Entourage: The Movie isn’t bad in the same way as films like Transformers: Age of Extinction or Muck are but instead it’s just a self-indulgent flick where Hollywood stars can rub shoulders with one another and have a good time with it. That said, I suppose if you’re a fan of the series, which I was at one point for the first few seasons, this might be satisfactory if only because it’s serves as an extended episode.
Entourage: The Movie
(2015)
REVIEW NAVIGATION
The Movie | Special Features | Video Quality | Audio Quality | Overall
Genre(s): Comedy
Warner Bros. | R – 104 min. – $44.95 | September 29, 2015
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MOVIE INFO: Directed by: Doug Ellin Writer(s): Doug Ellin (characters); Doug Ellin & Rob Weiss (story), Doug Ellin (screenplay) Cast: Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Jeremy Piven, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Billy Bob Thornton, Perrey Reeves, Rex Lee, Debi Mazar, Haley Joel Osment, Ronda Rousey, Alan Dale, Emily Ratajkowski DISC INFO: Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1) |
** Click Here to Purchase Entourage: The Movie on Blu-ray from Amazon.com **
THE MOVIE – 2.25/5
“The ride ain’t over!” No, that’s not the tagline for the next Fast and Furious though it does feature a star-studded cast and an inane plot. However, unlike tie F&F franchise, Entourage: The Movie isn’t nearly as entertaining, that is unless you like seeing rich people dealing with rich people problems while driving around in expensive cars only they can afford; heck in one instance a character gets a $200k car as a gift.
Entourage: The Movie takes place shortly after the series finale where we meet up with our “favorite” bros as they aboard a yacht in full party mode courtesy of movie star Vincent Chase (ADRIAN GRENIER) whose marriage reporter Sophia was annulled after only 9 days. His, ahem, entourage, includes manager/producer E (KEVIN CONNELLY) who is moments away of becoming a father as on-again-off-again girlfriend Sloan (EMMANUELLE CHRIQUI) is several months pregnant; driver Turtle (JERRY FERRARA) is a multi-millionaire, living in a mansion next door to Spielberg, thanks to investment in an upstart tequila company; and Drama (KEVIN DILLON) is still struggling despite some success during the series finale.
Finally, and he deserves his own paragraph, Ari Gold (JEREMY PIVEN), as promised in the series finale, is now running a major studio and after much, albeit brief, trepidation, gambles on a project entitled “Hyde” to star Vincent Chase who also manages to convince Ari to giving him the director’s chair. The project, initially budgeted for $100 million has gone several million over budget and Ari must kowtow to a Texas business tycoon, Larsen McCredle (BILLY BOB THORNTON), for the funds, which are in addition to the financing he provided before. However, he’s not willing to pony up the money just yet and sends his spoiled brat of a son, Travis (HALEY JOEL OSMENT), to watch the rough cut and determine whether they will give the necessary money to complete the project.
That’s really the basic plot behind Entourage and is more or less serves as an extended episode. There are subplots for the boys from E’s nice guy persona turning into a sex obsessive semi-creep to Drama wanting to get out of the shadow of his brother. Sprinkled in are several cameos from the likes of Liam Neeson to Kelsey Grammer to, of all people, Chad Lowe amongst many, many others. Some, playing a version of themselves, have larger roles including model-turned-actress Emily Ratajkowski (Gone Girl, “Blurred Lines” music video) and MMA Fighter Ronda Rousey who serves as some kind of romantic lead opposite Turtle where we get one of the more ridiculous and forced conflicts of the entire film which has very little conflict…
Alright, while I didn’t like Entourage: The Movie, there’s still a modicum of entertainment that sets it slightly above other bad flicks (looking at you Muck) and I’d gladly choose to watch this, as self-indulgent yet un-self-aware as it is, over much of the dreck I’ve been forced to come across over the years. It also helps that Jeremy Piven’s Ari Gold is still the most amusing character of the bunch, as he was throughout the series. The rest of the bunch, as far as the performances are concerned, isn’t bad but having played those same characters for several years, you’re not getting anything new from any of them.
The film was co-written and directed by series creator Doug Ellin with Mark Wahlberg, who makes a cameo appearance as himself, serving as executive producer as he did with the show which was loosely based on his own life and experiences.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2.5/5
This release comes with a matted slip cover. Inside are a standard DVD Copy and a redemption code for the Digital HD copy.
The Gang Still Rockin’ It (14:18; HD) – Here we join the cast as they discuss how things have changed for their respective characters and just the all around concept of the series.
Hollywood, Baby! (8:28; HD) – This is some behind-the-scenes footage of the high life of the guys of Entourage from the yacht to the high-priced cars.
The Making of “Hyde” (4:34; HD) – In this brief featurette this is BTS on making of the movie within the movie…
Deleted Scenes (18:39; HD) – We get several scenes removed more than likely due to pacing though the original cut was NC-17 so there might be some footage axed to get the R-rating.
Gag Reel (2:46; HD) contains the regular on-set antics and flubbed lines.
Meet the Newest Member of Entourage (2:16; HD) is a featurette on Lucas Ellin answering questions.
Lucas Ellin is Jonah Gold (1:59; HD) is a new interview with the young man playing Gold’s son.
VIDEO – 4.25/5
Entourage: The Movie is presented in its original 2.40 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. The picture is fine though nothing outstanding with good detail levels while colors are generally bright and cheerful in keeping with the comedic tone of the film. There were no apparent aliasing or other ailments making for a nice transfer, one that has a decent pop off the small screen.
AUDIO – 4.0/5
The movie comes with a standard but effective DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track (sorry, no Atmos or 7.1 this time around). On the whole, it sounds fine providing for clear dialogue levels from beginning to end and there is some minor depth courtesy of the soundtrack which includes some choice music where the bass would give the LFE channel life.
OVERALL – 2.75/5
Overall, Entourage: The Movie isn’t bad in the same way as films like Transformers: Age of Extinction or Muck are but instead it’s just a self-indulgent flick where Hollywood stars can rub shoulders with one another and have a good time with it. That said, I suppose if you’re a fan of the series, which I was at one point for the first few seasons, this might be satisfactory if only because it’s serves as an extended episode (and probably would’ve been more appropriate as an HBO Original Movie than theatrical release).
As far as the Blu-ray is concerned, it’s a basic release with good video/audio transfers but a lackluster selection of bonus material.
Brian Oliver aka The Movieman
Published: 09/26/2015
Check out some more screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.