USA 2015
Opening July 9, 2015
Directed by: Doug Ellin
Writing credits: Doug Ellin
Principle actors: Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Jerry Ferrara, Billy Bob Thornton, Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Dillon, Jeremy Piven
Actor Vincent Chase hails from Queens in New York City. Recovering from a divorce after a nine-day marriage, he hangs out with his half- brother Johnny (also an actor), and his two friends since kindergarten, Eric and Turtle. Vince, now a successful film star, is in Hollywood, naturally accompanied by these three pals, his “entourage.” Together they party intensively on the beach and cruise ships, talk about girls, and parade their assets. Vince plans to direct his next film to be called Hyde (as in Jekyll and Hyde). He employs the aid of producer Ari Gold. In no time they are forced to ask Ari for additional money in order to complete the film. Ari hesitates to visit the actual financer, Larson McCredle (Thornton) in Texas, (“Do you know what they do with Jews in Texas?”), because he has seen nothing of the film, although there is an invitation out for a private viewing. Before loosening the purse strings, Larson sends his mentally challenged son Travis to report on the film’s progress.
Entourage is based on the HBO TV series of the same name which ran from 2004—2009 with additional episodes in 2010 and 2011. Director Doug Ellin brings back his original characters from his TV series. My colleagues rated the film “much fun” to “bad,” while prior acquaintance with the TV show seemed to have little influence on these opinions. I tended toward “much fun” and enjoyed the wild parties, the beautiful bikini girls and the running commentary, although I wonder how they will translate something like “kowtowing to cow tippers” or “leave my nut sack in the Mediterranean” into German; be grateful that you can also see it in English. It was strenuous to differentiate which girlfriend went with which guy; also there is a fast turnover of participants. Real celebrities pop in and out playing themselves, e.g., Mark Wahlberg, Liam Neeson, Pharrell Williams, Mike Tyson, etc. Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold was especially good, perhaps because his role reflected a sense of responsibility compared to these losers full of themselves, living according to the rule “work is not supposed to make you angry.” ()