Entourage (2/10)

by Tony Medley

Runtime 104 minutes.

Not for Children.

When that great scorekeeper in the sky comes to write of the awful films of 2015, Entourage will be near the top of the list. If you are a fan of the Home Box Office series that ran for eight years, you’re going to see just more of the same. This is a story of four creepy guys in Hollywood, and maybe it’s accurate. Vince (Adrian Grenier, who is a Pete Sampras lookalike) and his entourage, Eric (Kevin Connolly), turtle (Jerry Ferrara), and brother Johnny (Kevin Dillon) are still involved with former super-agent, Eric Gold (Jeremy Piven), who is now a studio head. Eric Gold has signed a contract with Vince, who is now a superstar actor, for him to direct and star in a movie that is over budget.

While that could have been interesting, the Entourage idea is to follow these four low class creeps through Hollywood. All of the TV show was showing them trying to make it, and that’s what this movie does. Not only is it not funny or entertaining, it does not hold your interest and it diminishes women to the point they are just there for sex. There would be nothing wrong with the film that showed this side of Hollywood, except that all the women in this film are willing to be disrespected and take no great umbrage at it.

Billy Bob Thornton plays the money man behind the film and Haley Joel Osmont plays his son who is a thorn in Vince’s side but still becomes a creep like the other guys.

Perhaps the worst part of the film is the appearance of Ronda Rousey, the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s undefeated bantamweight champion and Olympic medalist in judo. She should stick to fighting. Every time she recites a line it’s clear that she belongs in the ring.

Since Entourage was a show on HBO, it could not have had a huge audience, even though it got good ratings on the cable network. I’m sure it will attract its TV audience, but that won’t be enough. This is just another Hollywood movie about Hollywood that doesn’t live up to its promise. Like others of its ilk it’s overflowing with cameos of real life Hollywood people, narcissistic jocks, and even entrepeneurs, like Gary Busey, Bob Saget, Jessica Alba, Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Warren Buffett, Kelsey Grammer, Clay Matthews, Liam Neeson, Russell Wilson, and, finally, the ultimate, Mark Wahlberg, who produced the TV Show and the film and upon whose life the story is loosely based. These appearances add nothing to a film that needs more than just a bunch of big names popping in and out.

This is a film without a discernable protagonist to root for. When a film doesn’t have someone the audience likes, it’s got a huge wall to climb. None of the main characters in the film are sympathetic, so who cares what happens to them?

I didn’t and doubt if you will, either.