Entourage
Dir: Doug Ellin
Starring: Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry
Ferrara, Jeremy Piven, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Haley Joel Osment, and Billy Bob Thornton
105 Minutes
Warner Bros. Pictures
“Entourage” had a cable television run from 2004 to 2011. It
was a television series that ran the familiar gamut of staying around for a few
seasons too long, rehashing tired ideas and beating the same jokes into unfunny
submission. Still, the fan following for this show has continued and, just like
“Sex in the City” did twice, “Entourage” has found its way to the big screen.
Surprisingly the continued story of a tight group of friends from Queens who
find Hollywood success is slightly better than expected, making what basically
amounts to an extended episode satisfying for the clamoring fan while also
being an acceptable time passer for those who aren’t familiar with the long
running jokes.
Eric (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Johnny
Drama (Kevin Dillon) are on a speedboat travelling to the yacht of their movie
star friend Vince (Adrian Grenier) who just got a divorce and is throwing a
party. Vince’s recently retired agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) joins the group
by phone to announce that he is coming out of retirement to run a studio. Ari
has interest in Vince for a movie however Vince has ideas for his directorial
debut. Fast forward and Vince’s big budget retelling of “Jekyll and Hyde” is
over budget, Ari is forced to find production money from a wealthy Texas oilman
(Billy Bob Thornton), Eric is having a baby with his ex-girlfriend Sloan
(Emmanuelle Chriqui), Turtle is trying to date MMA fighter Ronda Rousey, and
Johnny Drama is still seeking the perfect role.
To call “Entourage” a party movie would be unfair, if the
film didn’t revolve mostly around lavish parties, lavish cars, and lavish
ladies. Include the star studded lineup of celebrities that flood nearly every
scene of the film, Pharrell Williams, Rob Gronkowski, Russell Wilson, Andrew
Dice Clay, Mark Cuban, Gary Busey, Liam Neeson, Jessica Alba, Warren Buffet,
Armie Hammer, and Tom Brady are just a few that make very small cameos, and
“Entourage” becomes the definition of its title. Producer Mark Wahlberg, whose
life the show is loosely based upon, makes a funny appearance as well. This is
probably the most celebrity name-dropping that I have every used in a review. Is
this all the appeal the theatrical “Entourage” has? To an extent it does, but
it’s fun nonetheless. Watching celebrities playing themselves and encountering the fictional group can be amusing even when it’s overdone. What is
problematic about the film is that the narrative is perfectly content with
letting these cameo scenes and the onslaught of glamorized outlandish celebrity
lifestyle take precedent without any purpose other than being eye candy.
The primary group of friends in the film have great
chemistry when onscreen together. It’s the kind of character chemistry that
could have made “The Hangover” sequels more tolerable. The best parts of
“Entourage” are the scenes when the friends get to mock and ridicule one
another with in jokes from past seasons and new scenarios for the film to build
laughs upon. One scene with the group, particularly Turtle, and Ronda Rousey is
especially comical.
Unfortunately “Entourage” lacks the narrative consideration to
build on the interesting aspects of celebrity that could have moved this film
into a culminating ending for the series. But let’s be honest, the television
series never attempted to meet these thought provoking questions but instead
was complaisant with the satire and indulgence of celebrity living every season
of the show maintained. This doesn’t make “Entourage” the movie feel like much
of an ending but instead more like a Friday night party, leaving adoring fans of the series ready to
see what happens on Saturday night.
Monte’s Rating
2.75 out of 5.00
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