Stag and Hen weekends come with their own troughs of clichés: L plates, strippers, costumes, people being tied to poles, and so it goes on. Bachelor and bachelorette parties bring out the worst in socially conditioned gender divides. While the feminist movement continues to dispel the myths surrounding girly behaviour, it seems trickier, emasculating even, for men to be anything other than alpha-male. Especially around other men.
Bridesmaids was so good because defied the stereotypical expectations of a film about girls getting excited about a wedding. John Butler’s The Stag is funny for similar reasons. It’s a comedy about a bunch of guys on a reluctant stag weekend in Ireland climbing some mountains (or at least trying to). Plans for a subdued trip are thwarted when soon-to-be brother-in-law The Machine (Peter McDonald) joins the party.
The key word is metrosexual. It’s another label, yes, but it’s not an insult. John Butler and Peter McDonald’s script is a blend of wit and slapstick, satirising our attitude towards gender stereotypes, a subject more commonly debated by women. The characters are well-rounded, they have depth and their relationships are believable. Best man Davin (Andrew Scott) and groom Fionnan (Hugh O’Conor) come to blows after their patience is truly tested by The Machine, who in a roundabout way does more good for the group than anyone could have predicted. The film is about men trying to be, or not be, what men should, or shouldn’t be, but beyond that it’s really not about them being men at all: it’s about people learning to be around other people, and friends understanding and appreciating why they’re friends in the first place. Being yourself is a hard thing because it’s difficult to separate social constructs from human nature. The Stag suggests that doesn’t matter: whoever you are, just be the best at it.