{ "id": "ep1n1zhrwj", "slug": "the-stag", "title": "The Stag", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014", "label": "Comedies of 2013 to 2014", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-j-to-w", "label": "Titles J to W", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-j-to-w" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020: Comedies of 2013 to 2014", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001", "label": "Western Europe · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014", "label": "Comedies of 2013 to 2014", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Stag (The Bachelor Weekend in the US) is a 2013 Irish comedy directed by John Butler, co-written with Peter McDonald, starring Andrew Scott and Hugh O'Conor; a camping stag weekend disrupted by Ruth's brother The Machine, premiered at TIFF 2013.", "snippet": "The Stag (The Bachelor Weekend in the US) is a 2013 Irish comedy directed by John Butler, co-written with Peter McDonald, starring Andrew Scott and Hugh O'Conor; a camping stag weekend disrupted by Ruth's brother The Machine, premiered at TIFF 2013.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-j-to-w", "markdown": "# The Stag\n\n**The Stag** is a 2013 Irish comedy film directed by John Butler, in which a groom-to-be who wants nothing to do with a traditional stag party is taken on a camping weekend in the west of Ireland by his friends, only for his fiancée's unpredictable brother, known as \"The Machine\", to invite himself along. Butler co-wrote the screenplay with Peter McDonald, who also plays The Machine, and the film was produced by Treasure Entertainment with the support of the Irish Film Board.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243131/) • [2](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/229268)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original and international titles | The Stag; released in the US as The Bachelor Weekend[3](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/stag) |\n| Director and writers | John Butler (director); screenplay by John Butler and Peter McDonald[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243131/) |\n| Cast | Andrew Scott, Hugh O'Conor, Peter McDonald, Brian Gleeson, Andrew Bennett, Michael Legge, Amy Huberman[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243131/) |\n| Runtime and year | 94 minutes, 2013[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243131/) |\n| Premiere | World premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival 2013; also selected for the Torino Film Festival 2013[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243131/) |\n| Release dates | Ireland and UK 7 March 2014; Italy 28 August 2014; Germany 6 November 2014[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243131/) |\n| Production | Treasure Entertainment; producers Rebecca O'Flanagan and Robert Walpole; made with Irish Film Board support[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243131/) • [2](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/229268) |\n| Critical scores | 79% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 28 reviews; 48% audience score[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_bachelor_weekend) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nFionnan (Hugh O'Conor) is a set designer busy micromanaging the decor for his forthcoming wedding to Ruth ([Amy Huberman](https://www.edgepedia.org/amy-huberman)), and he has no interest in a wild stag party. Ruth recruits Davin (Andrew Scott), Fionnan's best friend and her own ex, to arrange a camping trip in the Irish countryside instead. The plan does not include Ruth's brother, the notoriously obnoxious \"The Machine\" (Peter McDonald), who finds out about the weekend and forces his way in. Under his chaotic leadership the group is pushed up a mountain, stripped of modern comforts and eventually of clothing, and the journey becomes one of the men learning to speak honestly to each other about their feelings.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243131/) • [5](https://iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=70&force=1&only=1&rid=4040&tpl=filmography_dets)\n\nThe party also includes Fionnan's brother Kevin (Michael Legge), Kevin's partner (Andrew Bennett), and their friend Simon (Brian Gleeson); the two Kevins form a gay couple.[6](https://www1-direct.entertainment.ie/amp/movies/movie-reviews/the-stag-6493/) • [7](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/the-stag-review-not-your-average-irish-hangover-1.1714971) Once The Machine arrives he dominates the film, with much of the humor coming from the group's reactions to his outlandish statements and actions, including his disgust that an Irishman is not a fan of U2 and his grapple with an electric fence.[6](https://www1-direct.entertainment.ie/amp/movies/movie-reviews/the-stag-6493/)\n\n## Production\n\nButler began a four-week shoot at Dublin locations in November 2012 for his debut feature, made with the support of the Irish Film Board.[2](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/229268) The film was also shot in Wicklow and Galway.[5](https://iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=70&force=1&only=1&rid=4040&tpl=filmography_dets) Butler said in a 2017 interview that he and McDonald made practical writing decisions to fit the money available, knowing the film would not get more than 350,000 or 400,000 euros to make; a figure that ruled out expensive set pieces such as a scene of the naked men running off a cliff.[8](https://www.rte.ie/culture/2017/0316/860322-directors-in-dialogue-john-butler/) A later industry document gives the film's total budget as €600,000 and reports that it earned more than that amount at the Irish box office alone.[9](https://www.shannonchamber.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/InBusiness-Q3-2014_LoRes-1.pdf)\n\nThe crew included cinematographer Peter Robertson, editor John O'Connor, production designer Ferdia Murphy, and composer Stephen Rennicks.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243131/)\n\n## Release and reception\n\nThe Stag received its world premiere at the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) in September 2013, and, having won the [Directors Guild of America](https://www.edgepedia.org/directors-guild-of-america)–Screen Directors Guild of Ireland's Finders Series, screened for industry experts at the DGA Theatre in Los Angeles on September 20.