Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose. And the song tells us that nothing don’t mean nothing if we ain’t free. Of course, freedom is relative. And, sometimes, we seek the comfort of companionship and the responsibility that goes along with it.

Such is the dilemma of Ted Davis, the self-proclaimed Bachelorman featured in the very funny film of the same name. This is a self-aware film that could be the next “Something About Mary” provided that we all relax and remember that comedies don’t necessarily have to conform to the rules of political correctness.

Ted (David Deluise) has in two decades managed to avoid the trappings of true love and commitment clinging to the comfort of shallow sexual gratification. His single-minded pursuit of the perfect sexual experience has rung up a number of impressive conquests and, at the same time, a laundry list of “tips” that he imparts to the audience throughout the first half of the film. For example, he aptly tells us that prior to opening the door to his apartment to a date, one must spray Pledge on the door to give the illusion that he has been dusting for his date’s arrival. Some of these tips are excellently handled and have real utility (“the lift up the hips” tip is one I personally remember from my bachelor days). Ted has bachelorhood down to a science, and, ultimately, it is chemistry that is his undoing.

One day, a new neighbor arrives—a long-legged femme fatale with, apparently, a sexual appetite that rivals his own. The neighbor, Heather (Missi Pyle), spends most of her time broadcasting her sexual escapades so loudly in her bedroom that Ted’s attempts to get busy are disrupted—his partners strangely find the moaning and groaning of the neighbor so off-putting that they become uninterested in sex at all. One wonders if that would be really true. I mean, some folks find such sounds erotic and actually pay for it. But, Ted’s seemingly nympho dates suddenly become prudish once the sounds in the next room materialize.

In time, Ted begins to lose his mojo, and, instead of moving, decides to learn more about his neighbor. Prior to Ted’s crush on Heather, “Bachelorman” is awfully funny producing heavy belly-laughs, but Ted’s quest for Heather’s affection almost derails the film. Without a smart combination of entertaining comedic bits involving reality programming Ted invents for an upstart television network (for example, we get croquet-skeet a funny hybridization of two completely different games) and a terrific supporting performance by Carol Locatell as Ted’s mother, the second half of the film would be a complete disaster.

It is obvious that the people involved with this film all knew that the conflict between the main characters could not carry it alone and chose to utilize a number of hilarious shorts to fill in the gaps. And this is done well. We get shots of senior women’s hockey (watched by Mom with gusto), a “Kung Fu” type television series lead by comedian Tree, and even an animated Bachelorman together with many other gags all of which help move the film along giving it a feature running time.

While “Bachelorman” is clearly superior to films like “Just Married” or “The Sweetest Thing” it still fails to have the same heart that the Farrelly Brothers manage to weave into their best irreverent work. What we end up with is fun and games involving shallow characters who we could care less about when it is over. And, maybe, that doesn’t matter, maybe, we are not meant to think about the characters as if they might really exist. Maybe, that is the point. It is just that I just always feel that the best comedy arises from those tragic insecurities to which we can relate. Empathy is important, and while we like Ted, we never believe he is much more than his computer generated animated likeness.

“Bachelorman” would make one Hell of a cable series pilot and given the fact that I watched a digitally projected print (or version) of the film at the Dahlonega International Film Festival, it just felt like it was headed for Showtime. Anyone who has caught a few episodes of the sometimes insightful but kinda flat “Out of Order” would see “Bachelorman” the series as a fresh and amusing alternative. Of course, it is unlikely that a risk will be taken with “Bachelorman” given the failure of the underrated HBO series “Mind of the Married Man” (I’ve read ton’s of scathing reviews on the Internet and I think all of them are wrong).

You see, parity is difficult achieve—it is okay to have “Sex and the City” but only if you concentrate on it from the female perspective, anything else, is misogynist and sexist, or so I’m told. It is unfortunate that people can’t just relax and enjoy the freedom to laugh. After all, we are nothing without it.

Jonathan W. Hickman