BUDDY SYSTEM Vince, Ari & crew prove they can make a film
Like the weather in L.A., it’s hard not to warm to the boys-in-babeland tone of “Entourage.”
This big-screen version of the hit 2004-11 HBO series is like a male version of “Sex and the City,” another HBO show/movie about a quartet of randy pals.
“Entourage” plays like a solid, if slightly too long, episode. But even given the bloat, the cast’s easy camaraderie and a “play it as it lays” atmosphere wins you over.
The movie picks up just after the show ended. Turns out Vinnie Chase (Adrian Grenier) has ended his marriage to a journalist while on his honeymoon. When we first see his pals Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon), Eric (Kevin Connolly) and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara), they’re on a boat in the Mediterranean toasting Vinnie’s new single status.
With that marital stumbling block out of the way, the Queens-born buds get back to bustin’ each other’s chops. Eight months later, though, they’ve got bigger fish to fry. Vinnie’s ex-agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), now a movie studio chief, let Vinnie star in, as well as direct, a big-budget, as-yetuncompleted futuristic flick.
But the Texas money man (Billy Bob Thornton) who financed the film balks at giving Vinnie more millions to finish it. He sends his son Travis (Haley Joel Osment, good as a hick-weasel villain) to assess the situation. That’s bad news, as is Travis’ attempted pickup of Vinnie’s new conquest, supermodel Emily Ratajkowski.
In movie lingo, that’s the “A” story. Subplots include Eric’s imminent baby with Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui) — they aren’t a couple, but he’s excited about being a dad — and Turtle’s almost-hookup with lady boxer Ronda Rousey. Those storylines don’t amount to anything. There’s also a useless bit about Ari’s gay assistant Lloyd (Rex Lee) getting married.
Dillon’s uber-doofus has a more entertaining tangent. Drama, an amusing actor-world cliche, becomes an embarrassment thanks to a TMZ video, just as his lack of talent threatens to sink his friends’ dreams.
If the behind-the-scenes jargon is specific, so is the movie characters’ walk-and-talk comradeship. Writer-director Doug Ellin, the show’s creator, never lets the bro-’tude out of his sight, which is the big appeal here.
Grenier remains the calm center, gliding again through the “Entourage” world with an aw-shucks grin and billboardready hair. Like executive producer Mark Wahlberg — whose life inspired all of this and who has a funny cameo — Grenier indeed seems like a guy who never thought he’d be a star.
The movie’s real star turn comes from Piven — a multiple Emmy winner for the show. Amid tons of cameos (Tom Brady, Liam Neeson, Pharrell Williams, Jessica Alba and more), Piven shouts and grumbles and thinks on his feet while running off at the mouth.
Ari is the high-strung, bigbrother figure these guys need. His sense of purpose gives the laid-back “Entourage” a focus. Ari is about the business of entertainment. His bottom line, like the movie’s, is that all the hard work should look easy onscreen.