Film Review- "Entourage"

Entourage
Directed by Doug Ellin
Starring Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, and Jeremy Piven

All those stereotypes that you've heard about the tv series, that it's "Sex & The City" for men, that it's for the "less intelligent", are more true than you think. I know this because I watched "Entourage", and I'm a little embarassed to admit that. I mean I know, and I don't think I have to tell you, that it's not the smartest series ever crafted. The show definitely had its moments, though.

The characters were likable, but all had periods where they were downright annoying. When the humor was on point, it could be straight laugh-out-loud. When it wasn't busy being a bro's fantasy of the life of the rich and famous, it's satirical look at Hollywood life was pretty entertaining.

So, my opinions on the film? They're pretty much the same I have for the show (For the purposes of this review, some small spoilers follow for the show and film).

The film Entourage, begins nine days after the show's series finale, by completely undoing all the final season did. That's not necessarily a bad thing, considering the final season was a bit "meh". Then, we jump forward eight months. Vince (Grenier) is starring and, for the first time directing, a film called 'Hyde'. The film is also Ari's (Piven) first production as studio head at Warner Bros. Vince has gone over-budget, and he and E (Connolly), need more money from Ari. Ari is obviously stressed, especially considering Vince won't show him the rough cut of the film. To add to that, in order for Ari to secure more money for production, they must woo a stern studio financier (Billy Bob Thorton) and is unbearable son (Haley Joel Osment).

Meanwhile, E is preparing for the birth of his and Sloan's (Emmanuelle Chiriqui) baby (They're broken up again by the way. Shocking.), Drama (Kevin Dillon) is stressing over his "small but pivotal" supporting role in Vince's film, and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) is trying to romance Rhonda Rousey. Oh, and Lloyd (Rex Lee) is getting married and wants Ari to give him away, while Ari and his wife (Perrey Reeves) are back in couples therapy.

There's a lot going on in this film. Almost a season's worth of story…like they literally tried to cram a season worth of material into a two and a half-hour film. As you can imagine, the scripts suffers because of this. It's drive-by storytelling. Five minutes were seeing what's up with Vince, then were cutting to see what Drama's up to for a few minutes, and then it's time for some Ari, you get the picture. There's not a lot of time for the audience to sit back and digest what's going on.

That and, there's no real stakes in this film. It almost plays out like every season of the show. The boys are in production on a film, they get into some trouble, and by the credits roll Ari's solved it all for them. Not that exciting. But I guess the fans aren't here for Drama (Pun intended. I had to.)

I'm not going to go into the cast's performances or the humor, because it is exactly like the show, if not raunchier. If you liked the film, you'll enjoy yourself. Though I have to say, much like the show, the best part of the film is Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold. "Entourage" was always known for its parade for celebrity cameos, and there's plenty here. Some are great, and some fall flat.

If you liked "Entourage" the show, chances are you'll like Entourage the film, and find it an almost satisfying conclusion to the story. Well a supposed conclusion. I mean they made a Sex & The City 2, and if Entourage is the male equivalent, do the math. Again, I though the show had its moments, and so did the film. I don't regret seeing it, but I don't think I'll be rewatching for a long time. If you have a problem with that, we can hug it out, bitch.