What could be a better way to prepare you and your fellow stags for a fun-packed weekend than to break the ice over a few cold beers and a selection of some hilarious stag films.

Over the years we have seen many films about stag parties that are funny or even have a dark side, and these can be a great way to get you into the right mind-frame to give your stag the best send off, but which are the best ones to choose?

We have chosen some great films with classic one-liners, some slapstick comedy elements, and that most of your stag party will find highly amusing:

The Hangover: The original and best of the Hangover trilogy, this film follows a group of misfit friends who awake in a hotel room with absolutely no memory of the previous evenings events. Things become even more confusing when they discover a live tiger in their bathroom, one of the gang has a missing tooth, and the most important member of the stag party is completely missing! The friends have only two days to find the groom before his wedding, and just a handful of sketchy clues to go on.

The Hangover Part 2: This time the ‘wolf pack’ find themselves in Thailand in a surprisingly similar situation as before. A few too many drinks on the beach lead to a night of amnesia, and a desperate struggle to piece together the events of the night before. Even though this film will give you a feeling of déjà vu, it does have a hilarious plotline that keeps you hooked until the end.

The Hangover part 3: Having seen the first two films you may be expecting more of the same stuff. However, in this film there is a twist in that one of the ‘wolf pack’ is kidnapped by an angry gangster and the gang have to hunt down Mr Chow who is on the run from prison. The kidnappers will surrender their friend in exchange for Mr Chow, but where do the guys start?

American Pie: The Wedding: Not strictly about a stag party, but there are some hilarious scenes that cannot be missed, and will guarantee your stag party will be crying with laughter by the end. If you loved the original American Pie movie, then you can expect top-class gags from these talented writers.

The Stag: Set in Ireland, this Brit-comedy shows how a bunch of Irish friends react when being pushed beyond their normal limits. This film may not have the big-budget props of the Hangover films, and the story sees our guys on a stag weekend walking in Wicklow rather than abroad, but throwing together a bunch of guys with such diverse personalities in a close and personal way will inevitably lead to chaos. There is also an underlying gag that one member of the stag party hates U2, despite being Irish.

Very Bad Things: This film has been hidden a little under the radar, and may have been eclipsed by the popularity of the Hangover films, but it is a little gem of a film that is well worth including on your stag warm up weekend. The story follows a bachelor party taking a trip to Las Vegas, a little cliché you may be thinking, but events take a turn for the worse when a stripper is killed by accident. This leads to even more mayhem for the group of friends! There is even some eye-candy included for the guys in the shape of Cameron Diaz who plays the perfect ‘bride from hell’ with a performance will not be easily forgotten.

Bachelor Party: Yes, this maybe an ‘oldie from the 80s’ but Tom Hanks puts in a stellar performance as the groom-to-be on a stag weekend he will never forget! This is the benchmark stag/bachelor film that all others have tried to reach since the 1980s. Hanks plays Rick Gassko, a guy about to be married, but his soon to be in-laws hate him, and his fiancés old boyfriend also hates him. Rick also has some very questionable friends who each wants to add a little extra to the stag weekend and try to outdo each other, leading to complete mayhem as the weekend gets out of hand. Lots of ‘stripper’ related gags and very 80s fashions. One of the best tennis scenes of any film, and look out for the scene with the donkey – enough said!

Although the films outlined above are all hilarious and full of mayhem, they should never be used as inspiration for your own stag weekend. However, they do make for a thoroughly entertaining evening in bonding with your friends in preparation for your own stag weekend.