Aug 27, 2015
Fully regressing to a pre-pubescent stage (and screen), faux movie star Vinnie Chase and his company of almost ne'er-do-wells miss an excellent opportunity to skewer an industry ripe for satirizing in offering up more of the same tired bromance shtick that caused the TV series on which it is based to run out of gas halfway through its original run. Have you ever stayed too long at a party and watched it descend from sexy grooving coolness to lame record-skipping deadness? Well, you've just witnessed the entire creative arc of Entourage, a program that starts out with the audience laughing at the characters and ends with nobody laughing at all. The big screen version finds the audience on the receiving end of the laughter. Yes, moviegoers have been snookered. What began as a comedy documenting the misadventures of a bargain basement Ratpack navigating the fickle shark-infested waters of Tinsel Town commenced with very little character development having actually taken place. Boys behave badly. Boys get the keys to the kingdom. For newbies, the early seasons hold promise for devoted fans because you actually think their cluelessness will prove their downfall (the series, after all, charts the ups AND downs of the dreams of moviestardom, right?), but - despite their dream project failing miserably as season four came to a close - no life lessons ever really come their way. The laughs start to dwindle after this moment and the once-empowering theme of the importance of camaraderie over business begins to fall flat. In fact, with Entourage the motion picture, you full-on feel sorry for these rapscallions still partying in their mansions while still connected at the hip (sure, the beginning sees them scattered to separate corners of LA, but c'mon!). You feel even worse for the women left in their wake - still piling up like an Expendables body count.
In this R-rated continuation of the hit HBO comedy series, movie star Vincent Chase (Grenier), together with his boys Eric (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Johnny (Kevin Dillon), are back - and back in business with agent-turned-studio head Ari Gold (Piven) on a risky project that will serve as Vince's directorial debut.
The industry has changed since the program bowed in 2004. For instance, star power means a lot less these days, some actors having once received $20 million up front now are gambling a paycheck on a back-end deal IF the film does well. Also, it now takes several production houses to finance one wannabe blockbuster. In addition, movie stars have changed their attitude toward doing television. Furthermore, cyber-terrorism sees memos released and careers destroyed. Rather than deal with any of this, however, Entourage soldiers on with the same weak steam that made the last two seasons and their recycled shenanigans almost unbearable to watch. Vince wants to direct a six-figure summer release, Ari makes it happen with the financing of one ridiculously rich, bumpkin Texas family (Billy Bob Thorton and Haley Joel Osment remain the stand-outs of the movie in realizing these roles) and hi-jinks ensue ... kind of. Is it really a spoiler to say that nothing bad really happens to these supposed rogues with this mere extension of the series? Granted, some of the situations and gratuitous cameos eke out some laughs, but it's "Deja Dude" all over again.
Bottom line: H'Wood Swinging (and Missing)
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