The Stag

So after watching the film the nicest thing I can say about it is that it's not quite as bad as the trailers made it out to be. Which is kind of like saying that drinking rancid milk may not be as bad as the smell lets on

As a film, well it's a clichéd and bland mess that feels like a first draft that no one bothered going back and rewriting. The Machine has to be one of cinemas least interesting and annoying characters, he's an obnoxious buffoon and anyone who has seen a film in their life will know his character arc from the second he's introduced. Far too much time is spent on him acting like an ass and forcing the rest of the group to look at themselves. It's obvious what the writers intended for the character but they offer absolutely nothing new and Peter McDonald gives a performance that falls flat. It's rare to find such an energetic character so lacking a spark. The rest of the cast don't fare much better and Brian Gleeson proves that talent isn't hereditary and Amy Huberman proves once again that she is one of the only working actors who can drain all momentum out of a scene. She's like a black hole of charisma without an ounce of talent in her body and spends most of her scenes looking like she's in pain. O'Connor is equally bad and feels like some dated caricature you'd expect to find in an episode of some late 90s sketch show. His character is so utterly dull that I can't imagine anyone wanting to spend time in his presence. Andrew Scott is about the only person here who escapes with any dignity but he's saddled with dialogue so poor that no one could make it work.

The plot, much like it's characters is so familiar that you can see how it's going to play out well in advance. There's nothing original to be found here and as stated already, it feels like a rushed first draft. And none of this would matter if the film were actually funny. Sadly, the Stage is one of those rare things, a comedy without any actual comedic moments. We had a number of promising set pieces but they fell flat or else were far too similar to what others have done in the past. During the tent scenes all I could think about was how similar it was to that episode of the Inbetweeners only without the laughs. And that's the films biggest issue, it feels like a warmed up best of where the writers simply took what they liked from elsewhere and did nothing with it.

I really wanted to enjoy the film especially given how it was received by people on here. The last time marketing put me off a film and users here convinced me to see it in the cinema rather than wait was Seven Psychopaths which I've grown to love. Unfortunately The Stag is more The Guard than Seven Psychopaths, a tired, dull excuse for a film with not a single original or fun moment to be found.

Shiraz 4.99

You see Darko said it just as I intended only he managed not to offend anyone.

e_e

Shiraz 4.99 wrote: »

You see Darko said it just as I intended only he managed not to offend anyone.

Review the film, not the audience. A pretty simple rule of thumb.

Micky Dolenz

I thought Shiraz's review was comical, I even read it like the comic book guy. Imagine my surprise when I saw the pic at the end. good work sir, well played.

Looper007

I was expecting the worse from the bad reviews it was getting on here. I thought it was a decent hour and a half spent in front of the TV. Nothing amazing really, Peter McDonald was the best thing in it although Andrew Scott and Brian Gleeson were good for what they were given. Yes the ending is cheesy as hell but you see worse in Hollywood comedies.

Looper007

Looper007 wrote: »

I was expecting the worse from the bad reviews it was getting on here. I thought it was a decent hour and a half spent in front of the TV. Nothing amazing really, Peter McDonald was the best thing in it although Andrew Scott and Brian Gleeson were good for what they were given. Yes the ending is cheesy as hell but you see worse in Hollywood comedies.

You don't see worse in Hollywood endings, you see exactly the same thing as you get here and that's part of the problem. It's so formulaic and deliberate inoffensive that it lacks a singe idea of its own

Insect Overlord

Chick-lit for men, essentially.

Charlie19

The f**king machine.

It wasn't too bad of a film other than the constant mentioning of the Machine.

Wishiwasa Littlebitaller

Deleted User wrote: »

I grabbed a film called rewind in Dealz the other day..

Jaysus it must be in some demand if you had to grab it.

e_e

An File wrote: »

Chick-lit for men, essentially.

Prick-lit?

sorry

:pac:

LCD

Rented this out the weekend & found it disappointing. Personally found all the characters very annoying (who would marry that guy!). Main problem was that it didn't know whether to be a comedy or drama? Didn't have any laugh out loud moments & fairly predictable.

e_e

This might be an average film at best but compared to Mrs Brown's Boys D'Movie it really does look like a masterpiece.

Beechwoodspark

This is currently being shown on RTÉ 2

Dr_serious2

This film is stupendously bad. I had mercifully forgotten about it until it appeared on television tonight.

It's nice to support Irish films and we have produced some brilliant ones in the last decade or two (Intermission and Adam and Paul being two of my personal favourites.)

With this in mind I went to see the Stag some years ago. My God. The cast were uniformly unpleasant and unlovable D4 actors. The Machine and Fionan stand out as the most bizarre and mind-bogglingly annoying of the cast, although there is much competition for this accolade. The 'jokes' are lacking in any imagination and completely Americanised. Their lack of wit is only matched by their very poor delivery.

Worst scene in the film is shaded by the singing around the campfire. I presume it was supposed to be a magical and emotional moment, although the fact that the actor in question hasn't a note in his head puts paid to that ambition. Zero stars because I am feeling generous.

Ajsoprano

I remember enjoying it.

TICKLE_ME_ELMO

I watched it there tonight and thought it was actually pretty good. Much better than I was expecting it to be. I laughed quite a few times.