Entourage

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion (or other commenters), that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching!  The movie continuation that still would have been 5 years too late if it came out the day after the final episode.

Entourage ? 2 out of 5

I started watching Entourage not long after I graduated college in 2005 and I really dug the show.  I thought it was ridiculous but amusing at the same time.  I pretty much stayed with it until the show ended in 2011 but, as the seasons passed, I became less and less interested in the repetitive nature of the seasons and the groups? douche-y behavior became less and less endearing.  As time went on, I would catch up on seasons years after they ended and I think I only finished it up about two years ago.  I originally laughed at the idea of the series getting a movie but, I?m being honest here, the trailer did have me interested and I was curious to check it out.  Let?s just say it left me with about as much enthusiasm as the last seasons of the show gave me.

The boys are back...if anyone actually cares or not is something else.

So Vinnie Chase (Adrien Grenier) and his crew; Eric (Kevin Connolly), Drama (Kevin Dillion) and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), are still together and still getting up to their usual shenanigans?basically put, they are dealing with movie-making difficulties and trying to have sex with as many women as they can.  In this douche-y adventure, Vinnie is directing and starring in his own film but they are going over budget and have to swallow their pride and ask the head of the studio?and Vinnie?s former agent; Ari Gold (Jeremy Pivon)?for more money.  Reluctantly, Ari agrees to speak with the film?s financier; Larsen McCredle (Billy Bob Thornton), and he?ll give more money if his son Travis (Haley Joel Osment) heads to L.A. to see a cut of the film.  That is, if Vinnie will let anyone actually see the film?

Yep, this movie is in no way full of itself.  No way whatsoever.

Ari used to be my favorite part of the show but now
I just don't care.

Overall, I was pretty unimpressed with Entourage.  While the cast still has their parts nailed down, this can?t save the film from the fact it feels like Entourage?s time has already passed.  Watching this film in 2016 (and remember it came out only last year), I started to realize that watching four self-indulgent, misogynistic and outright unlikable douche bags treat women like garbage and like their only point of existence is to be objects of sexual conquests for them is way passed its time.  I realized how far we?ve come as a society as I see these guys less as a comedic outlook of the excess that is the Hollywood lifestyle like in the early days of the show and now they?re more of a sad reflection of how our society views sexual promiscuity of male fictional characters.  What?s really sad is how the production isn?t aware of how sad it?s product really is as it acts like it did when its show was still on the air and acts like things are still the same.  It?s like when a middle-aged dude goes to a college house party and is completely oblivious to the fact that he is being laughed at behind his back the whole time.

Director:  Get me those things...um...what are they called?  We make the sex with them.
Assistant:  Um...women?
Director:  Yeah, that's them.  Let's get a bunch of them and start objectifying.

There was a point where it felt like the whole property was showing some maturity as it is hinted that one of the characters was going to learn that women aren?t just sexual playthings for them to wham, bam and then thank you ma?am but this scene is resolved in a very lazy way and, ultimately, in a way that the character doesn?t learn anything of significance and is, rather, just left wiping his brow and saying, ?Whew, that was close.?  It could be argued that he learned his lesson but getting lucky and avoiding conflict isn?t really learning anything.  The story basically just reset the clock for this character to return to his debauchery-encrusted lifestyle and gravitate to a false belief that this behavior is amusing in some way.

Ronda Rousey isn't a trained actor but she's pretty good at playing Ronda Rousey.
It was the part she was born to play.

However, the worst thing about this film is the fact it feels no different than the show.  While this is a good thing when it comes to continuity with the series, it?s a bad thing when it feels like it is just as repetitive as the show.  For all intents and purposes, the movie is just a condensed version of every season ever done as its only focus is the guys trying to get laid and trying to solve whatever problem that is coming with whatever movie Vinnie is at the time.  This was the biggest reason I grew tired of the show as it basically was the same thing season after season and now, writer/director Doug Ellin (who also wrote and directed for the show), is taking that same formula and just shortening it from several episodes into a single feature length film.  It just feels lazy.

Come check out the Entourage movie where nearly nothing has changed with
the characters and they don't learn anything!

Finally, adding to the laziness of the whole feature, the film crams in way too many cameos.  At times, these cameos are fun but as more and more come in they start to feel extremely forced, they stop being fun and just come off as a desperate publicity stunt meant to hide the fact the film's story holds nothing special.  There?s even a whole sequence where Ari is literally running to cameo-to-cameo and it feels so utterly pointless.  It does nothing to enhance the story and it would have just been easier to have the director lean in and say, ?Did you see that?  We got Liam Neeson, Jessica Alba, Warren Buffett and a whole shit load of other celebrities to be in this film and they?re helping us hide the fact that we are literally not trying anything new with this film!?

Hey, look!  A cameo!

Alright!  Another needless cameo!

Is that what I think it is?  Yes it is!  Another pointless cameo!

Holy shit on a shih tzu!  Another cameo!  It's the gift that doesn't realize you
want it to desperately stop giving!

Heavens to Betsy!  Armie Hammer?!?  They are really pulling out the star power
for these cameos!

Who needs a story when you have cameos?!?

 

So...did Haley's face just stop aging after The Sixth
Sense?

Entourage has a moment here and there when it?s amusing and the performances from the main cast and from new members like Haley Joel Osment are great but I couldn?t escape the fact that the property already feels dated and that the film was made way passed its expiration date.  Add in the fact that the film is super lazy and feels literally no different than every single solitary season of the show and it made for a very forgettable and pretty pointless experience.  The production expressed hopes that they could turn the film into a trilogy but, considering the tract record, I don?t think I could watch the exact same movie done two more times because, let?s be realistic, it?s not like they are really going to do anything unique or new in the additional films.