louis-DreyfusJulia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus is an American actress and comedian best known for her role as Elaine Benes on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld.She has won two Emmy Awards, five Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Golden Globe Award....
and
Linda HamiltonLinda Carroll Hamilton is an American actress, best known for her roles as Sarah Connor in The Terminator and its sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day and as Catherine Chandler in Beauty and the Beast.-Early life:...
for the role of Debbie Thompson.
Music
The soundtrack of Bachelor Party" was released in 1984.
- "American Beat '84" by The Fleshtones
The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.- Outsiders: 1976-1979 :The Fleshtones were formed in 1976 in Whitestone, New York by Keith Streng and Jan-Marek Pakulski The Fleshtones are an American garage rock band from Queens, New York formed in 1976.-...
(3:28)
- "Something Isn't Right" by Oingo Boingo
Oingo Boingo was an American new wave band. They are best known for their influence on other musicians, their soundtrack contributions and their high energy Halloween concerts...
(3:42)
- "Crazy Over You" by Jools Holland
Julian Miles "Jools" Holland OBE, DL is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, songwriter, composer, and television presenter...
(2:59)
- "Little Demon" by Adrian Zmed
Adrian Zmed is a Romanian-American television and film actor. Zmed's roles include "Johnny Nogerelli" in Grease 2, and "Officer Vince Romano" in the T.J...
(3:21)
- "Wind Out" by R.E.M.
R.E.M. is an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by Michael Stipe , Peter Buck , Mike Mills , and Bill Berry . R.E.M. was one of the first popular alternative rock bands, and gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's unclear vocals. R.E.M...
(1:58)
- "Bachelor Party" by Oingo Boingo (3:49)
- "What Kind Of Hell" by The Alarm
The Alarm are an alternative rock band that emerged from North Wales in the late 1970s. They started as a Mod band and stayed together for over ten years. Unusually for a rock band, they displayed marked influences from Welsh language and culture...
(2:43)
- "Alley Oop" by Darlene Love
Darlene Love is an American popular music singer.-Early career:Love began her singing with her local church choir in Hawthorne, California. While still in high school she was invited to join a little-known girl group called The Blossoms, who in 1962 began working with producer Phil Spector...
(3:57)
- "Why Do Good Girls Like Bad Boys?" by Angel and the Reruns (2:10)
- "Dream Of The West" by Yip Yip Coyote (3:07)
The film also features songs:
- "Dance Hall Days
"Dance Hall Days" is one of Wang Chung's most popular and best known hit singles. It was released in 1984 on the album Points on the Curve. Despite being from the United Kingdom, this was their only song to make the Top 75 charts in the UK, narrowly missing the Top 20. In the U.S...
" by Wang ChungWang Chung might refer to:*Wang Ch'ung , a Chinese philosopher*Wang Chung , a British New Wave musical group...
- "Rehumanize Yourself" by The Police
The Police were an English rock trio, from London, England, formed originally in 1977. The trio consisted of Gordon Sumner, CBE , widely known by his stage name of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
- "Nature Took Over" by Angel and the Reruns
- "Gotta Give a Little Love" by Timmy Thomas
Timmy Thomas is an American R&B singer, keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer, best known for the hit song, "Why Can't We Live Together"....
- "Prepare to Energize" by Torch Song
Torch Song was a British synthpop and dance band of the early 1980s consisting of William Orbit, Laurie Mayer and Grant Gilbert. In 1985, Grant left to pursue other projects and long-time friend Rico Conning officially joined the group. After the release of 'Exhibit A' in 1987, Torch Song as a...
- "Who Do You Want To Be Today?" by Oingo Boingo
- "Hall of Fame" by The Fleshtones
Sequel
Twenty-four years after Bachelor Party
was released, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and Fox Video. The company also is best known for distributing the world's...
produced a straight-to-DVDA film that is released direct-to-video is one which has been released to the public on home video formats before or without being released in movie theaters or broadcast on television...
sequel-in-name-only called Bachelor Party 2: The Last TemptationBachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation is a straight-to-DVD sex comedy by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The film, a sequel-in-name-only to a comedy made 24 years earlier , stars Josh Cooke as the bachelor and Sara Foster as his girlfriend...
.