A surprisingly tender Irish comedy, which traverses the depths of modern masculine identity, whilst aping the tropes of the genre.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 22, 2018

The Stag tries to play on its Irish comic charm and falls flat.

| Jan 2, 2018

The script turns decidedly adult at times, but the content, themes and dilemmas and childish sense of fun almost give this more in common with Nativity 2 than The Hangover series.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 10, 2014

this brisk and deadpan character study has such charm, and such bite, that the familiar tropes rise above the clich.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 18, 2014

Weekend does a fine job avoiding expectations, while the cast is simply perfect, managing pathos and punchlines with superb timing and feeling.

| Original Score: B+ | May 15, 2014

The stripped down, character centric antics of The Stag are admirable (especially considering the stigma of the bachelor party movie subgenre), though one can't help but to think that a tad more outlandishness would have done it some good.

| Original Score: 6/10 | May 2, 2014

For all the hemming and hawing and male bonding, The Bachelor Weekend is, first and foremost, utterly adorable.

| Original Score: B+ | May 2, 2014

It succumbs to a few too many clichs and paper-thin characterizations to fulfill its potential.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 2, 2014

Formulaic but effective comedy survives a performance that first threatens to overwhelm it.

| May 1, 2014

Though formulaic and cartoonish, this feel-good comedy... is the sort of harmless entertainment that fuels inactive evenings in front of the tube and helps pass the time on long flights.

| May 1, 2014

The dialogue crackles and the comic action escalates in unexpected ways that will surprise you into guffaws..provides laughter with a regularity that is not to be sniffed at.

| Apr 30, 2014

If you're in the mood for a warm-hearted Irish stag party comedy drama, then look no further.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 21, 2014

The men bicker and bond, with old rivalries and new acceptances blossoming among the bared buttocks and breast beatings.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 16, 2014

The trajectory of the film is predictable and the ending is horribly maudlin, but Butler makes his points about masculinity, trust and friendship in droll enough fashion.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 14, 2014

The Stag is an engaging comedy.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 14, 2014

From Ireland, this looks like yet another Hangover-style stag-night comedy, but the script has surprising depth to it, and even the sillier characters find some resonance as the events spiral into the requisite chaos.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 14, 2014

This broad, box-ticking comedy delivers all you might expect from a tale of high jinks on a bachelor weekend.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 13, 2014

Character-driven via a great ensemble cast, the humour is nuanced and unforced, while Butler's dialogue bobs and weaves deftly.

| Mar 13, 2014

The process by which Andrew Scott's lovelorn best man is undermined by alpha-ish interloper Peter McDonald is well-observed, while the inclusion of two gay travellers rather smartly sidesteps one of this subgenre's signature panics.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 13, 2014

The acting is uniformly excellent and writer-director John Butler has an ear for dialogue yet the resulting mild diversion never does more than quietely amuse.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 13, 2014