When Ben Oddo was giving bus tours of Nashville, his jokes about bachelorette parties always landed. It became clear to him that these parties were an object of fascination among those on the buses, and he wanted to demystify them for those who don’t know — and maybe even those who don’t want to know.
In his documentary “Nashville Bachelorettes: A Ben Oddo Investigation,” the local comedian (and, full disclosure, occasional Nashville Scene contributor) immerses himself in the world of matching pajamas and penis straws. But he also digs deeper, into the juggernaut best described as Nashville’s “bachelorette industrial complex,” what bachelorettes do in our city, and why so many locals have such an issue with them.
What was most surprising to Oddo while making the film was how small a percentage of Nashville tourists the parties represent. That’s especially because of something else he noticed while filming over a few days in June — they’re everywhere.
“We found out, and I hope it came through in the film, that the hype really is bigger than the reality,” Oddo says. “They make up less than 1 percent of overall tourists. But that said, optics matter. I think what surprised me the most was like, really how they are everywhere.”
They’re a visible minority — and they spend a lot of money. Bach to Basic, a party-planning organization featured in the film, estimates that the bachelorette industry is worth $11.3 billion nationally, that trips cost $908 per person before flights, and that they take an average 108 days to plan.
Oddo chose one lucky group to shepherd him through the party rituals. Through their eyes, he got to see the heartfelt side of the bachelorette party. The women he followed spoke to him about their friendships, about their hopes for the future. Oddo says it was much more reflective than bachelor parties he’s attended.
“It’s at odds with what people see out in the streets,” Oddo says. “They just see these unencumbered women and they think they’re very raucous. But once you’re in the house, it’s a lot more low-key and just hanging out with one another.”
The film also hears from locals like restaurateur Tom Morales (who owns Acme Feed & Seed) and Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp CEO Butch Spyridon, who attempt to drill down on why Nashville is such a destination for bachelorettes, and what could ease the tension between them and locals and natives. For what it’s worth, it’s a tension that the bachelorettes are very much unaware of, Oddo says.
A highlight of the documentary is a historian who explores the roots of the bachelorette. Oddo learns that the original purpose of the custom was acknowledging that women were giving up something in marriage too, and had also had sexual partners before — almost mocking the seriousness of the bachelor party as a last night of freedom.
“I think that’s why you see a lot of the phallic imagery,” Oddo says. “It was women making fun of men, basically, for doing that. I love that it’s a little campy, and the roots of it are by design.”
While the teaser trailer for “Nashville Bachelorettes” leans into the sense of local panic that they’re taking over the city, the film seeks to ease it.
Says Oddo: “I’m really hoping it sparks a discussion amongst Nashvillians and helps maybe make some of us reexamine what’s really going on here in the bachelorette culture in a way that isn’t so, ‘Ugh they’re the worst, they stink.’ ”
Even so, he can relate to locals’ frustrations. Seeing tall-and-skinny developments put up for the purpose of short-term rentals, seeing Nashville bend to the bachelorette, seeing business owners and city leaders cater to the whims of transient tourists — it’s annoying for locals like him.
With the post-COVID wedding boom and the visibility of Nashville visitors, It’s a good time to talk about bachelorettes. The film documents a giant and relatively new industry — one that wasn’t available to our parents. In the grand scheme of things, Oddo notes, bachelorettes are better than folks like the guy who was arrested for waving his colostomy bag at Lower Broad bar patrons last year.
“Do I see the bachelorette invasion stopping one day?” he asks. “No. But I certainly see it stopping in Nashville, if Nashville suddenly doesn’t become the hot ticket anymore. Then it’s like, ‘Oh God, we miss all the bachelorettes.’ And you know, Nashville might have its It’s a Wonderful Life moment. That is something I could definitely see.”
