Entourage: Movie Review
I was a big fan of Doug Ellin’s series “Entourage”, which ran from 2004-2011. I never missed an episode. Every week those 30 minutes flew by and could not wait till the following week. Here we are, four years later and the gang’s first big screen outing takes place right from where the series left off.
When the series ended, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) was retiring and was traveling the globe with his wife (Perrey Reeves). Eric (Kevin Connolly) learned he was going to have a baby with his girlfriend Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui). Drama (Kevin Dillon) had a hit television show. Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) made a butt-load of money with his tequila company and Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) was getting married.
As “Entourage” begins, Ari has been given permission from his wife to go back to work. Now instead of being an agent, he is a the head of a major movie studio. His first piece of business is to give his golden boy Vince a starring role in a major film. What Ari did not expect was for Vince to want to direct his next project. Vince is now the star and director, his best friend and manager Eric is a producer and older brother Drama has a small but crucial role in the film. Ari however, finds himself up against the wall with not only the studio but the projects financial backer Larsen McCredle (Billy Bob Thornton) and his son Travis (a scene stealing, Haley Joel Osment). The film is way over budget and Vince still needs more money to finish the visual effects.
Of course “Entourage” isn’t just focused on Vince and Ari. Eric is going through his own issues with Sloan. Turtle is head over heels for pro fighter Ronda Rousey and is an unfortunate video of Drama that went viral on the internet. We also get to see series regulars pop up, like Ari’s former assistant Lloyd (Rex Lee), Dana Gordon (Constance Zimmer), Shauna (Debi Mazar), Billy Walsh (Rhys Coiro), plus more cameos than you can count.
Here is the deal. If you liked the show, you will like the movie. Many will call it a two hour episode. It is no better or worse than anything from the series. To me, “Entourage” the film is more like a full season condensed into 120 minutes. As much as I enjoyed myself with the film, much like the weekly episodes, I will probably never re-watch it.
By: Marc Ferman