[10](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2013/0821/469344-trailer-for-irish-comedy-the-stag-released/) Arrow Film Distributors released the film in Ireland and the UK, with Metro International Entertainment handling world sales.[10](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2013/0821/469344-trailer-for-irish-comedy-the-stag-released/) It opened in Irish and UK cinemas on 7 March 2014 and received its US premiere, under the title The Bachelor Weekend, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York that April, screening in the World Narrative Feature Competition section; Tribeca Films also released it in the US.[1](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243131/) • [11](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2014/0305/600226-us-premiere-for-irish-comedy-the-stag/)\n\nCritics frequently compared the film to [The Hangover](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-hangover), a label its makers batted aside. [The Irish Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-irish-times)' Donald Clarke wrote that although the film follows young men behaving badly on a stag weekend, with drugs consumed and extreme nakedness taking place, it works hard at setting up a less misogynistic, more inclusive space than the American film, noting that two of the party form a gay couple.[7](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/the-stag-review-not-your-average-irish-hangover-1.1714971) The Guardian's review found the film likable, praising the cast for locating the material's underlying pathos and for a running riff about a walker who cannot stand U2.[12](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/13/the-stag-male-comedy-review) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 79% Tomatometer from 28 reviews, with a critics consensus that its strong ensemble cast and well-written gags compensate for a lack of narrative originality, alongside a 48% audience score.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_bachelor_weekend) RTÉ's reviewer judged it far better at sentiment than slapstick, with the serious moments about the danger to Irish men of keeping their feelings in being the most memorable.[13](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/movie-reviews/2014/0306/600509-the-stag/)\n\n## Butler's follow-up\n\nThe Stag was Butler's feature debut, and he followed it with Handsome Devil (2017), set in a rugby-mad Irish boarding school. Butler described the difference between the two: \"It's a comedy-drama, whereas The Stag was a comedy.\"[14](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2016/1215/839195-handsome-devil-adiff-john-butler-the-stag/) Amy Huberman and Andrew Scott, both in The Stag, returned in the later film.[15](https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2017/03/31/news/back-to-school-director-john-butler-on-bringing-handsome-devil-to-belfast-film-festival-982521/)\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Stag, Cineuropa film page](https://cineuropa.org/en/film/243131/)\n2. [Butler begins Stag shoot, Cineuropa (15 November 2012)](https://cineuropa.org/en/newsdetail/229268)\n3. [The Stag, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/stag)\n4. [The Stag, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_bachelor_weekend)\n5. [The Stag, Irish Film & Television Network filmography](https://iftn.ie/news/?act1=record&aid=70&force=1&only=1&rid=4040&tpl=filmography_dets)\n6. [The Stag review, entertainment.ie](https://www1-direct.entertainment.ie/amp/movies/movie-reviews/the-stag-6493/)\n7. [The Stag review: not your average Irish Hangover, The Irish Times (7 March 2014)](https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/film/the-stag-review-not-your-average-irish-hangover-1.1714971)\n8. [Directors In Dialogue: John Butler, RTÉ Culture (2017)](https://www.rte.ie/culture/2017/0316/860322-directors-in-dialogue-john-butler/)\n9. [InBusiness Q3 2014, Shannon Chamber](https://www.shannonchamber.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/InBusiness-Q3-2014_LoRes-1.pdf)\n10. [Deal done for Irish comedy The Stag, RTÉ Entertainment (21 August 2013)](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2013/0821/469344-trailer-for-irish-comedy-the-stag-released/)\n11. [US premiere for Irish comedy The Stag, RTÉ Entertainment (5 March 2014)](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2014/0305/600226-us-premiere-for-irish-comedy-the-stag/)\n12. [The Stag review, The Guardian (13 March 2014)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/mar/13/the-stag-male-comedy-review)\n13. [The Stag, RTÉ Entertainment movie review (7 March 2014)](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/movie-reviews/2014/0306/600509-the-stag/)\n14. [The Stag director goes back to school to get us talking, RTÉ Entertainment (15 December 2016)](https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2016/1215/839195-handsome-devil-adiff-john-butler-the-stag/)\n15. [Back to school: Director John Butler on bringing Handsome Devil to Belfast Film Festival, The Irish News (31 March 2017)](https://www.irishnews.com/arts/2017/03/31/news/back-to-school-director-john-butler-on-bringing-handsome-devil-to-belfast-film-festival-982521/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2013 to 2014 › Titles J to W*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-stag", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-stag.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Stag\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-stag. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Stag](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-stag)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-stag](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-stag). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Stag\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-stag. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Stag is a 2013 Irish comedy directed by John Butler, co-written with Peter McDonald, starring Andrew Scott and Hugh O'Conor; a camping stag weekend disrupted by Ruth's brother The Machine, premiered at TIFF 2013." }