Product Details

• Actors: Christian Slater, Daniel Stern, Cameron Diaz, Jon Favreau, Leland Orser
• Directors: Peter Berg
• Writers: Peter Berg
• Producers: Christian Slater, Ted Field, Michael A. Helfant, Scott Kroopf
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Polygram Filmed Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: October 5, 1999
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (203 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630536303X
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #30,217 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Peter Berg's dark comedy about a bachelor party gone horribly awry is highly ambitious in its attempts to satirize suburbia, male bonding, and self-help philosophy, and for the most part it does succeed in hitting its targets with a malicious, misanthropic glee. When five buddies arrive in Las Vegas for some pre-wedding shenanigans, things quickly spiral out of control when the requisite prostitute falls victim to a grisly accident, igniting a spark in an already unstable powder keg of personalities. Following the lead of real estate agent and self-help guy Robert (Christian Slater), the men warily agree on a cover-up and covert desert burial. A couple hours and another corpse later, however, they're already at each other's throats, and their escalating breakdowns threaten to disrupt the highly prized wedding of hard-as-nails bride Laura (a stunning Cameron Diaz). Berg, like most actor-turned-directors (this is The Last Seduction star's filmmaking debut) helms the film with a wildly sliding tone and tends to weigh its strengths heavily on its performers. Slater's psycho turn is by far his most inventive yet (he's more in control than ever before), Diaz effectively mixes sunshine with poison, and Jon Favreau is effective and understated as the hapless bridegroom; the rest of the cast, however, tends to play up the histrionics. Be warned, though: Those expecting a sunny-style There's Something About Mary gross-out comedy will probably be shocked by Berg's take-no-prisoners agenda; this is comedy at its absolute blackest, and no one is spared. --Mark Englehart

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very Bad Indeed (3½ stars), November 7, 2003

By A Customer

This one was recommended to me by my sister, and I would have liked to say that I really enjoyed, but I didn't. It starts off with the groom-to-be Kyle Fisher (Jon Favreau) leaving for Las Vegas with his four buddies (played by Leland Orser, Christian Slater, Daniel Stern, and Jeremy Piven) for a wild stag party. However, things go horribly wrong when the Asian stripper (played by Kobé Tai) is impaled, literally and metaphorically, to the wall. To cover this up, they kill the hotel security guard, then dismember and bury their remains in the desert. Even though they swear to secrecy, the problem doesn't go away, and soon they're killing more people and turning on each other.

A lot of the characters in "Very Bad Things" are very unredeemable and it's hard to feel any sympathy for them (Boyd, for one, played by Slater), save for perhaps Adam (Daniel Stern), who has an overactive conscience. And as for being a comedy--I don't think so. It's very violent. Horror fans might like this--however, being one, I wasn't expecting this; I was expecting a dark comedy. I only laughed a few times when some of the guys got what they deserved, but more than not I was grimacing. So, yeah, in a twisted way it is funny, but this isn't a movie I'd necessarily recommend, unless you're really into black, black--and I mean black--comedies. It's almost an acquired taste.

In summary: as a comedy it was bad, very bad; but as a thriller, it was good. So, the movie averages out to 3½ stars for me.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars definitely dark and at times very humorous, February 25, 2005

By	DSG "DSG" (Franklin, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Very Bad Things (DVD)

yes they have done some very bad things. great movie
shocks you, scares you, thrills you, chills you, makes you laugh all at once almost. highly recommend this one. it's different roles for each character. and they play their parts part well. I was definitely shocked after seeing this the first time thru. I shall watch it again and again. the ending is nice. the story is very twisted at times. but I think it helps the viewer think of what might happen next before they show it. I am glad I have this on dvd. a true shocking classic movie. That goes to show you that when you do "very bad things" sooner or later your conscience will eat away at you for them and you'll either beg and confess or something else. quite a shock of a movie they made. but it's worth the watch always

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No Better Title, January 3, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Very Bad Things (DVD)

Some very bad things do in fact happen in this movie. I saw this movie by accident and I am very glad I did.

I will warn you that this movie has some very gruesome scenes, not just physically, but conceptually as well.
The movie begins with a group of friends attending a bachelor party in a Las Vegas hotel, where the hired hooker is accidently killed. It is a rollercoaster ride from this point on beginning with the attempted cover-up. More murders/deaths and more cover ups that are beyond bizarre. Camerion Diaz is incredibly annoying (by design) and you find yourself not being sympathetic towards her character in the end.

This movis is morbidly hysterical and you find youself laughing at things that you would never admit to your mother or your priest! After it was over, I had to repent.

If you never see another movie, I recommend you see this one.