Entourage

Unless you were a faithful follower of the long-running HBO series, Entourage, there is really no reason to see the feature film version.  Just like the Sex and the City movies, the film exists for the fans to catch up with the characters that they fell in love with over multiple seasons.  Anyone not in the show's loop will find it less than compelling.  It's not even that the movie is confusing for those not in the know.  As someone who hasn't watched a single episode of the show, I had no trouble fitting into the characters and their world.  It's simply that the movie exists in its own bubble, and speaks to a very limited, specific audience.

The movie follows a group of guys as they make their way through the Hollywood system.  Unless you have knowledge of them from the show however, nothing they say or do will seem all that important.  The opening moments are devoted to catching up with where the main characters are since the show ended four years ago.  Vince (Adrian Grenier) split up with his wife days after he married her.  Eric (Kevin Connolly) is helping Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui) with her pregnancy, even though they are no longer an item (not officially, anyway).  Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) is mostly looking for love.  Johnny (Kevin Dillon) is still seeking his big acting break.  And former film agent Ari (Jeremy Piven) is now running a film studio. 

The plot (such as it is) mostly centers around Vince starring in and directing a movie for Ari's studio.  The film, a big budget modern day take on the Jekyll and Hyde story (titled Hyde), has gone way over budget, and is in need of even more money so it can be finished.  This creates worries within the studio that they have a stinker on their hands, especially since Vince refuses to show the movie to anyone.  Eventually, a father and son business team from Texas who have a large amount of money sunk into the production (played by Billy Bob Thornton and former child star Haley Joel Osment) try to take control of the movie, with the son locking himself in the editing room, and making a lot of crazy requests to "improve" the film, such as replacing the star Vince with a CG hologram of a different actor. 

The other characters each get their own individual subplots.  Eric and Sloan seem to be toying with the idea of getting back together, while Turtle tries to win the heart of MMA fighter turned actress, Ronda Rousey.  Of the main characters, the only one who stood out to me as someone not familiar with the show was Ari.  His plot about trying to control his anger in the midst of an out of control production gets the film's best laughs.  Piven's performance is not only energetic, but he perfectly sells the role of a man whose entire career rides on a single film, and he's trying not to lose his mind, while not doing a very good job of it.  Everybody else in the movie is virtually a non-entity unless you are familiar with the show.  While Eric and Turtle get a few nice character building moments, Vince and Johnny practically come across as shallow sketches of a personality.

Entourage is filled with numerous celebrity cameos, and a lot of "inside jokes" about the film industry, but they are seldom funny, or exist simply to throw another famous face in the trailer or ad campaign.  The movie clearly wants to be a satire of the studio system and how movies are made, but the jokes never quite strike hard enough.  It's tame and predictable, when it should be biting and raw.  You can see potential for satire everywhere, especially when the film is placed in the hands of the young Texan who knows absolutely nothing about movies.  It ends up simply feeling like a missed opportunity, especially since the Osment character isn't given enough screentime to build into a character we can know.  Yes, he's obviously supposed to be clueless, but we never truly get to hate him like we're supposed to.  A lot of the film is also taken up by footage of the five main guys driving around L.A. in fancy cars, or throwing elaborate parties where women in various stages of undress parade in front of the camera.  None of this advanced the story in any way.  I guess we're just supposed to be happy to see these characters having a good time.

I wouldn't call Entourage a total waste.  There are some laughs to be had, for example.  But unless you've followed the show from the beginning, this movie is going to seem pretty aimless for the most part.  It doesn't even really have anything to say about celebrity, wealth or the Hollywood movie system.  It just shows these guys taking part in it, and taking advantage of the perks of celebrity.  I'm sure it was a fun movie to make, and the fans will likely enjoy it.  I just can't see this drawing a crowd outside of the converted.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

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