Review of Entourage (2015) by Jonathan S — 17 Jul 2015

There's a moment near the tail end of HBO's feature-length bronanza, where everyone's favourite agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) declares his loyalty to vapid Hollywood heartthrob Vinnie Chase, 'even when there's no more lifeboats and the band's stopped playing.' Quickly E interjects, 'great' he says, 'a Titanic reference'. Therein lies the problem with Entourage that has plagued the show since the beginning; this has never been about Vince, or even his titular tag-alongs. It's always been Ari and his razor-sharp wit, often bluntly interrupted by his client or his lad-tactic chums, and their big-screen outing proves things don't change.

Of course, any fan coming in to the film would expect that. They've stood by this cameo-crammed comedy that sees four lads drive an overpriced convertible from one Cribs-worthy shag pad to the next, and the Entourage movie is no different. Spending a matter of minutes to play catch-up with the boys, it's show business as usual with Vince trying to make a bigger dent in Hollywood than usual, and everyone around him unsure about the idea. Meanwhile, they've got their own limp and uninteresting lives to live, as E tries to patch things up with Sloane before her water breaks, Turtle's after a girl that's out of his league (in this case Ronda Rousey), and Drama is still trying to climb out of his brother's shadow and make a name for himself. Stop me if you've seen this episode before.

Then in steps Ari, who brings your attention back the moment he opens his mouth and an offensive but ingenious remark fires out of it. When Piven performs in the role that made him, everything else turns to gold too. The script sharpens, the shameless blink or you'll miss cameos feel valid (even when Liam Neeson turns up to barely lift a finger...literally, and you'll find yourself laughing a damn sight harder than before. Then it's back to Vince and the boys and it feels like they're merely being given something to do before Ari fires up again, rather than telling a story that's worth your time.

Outside the fist bumping, back-slapping brat pack and their manager, there are some impressive turnouts. Haley Joel Osment in particular impresses as the Texan money-driven bank behind Vince's big project and heir to his father's (Billy Bob Thornton) throne. His sleazy studio presence almost makes for an interesting opposite to Ari, but doesn't quite get enough to work with. Clearly putting those two head to head would waste too much time that could be spent seeing a bouncing pair of fun bags or a pool-party full of attractive people to display. Because that's what it's all about, right bro?

Fans of the show might leave satisfied, but the cast are starting to show a little rust. Thankfully, Piven's performance turns things golden as you'd expect, begging the idea that a spin-off should be where the real focus should be. Hey, if it worked for Saul...