The comedy movie The Hangover and its tale of a debauched bachelor party gone awry has broken box-office records in the United States. But in Singapore, it is the girls who have the last laugh.

Here, moviegoers might find the laddish plot of the comedy - which opens on Thursday - a flop compared to the wild, women- only parties staged by local brides-to-be.

The shenanigans include hiring male strippers who undress down to just a G-string. The brazen bachelorettes also love to gobble up cupcakes in the shape of their grooms-to-be's wedding tackle.

In fact, some soon-to-be-hitched hens told LifeStyle that they have a problem - the local strippers are nothing to crow about. Local male exotic dancers are often too short, flabby and not handsome enough, they lament.

But no wonder they want their money's worth: Party packages range from $45 to $110 per head, with separate charges for extras such as dancers that can be around $400 a show, plus tips.

Ms Michelle Heinesen, 27, managing director of sensual products shop Oohtique! and self-described 'resident sexpert', says the demand these days for tall, goodlooking and preferably Caucasian men to perform at hen parties far outstrips supply. Her company hosts Girls Night Out parties at its lounge and store in Circular Road.

'For one party, the women spent thousands to bring in a dancer from Australia,' she says.

Generally, the women are well-behaved and the dancers are not allowed to touch the partygoers, but there have been rowdier occasions when the men 'could feel as if they were being fed to the wolves', she adds with a laugh.

Pubs, spas, bakeries and retailers of sensual toys and apparel have sprung up with ideas to service the brides' passion for a last hurrah to the single life.

Adult-themed balloons, decorations and cakes are popular.

Madam Edith Chong, 43, a homemaker and hobby baker, is in demand for her anatomically correct adult-themed creations.

This queen of naughty nibbles charges $1.80 per cupcake plus a 30-cent surcharge for the anatomical decorations. She gets up to four orders a month, often for dozens of cupcakes, but will do it only for friends and when she has the time, she says.

The mezza9 shop at the Grand Hyatt Singapore is where hen party organisers also go to buy large adult-themed cakes. Hotel spokesman Patricia Yong says all its '3-D cakes', customised for special occasions, are popular, thanks to their 'creative and perfectly realistic' designs.

While she preferred to keep the focus on more family-friendly designs, one hen party organiser recently paid $150 for an adult cake from mezza9, which was used in a dare.

Also becoming popular with all-girl parties is the hired party bus, also known as a 'boogie bus'. This is decorated with the bride-to-be's name, feather boas and stocked with champagne. The vehicle takes the women on pub crawls, sometimes stopping at random so the woman of the hour can perform dares on startled strangers.

Ms Faith Lu, 35, director of limousine company Cosmosine, has seen bookings for hen parties grow from one a month, from when the deluxe party van service started in April, to three. The package starts at $688 and the van can take up to 10 partygoers.

How wild does it get in the van? Ms Lu declines comment. 'We have curtains so even the drivers can't see what is going on in the back,' she says.

Club owners LifeStyle spoke to also say that all-girl parties are becoming more common, and they are easy to recognise because the women come in costume, with the bride-to-be often wearing a veil. While they can spend hundreds of dollars on drinks, the parties always ensure there is someone staying sober and watchful, they say.

Mr Bernard Lim, chief executive of LifeBrandz which runs clubs such Clarke Quay's Lunar and Zirca, says these parties are a sign that women are becoming aware they can have a good time without relying on men to take charge of the evening.

'I've seen a woman wearing a dress with Polo mints and she was asking men to pull them off with their mouths,' he says.

The experience of Ms Cherry Lew, 27, a telecommunications executive, shows how hen parties are becoming more elaborate and saucier.

Her friends threw her a party last month to celebrate her upcoming wedding. It was an affair that started with costumes for all guests. The theme was 'Night of the living dead' so the women went to dinner at a restaurant dressed as witches, vampires and gnomes. Then it was back to a friend's apartment where a surprise - a leather-clad stripper - awaited her.

It is all quite a contrast to the typical groom's evenings - sometimes known as stag nights - which tend to be basic affairs (so they say), where not much happens beyond excessive drinking and a cab ride home.

But a hen night - called a bachelorette party in the United States - is the chance for the bride-to-be to let her hair down with friends on her final night before the responsibilities of marriage. The 'hen's' friends customarily pay for all expenses.

The raunchy, no-holds-barred nights of today have not always been the case. Ten years ago, the sight of a G-string-clad man, even with a less-than-rippling physique, was enough to shock and titillate, but thanks to TV shows such as Sex And The City and male dance revues coming to Singapore, standards are now higher.

Exotic dancer Nicholas Chan, 25, has been in the game for seven years and says women are more aggressive now because of their greater financial independence. 'I used to perform for women in their 30s and 40s, but now they are in their 20s. They have the spending power and they enjoy using it.'

His fees start from $400 a performance, depending on requests, such as posing as a policeman, fireman or - perhaps something you would only get in Singapore - as an irate neighbour making a noise complaint.

The feeling of security afforded by being with friends, who are likely to be egging on the 'hen', also allows the women the licence to cut loose, he adds. He has earned up to $250 a night in tips.

It is not all about guzzling booze and ogling semi-naked men before marching up the aisle, though.

Female bonding and making the bride- to-be the centre of attention is the purpose of a hen party, insists Mrs Linna Tan, 34, a dance instructor with the Jitterbugs Swingapore studio, which also hosts the girls-only parties.

Two or three times a week, she teaches these women - preferably feeling relaxed after a few stiff drinks - lap and pole dancing.

The sessions are usually filled with laughter, and often there will be someone filming it. 'They might use it in the video at the wedding dinner,' she explains.

As for what the men make of it all, LifeStyle asked Ms Lew's hubby-to-be, Mr Tan Kai Fong, 29, a technology manager.

He is not at all insecure about the event and he trusts her completely, he says.

So what about his stag party, then?

His mates took him to a club. 'They got me drunk. My mates are lazy,' he says, with a hint of regret, compared to wife's wild and wacky way to go.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times.