Is there a perfect time window for a sequel? If a follow-up appears too quickly (say a year or less later) does that seem too desperate to cash in on the earlier film's success? In contrast, can a sequel arrive so late that it's insignificant and those who loved the original will no longer care? That may be the case with Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation which suddenly comes out of nowhere 24 years after the release of the original. A sequel which follows on the heels of its predecessor can seem fraught with desperation, but one that comes over 20 years later smacks of "Well, we didn't have anything else to release this week."

Bachelor Party 2 opens in Cleveland where we meet Ron (Josh Cooke) and Melinda (Sara Foster), just as they are getting engaged. Despite the fact that Melinda comes from a very wealthy family, and Ron is more of a working-class guy, he is welcomed into her family. Melinda's brother-in-law, Todd (Warren Christie), is convinced that he should be next in line to take over the family business and he's intimidated by the warmth which the family shows toward Ron. So, he decides that he will sabotage Ron and Melinda's impending wedding. Todd invites Ron and his best friends, Jason (Greg Pitts), Seth (Danny A. Jacobs), and Derek (Harland Williams), to Miami for a bachelor party. Once there, Todd makes sure that Ron is always at a party and surrounded by women and that temptation is never far away. Meanwhile, Jason, Seth, and Derek find many ways to get into trouble.

Bachelor Party is by no means a great movie. It's crude and rude, and a perfect example of the kind of T&A movies which crowded theaters in the early 80s following the success of Porky's. However, it has it moments and could even be considered a classic of that subgenre...and it's great to see a young Tom Hanks coming that close to exploitation. (I'm, of course, ignoring his cameo in He Knows You're Alone.) Heck, even Adrian Zmed is entertaining in Bachelor Party and that's saying quite a bit. So, we're agreed that Bachelor Party is not an example of fine filmmaking, but it's a funny movie. But when compared to Bachelor Party 2, the original looks like a multiple Academy Award wining film.

We won't go into the question of why Bachelor Party 2 shows up after 20 years (the answer, as Mr. Crabs would say is, "Money."), but why was this particular Bachelor Party 2 released. (Not that I'm implying that there are Bachelor Party 2 clones running around out there.) Despite the fact that a sequel is pointless and unnecessary at this point, having a Bachelor Party 2 isn't necessarily a bad idea. But, making one under the delusion that it's still 1984 is. If you had shown me this movie and asked me what year it was made, judging solely by the jokes and the raunch factor, I would have guessed the mid 80s. This movie wants to exist in a time where constant scenes of partying, sex jokes, and gratuitous nudity constituted a movie. But in this age where American Pie has raised the bar for the gross-out factor and Knocked Up has shown that raunch can be fun and sweet at the same time, Bachelor Party 2 feels like a dinosaur.

But, let's say you're bored with my modernistic approach, what if you simply want a adults-only good time? Well, you probably won't find it here. Despite the presence of Harland Williams and Greg Pitts (best known as the "Oh Face" guy from Office Space), both of whom are usually hilarious, this movie simply isn't funny. It's just one lame joke after another. The movie may have been funny if the characters had been placed in funny situations. But, the movie is basically a carbon-copy of the first film and nearly every moment of the movie is predictable. (However, I must say that the whole "Nazi Girl" thing is pretty weird). The movie only seems to exist so that there can be a topless woman every few minutes and if that's the kind of thing that you're looking for, you shouldn't have to wade through over 90 minutes of painfully unfunny material to get it. Bachelor Party 2 may somehow feel fresh to some younger viewers, but if you're liked me, and lived through the 80s, seeing the original Bachelor Party and many films like it, this will come off as very stale. Bachelor Party 2: The Last Temptation should be the first movie you strike off your list.

Bachelor Party 2 goes stag on DVD courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The movie has come to DVD in two separate versions, an R-rated cut and an unrated cut which runs one minute longer. The film has been letterboxed at 1.78:1 and the transfer is enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs. The transfer is fairly good as the image is sharp and clear. The picture shows no overt grain and no defects from the source material. However, the image is also fairly flat and has no sense of depth. The colors are good, but we never get that nice DVD clarity which we long for. The DVD has a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track which provides clear dialogue and sound effects. The party scenes provide some very nice surround sound and the dance music offers a nice bassline, but otherwise this is a fairly standard sound mix.

The Bachelor Party 2 DVD contains an surprising number of extras for a direct-to-video flick. They are kicked off by an AUDIO COMMENTARY featuring Director James Ryan and actors Warren Christie, Harland Williams, Danny Jacobs, and Josh Cooke. Is this a good commentary? Well, if you want to learn about the movie, then no. If you want to hear a bunch of guys make fun of each other, themselves, and the movie, then yes. It sounds as if the group is getting drunk during the talk and they doing make some funny cracks at the expense of their cast-mates. The DVD contains 18 (!) DELETED SCENES which run about 16 minutes. When compared to the finished film, there are actually some funny moments here, and Harland Williams says one of the most un-PC things I've heard in a while. In "The Party Never Stops: Marking Bachelor Party 2" (10 minutes), producer Ron Moler states that he turned down many ideas for a sequel because they were "too derivative". Apparently either he or I don't know what "derivative" means. This is a fairly standard behind-the-scenes featurette with comments from the cast and crew, and on-set footage. "Analysis of a Stripper Fight" (7 minutes) examines the strip club melee scene from the film. The DVD features not only a GAG REEL, but seven individual gag scenes, all of which run about 18 minutes. How much footage was shot for this movie? The final extra is the TRAILER for the film, which is letterboxed at 1.85:1, but not 16 x 9.