Hi everyone, Bryan Here…
It’s very rare that HBO takes one of their tv series and turns them into a feature length film. It’s only happened a couple of times since HBO has been in the original programming business. There was ‘Sex and the City‘ and if you want to count ‘Tenacious D‘ and ‘Tales From The Crypt‘, go ahead. Other than those three shows, no series on the network has made its way to the big screen until now with ‘Entourage‘.
It’s hard to believe that ‘Entourage‘ was on for eight seasons, just shy under 100 episodes that followed Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), a guy who was raised lower class in New York who moved to Hollywood and became one of the biggest movie stars. His childhood friends Eric (Kevin Connolly) and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) moved out with him to help Vincent out and take advantage of the luxurious lifestyle.
Vince’s older brother Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) is a veteran actor who has literally been in almost everything, but has failed to find the limelight even well into his late 40s early 50s. Then you have Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) Vincent’s mouthful of an agent who can do anything and get anything for anyone. That’s basically the premise of the show, as Vince moved from movie to movie with his friends and brother to back him up. There was really nothing ever at stake in the series that would draw suspense, and everything ended happily ever after in each episode for the most part. ‘Entourage‘ was just a fun mindless show to watch. Nothing more, nothing less.
Series creator Doug Ellin along with his producing partner Mark Wahlberg decided to continue the series with a three episode story arc in the form of a feature film with Ellin directing and Wahlberg producing. Side note: it is said that this show was loosely based on Wahlberg’s life in Hollywood with his friends. The film takes place a couple of months or a few weeks after the last episode of the series that has Ari coming back to the states from his retirement in Italy to run a big movie studio. His first project is for his favorite former client Vince, who tells Ari he’s in as long as he can also direct. Cue the same opening credits scene from the show and we have our story line.
Turtle’s venture with Mark Cuban on the Vodka label has made Turtle almost as wealthy as Vince while Eric is still managing Vince and expecting his first child with Sloane. Then of course there is Drama, who of course is still trying to find his big break. We don’t get to see Vince really making the film at all. Instead, he has basically finished the film and is trying to secure the last bit of financing for some more visual effects from Texas based oil guy with tons of money Larsen (Billy Bob Thorton). Larsen is not happy about giving more money, so he sends his adult son Travis (Haley Joel Osment) along in his place to see the rough cut to see if everything is on the up and up.
This young texan who carries a gun could put a serious dent in this film. But hey, it’s ‘Entourage‘. Everything is fun, in good spirits, and always ends up in a fairy tale land. Sure, it’s still a good time with these characters and if you were a fan of the show, you’re probably going to enjoy the film as well. There are some ridiculous laughs and more celebrity cameos than any movie combined. Osment plays the slimy Texan kid very well and was always funny to see him on screen, and of course Piven plays Ari Gold so well, that I actually think Piven is this guy. Also, it’s great to see Drama have a bigger part here than he did in the series. I imagine if you haven’t seen the show or didn’t like the series on HBO, you’re not going to enjoy the film.
For Fans of the Show Only!
– Bryan Kluger