Stag
**Seen at the 2023 Renegade Film Festival.
Alexandra Spieth’s film begins with a sequence set in 1985, of two girls walking along a trail before it’s just one, who screams as it appears she will be attacked. We then cut to the present day, where Jenny (Mary Glen Fredrick) is in her apartment- still packed up- when she notices her childhood friend, Mandy (Elizabeth Ramos), is getting married. Does the introduction fit into why Jenny and Mandy haven’t spoken for years? Since the film’s modern day is 2017, and they are both in their 30s, no, but it will play into how they reconnect after so long.
One of the things I like so much about “Stag” is how it plays honestly with where Jenny and Mandy are as friends, even as they seem to be truly friends again after the events of the film. We don’t learn why they friendship ended, but we can tell every time Mandy is with her how guarded she is. When Jenny cold calls Mandy after seeing news of her engagement online, the interaction is tenuous, and even the characters seem thrown off by Mandy inviting Jenny to her bachelorette party over the weekend. Right away, Jenny doesn’t mesh well with any of Mandy’s other friends- maid-of-honor Willa (Liana Hunt), Casey (Stephanie Hogan), Constance (Katie Wieland) and Leslie (Safiya Harris)- when she arrives at Willa and Casey’s family’s property, and never does. Is there another reason for that? Yes, but Spieth doesn’t really let us in on why until Jenny does some snooping when Constance goes missing. There’s a bit of a slow-burn to how the story unfolds, but as it gets to the payoff, it’s worthwhile to let it get there on its own.
There is some smart character development and dynamics here- the meshing of an old friend with a new group, the tenuous restarting of a friendship, exploring jealousy, the bitterness of resentment and struggling to make your voice heard with those you value. The narrative has familiar tropes, but it is the way “Stag” gives us a glimpse into early 30s women connecting, or showing their true colors, that makes it so effective. It all builds to an ending that I wasn’t sure how to feel about it at the time, but in reflecting further, it’s perfect for how Spieth has set up her story and the dynamics. Just because things are better doesn’t mean they’re good. Sometimes, that’s a good thing to remember.
