“BachelorMan” is both funny and frustrating at the same time, funny because of the predicament we see Ted Davis (David DeLuise) going through during the film, and frustrating because of the abrupt change of gears in the middle, a switch in tone that can easily cause a loss of interest, despite the appeal of the two leads.
“BachelorMan” starts off agreeably enough as we are introduced to Ted Davis, a superstar bachelor. He attracts women with various tactics including sincerity and other tips that he dispenses to the audience in his “Bachelor Tip” moments. We’re also given glimpses into his job at Total Complete Sports Network where, at meetings, a higher-up always tells him “Programming needs to step it up”. This happens constantly until (as if director John Putch and the screenwriters sense the audience’s frustration) another bigshot there tells the guy to can it.
Anyway, Ted’s really got it going on with the ladies. He knows exactly how to reel them in and is well admired by his friends with methods that seem almost God-like to them. He even imagines himself as “BachelorMan”, who we see in animated sequences every now and then. The production seems to have also managed to land themselves a good special effects house for the sequences that involve Ted going into “Bachelor Mode”. Through his eyes, we see him sizing up a woman’s breasts, legs, her smile, whether she has a wedding ring, etc.
Ted’s happy, has a terrific group of friends (including a guy named Gordie Poster (writer/producer Rodney Lee Conover, who looks like a cross between Joe Don Baker and Brian Dennehy), and life is good. Trouble arises, however, when his bachelorhood is threatened, because he just might have found his dream girl. Her name is Heather (Missi Pyle) and because they live next door to each other (apartment-wise, and also because the walls are pretty thin from the likes of it), Ted constantly hears her doing the wild thing over and over and over again. It’s a great bit of humor that reaches an excellent punchline when Ted knocks on her door early on.
The frustration grows when Ted and Heather begin their relationship and Ted begins to freak out because he’s losing his freedom, his ability to be flirtatious with women, being able to put his drink on a TV Guide and not a coaster. His good buds help him out up to a point, but then he’s on his own. At this point, the film becomes incredibly bogged down and sluggish. Sequences such as another visit with one of Ted’s overenthusiastic co-workers to see what he can do about getting Heather back could have easily been excised here.
Despite the torturous middle section, “BachelorMan” is quite funny. And the show that Ted and his pal Gordie constantly discuss, “Then Came Tree”, would be interesting enough if it was actually on the air.
The performances here are pretty good. It’s nice to see Missi Pyle in a leading role, instead of the supporting roles she takes in Hollywood in such films like Josie and the Pussycats, though in one scene of “BachelorMan” where Teds tries to take her newspaper and she catches him, she tilts her face in a way that looks like she’s briefly channeling her character, Laliari from Galaxy Quest. David DeLuise, son of Dom, can be annoying in certain spots, but makes Ted extremely likable. All in all, despite some of the middle section, it’s a fine effort by everyone involved.
