Do Bachelor Parties Make Men Do Bad Things?

No preface is necessary when it comes to a bachelor party. Women everywhere understand that when their man gives them a ring, he's already got his bags packed for Vegas.

A bachelor party, contrary to say, a bridal shower, is not a celebration of marriage. In fact, it's the opportunity to refute its very principles. A kick-ass bachelor party proves a man, "still has it," is still studly and most importantly, is still on the market, at least in theory.

Why then, when boys misbehave at a bachelor party, are we surprised by their behavior?

In the new movie The Hangover, three men celebrate the fact that their friend is saying "I do" by trashing the penthouse at Caesar's Palace and getting in trouble with Mike Tyson. Their drunken antics land them in jail, in the desert and deep trouble with their friend's fiancée, but it appears to all be par for the course. What's a bachelor party without a little legal trouble and a black eye?

Men feel as though their bachelor party is a reflection of their manhood. If they do it up big enough, for the rest of eternity their buddies will be talking about the time they drank a bucket full of tequila and got that girl named Roxy's phone number.

Case in point, as soon as the guys in The Hangover hit the freeway, it's a free-for-all. Bradley Cooper, who plays a married school teacher named Phil, tells his pals that married life is recipe for pain. Meanwhile, Stu, played by The Office's Ed Helms, gives his girlfriend's engagement ring to a pole-dancer with a baby.

While we know that The Hangover is full of exaggerations, men do behave badly at bachelor parties quite simply because they are expected to do so. If they sat down to civilized dinners and discussed bridesmaid dresses, they would be admitting that they are, in fact, thankful to be closing the door on at least some of the drama of bachelorhood.

So we say, the bigger the bachelor party the better. If a man doesn't come home with the name of a stripper penned across his forehead, it's probably a sign that he doesn't know how to have a good time.