Bachelor Party doesn’t get enough credit. The Tom Hanks starring film could have been a B-movie debacle that drowned in exposed flesh, Tawny Kitaen’s hair, and low-brow humor. Instead, it’s a really good mid-80s sex comedy that does a really good job of blending Hanks’ need to dance, Adrian Zmed, and a coked out donkey. I have absolutely no idea what ABC’s planned remake has to do with this near-classic, but I guess they’re big fans too.
ABC has given a put pilot with a heavy penalty to a half-hour comedy anthology series based on the raunchy Tom Hanks comedy “Bachelor Party.”
The project, which hails from Small Dog Picture Co. and the Walcott Company in association with 20th Century Fox Television, plans to examine relationships and the institution of marriage through the lens of three couples: one about to get married, another recently divorced and a third just falling in love. They will experience the trial-by-fire that is the modern day, co-ed bachelor/bachelorette extravaganza.
That sounds like a lot of fluff about relationships and feelings with very little time leftover for movie theater fist fights and “Little Demon” sing-alongs. Honestly, this seems less connected to the original than the direct-to-DVD sequel from a few years ago. Why bother burning off the name and the concept when you’re not going to appeal to anyone who likes the original?
Honestly, does Tom Hanks need to come back to the franchise to restore its integrity? Bachelor Party 2: Son of Rick, anyone? Truth be told, I really am hoping that that’s the next phase of Hanks’ career. Just a blind sell-out phase where we get a Money Pit sequel that nobody wants and a shot for shot remake of The Bonfire of the Vanities because we will learn to love that movie, dammit.
Source: Variety
