Review: Entourage (2015)

Even though it went down in flames during the final two seasons, Entourage was for the most part a funny and extremely entertaining series that ranks as one of HBO’s earliest successes. The show’s satirical and humorous portrayal of Hollywood is primarily what made it so watchable but the smart writing, compelling characters and underlying theme of brotherhood made it even better.

It’s been four years since the show went off air and the ending is something that left me among other fans of the show, extremely disappointed. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, Entourage follows the story of movie star Vince Chase (Adrien Grenier) ,his cronies – Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon), E (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) – and his trusty agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) as they navigate their way through Hollywood. Now the movie is sort of a sequel to the show and while you don’t necessarily have to see the show to see the film, not watching the show might diminish you chances of enjoying it. The movie supposedly takes place a few days after the show’s final season. Ari, who is now a studio head offers Vince a leading role in his first production but the actor insists on also directing the film. Things get out of hand when the $100 million flick goes over budget, leaving Ari, Vince and the boys at the mercy of the cutthroat world of Hollywood.

I found Entourage to be a fun and enjoyable film that happened to bring back some nostalgia as well. However I will say that this movie is not everyone’s cup of tea. One of the things that made the show so successful was as I mentioned before, was it’s funny, if exaggerated portrayal of Hollywood. This is something that the show seemingly forgot during its final seasons but it’s something that’s done very well here and I found it to be an entertaining aspect of the film. Like the show, there is basically an orgy of celebrity cameos in the film and you have everyone from Ronda Rousey to Mark Wahlberg showing up here and a lot of the appearances add to the comedy. Speaking of the comedy, it’s done quite well. The jokes are funny, often based on recurring themes of the show, and very well executed.

The entirely of the main cast is back and they all bring the same level of charm that helped make the show so great but once again it’s Jeremy Piven who steals the show as hot-headed agent turned studio head, Ari Gold. Billy Bob Thorton and Haley Joel Osment are worthwhile additions to the cast and they do a good enough job as well. With all the great moments though, Entourage also has moments when it simply fails to hit the mark. For one thing there are too many unnecessary sub-plots that simply don’t need to be there and there are moments when the film feels like it has no direction as to where it’s going. There is also one particular element in the film that simply didn’t work for me and the movie tries to constantly pitch it as something great but I personally had trouble believing in its relevance. Furthermore, many of the characters are not properly developed including the core characters themselves, while this shouldn’t be a problem for fans of the show it will make the average moviegoer difficult to connect with these characters.

All in all though, Entourage is an entertaining and enjoyable return for Vinnie Chase and the boys. The movie is basically an extended episode of the show which does well in recreating all the themes that made the show so popular while throwing away all the themes that led to its downfall and offers far more closure than the final season. I’d recommend the movie to everyone who enjoyed the show but I’m afraid I can’t recommend it to someone who hasn’t seen it because I feel you have to know these characters well enough to actually care about them and what they’re doing.

7.6/10

-Khalid