Just watched the film on cable. Why the cheap productions values and this story? BOOO!
Great movie. If you didn't like the show, this movie isn't for you. It wasn't made for you. Never saw the show? This movie wasn't made for you. Fan of the show? This movie was fantastic.
I actually saw the movie first, thought it was awesome, and went back to watch just about every episode on demand! I'm up to season 6 now.
Saw this movie, er... glorified TV show today. Just a worthless cliche. Could have used a heart, or even a colon, instead of what came out.
1
Entourage: Reason Number 2,118 for "Why the Chinese are Winning."
6
That such an insipid formula was a hit to begin with is the surprise.
I hope at some point Americans will lose their infatuation with fame as an end in itself and realize that most famous people are ordinary are just clowns who stumbled into a gold mine.
I hope at some point Americans will lose their infatuation with fame as an end in itself and realize that most famous people are ordinary are just clowns who stumbled into a gold mine.
2
Perhaps the tone of A's review has something to do with him being just about the same age as Kevin Dillon who, of course, plays Johnny Drama, Entourage's most consistently pathetic character regularly accused of being too ugly for any screen, let alone the big one. I can see how the ageist insults slung towards that character may have ricocheted off the screen and hit Scott right in his nose. I'm surprised he even bothered reviewing this movie at all. Loved reading the line "staler than last night’s Axe body spray," though. Good one, Tony! If only this review's jabs kept up with the comedic pace of the movie.
I enjoyed this movie. Far from a masterpiece, but it continued the fun ride I had with the show. And I think it worked better as a movie than this review worked as a useful piece of criticism.
Someone suggested here in the comments that this this would have been better as a prequel set in Queens. I'm not sure that movie would have turned out better than the one I saw, but it would have had more potential to. Perhaps the sequel will bring them home.
I enjoyed this movie. Far from a masterpiece, but it continued the fun ride I had with the show. And I think it worked better as a movie than this review worked as a useful piece of criticism.
Someone suggested here in the comments that this this would have been better as a prequel set in Queens. I'm not sure that movie would have turned out better than the one I saw, but it would have had more potential to. Perhaps the sequel will bring them home.
6
I didn't come across the prequel comment, but how exactly was that supposed to work? Tons of CGI to make everyone look younger?
1
Perhaps Turtle could gain back his weight for the prequel and with it his character, before he lost his girth, sense of humor, and appeal.
The show on HBO had three solid seasons before getting downright stupid. There were no cliffhangers, just season after season of unrealistic hijinks where beautiful women threw themselves at Vince, the boring, whiney main character. At first the cameo's were fantastic: Jessica Alba and Jimmy Kimmel playing themselves, but in the later seasons when they were trying to make David Schwimmer into a sex symbol and their Agents family affairs into something that no man has ever wanted to watch, let alone on a weekly basis. "Entourage" the Movie? I look forward to seeing in on Netflix one day.
The show on HBO had three solid seasons before getting downright stupid. There were no cliffhangers, just season after season of unrealistic hijinks where beautiful women threw themselves at Vince, the boring, whiney main character. At first the cameo's were fantastic: Jessica Alba and Jimmy Kimmel playing themselves, but in the later seasons when they were trying to make David Schwimmer into a sex symbol and their Agents family affairs into something that no man has ever wanted to watch, let alone on a weekly basis. "Entourage" the Movie? I look forward to seeing in on Netflix one day.
I really enjoyed the series and I watched it religiously. I saw the movie tonight and it was extremely disappointed. It was boring, predictable and without a plot or ending. As I watched it I just wanted to get up and leave because it was just a waste of time. This is one of the worst movies all time.
2
Warning to fans of Entourage like me. Listen to AO Scott and stay clear of this movie disaster - even it your heart tells you otherwise.
For me, watching the TV show Entourage was a guilty pleasure. I would get a fix of Los Angeles, a city that I both love and don't. I would enjoy the silly, if not totally accurate lives of people in the entertainment biz. And I was amused, and sometimes genuinely touched by these loyal, silly if not vapid band of boys from Queens who has "made it." And I watched every season despite my distaste for its objectification and sometimes outright disrespect of women (this coming from a dyed in the wool feminist).
And so I read AO Scott's review and this afternoon, regardless of his warnings, I spent a summer Friday by myself to just reconnect with the boys and have some mindless, but fun entertainment. BAD IDEA. This movie was poorly written, had NO story arc or character development, did not make me laugh once and fell flatter than flat. Anything I liked about the series was absent.
For me, watching the TV show Entourage was a guilty pleasure. I would get a fix of Los Angeles, a city that I both love and don't. I would enjoy the silly, if not totally accurate lives of people in the entertainment biz. And I was amused, and sometimes genuinely touched by these loyal, silly if not vapid band of boys from Queens who has "made it." And I watched every season despite my distaste for its objectification and sometimes outright disrespect of women (this coming from a dyed in the wool feminist).
And so I read AO Scott's review and this afternoon, regardless of his warnings, I spent a summer Friday by myself to just reconnect with the boys and have some mindless, but fun entertainment. BAD IDEA. This movie was poorly written, had NO story arc or character development, did not make me laugh once and fell flatter than flat. Anything I liked about the series was absent.
5
I adored Entourage on HBO, every second of it, and can't wait to see the movie.
4
"Entourage". Its time has passed and so has the waste of time it has taken me to write this.
1
I was looking forward to the Entourage movie being made only so I could read A.O. Scott panning it.
14
As far as I know, this is not meant to be a Shakespearean commentary on the nihilism of Hollywood. Like Sex and the City it is a fantasy and I sometimes with guilt enjoyed the series. Yes, women are objects but women ARE objects particularly in Hollywood. I think Mr. Scott needs a vacation - probably not in Hollywood. I love a good Shakespeare play but I plan to see the movie because I need a little escapism and the guys are pretty.
4
The show was just a male version of Sex in the City with frat boys. It's a good bet the film will be the same.
6
What I liked about "entourage" was that it didn't try to remake itself as a movie, it was just another fun episode of the show. Forgettable is not a sin when its thoroughly enjoyable. I thought it was a fitting coda.
2
I tried to watch "Entourage" when it was on HBO, but the antics of its young stars were vapid and boring. I guess the movie is the same.
5
It was an appallingly bad TV series that somehow found an audience of - one assumes - desperate wannabes. Lame and limping from beginning to end,
"Entourage," both the series and now the film, are hideously written, badly acted, non-directed, false - and not in the fun way - tedious and relentlessly unfunny.
Add to that the fact that Jeremy Piven is quite possibly the worst actor working in America, and he is almost as bad here as he is in the ghastly Brit series "Mr.Selfridge." Who castes these people?!
"Entourage," both the series and now the film, are hideously written, badly acted, non-directed, false - and not in the fun way - tedious and relentlessly unfunny.
Add to that the fact that Jeremy Piven is quite possibly the worst actor working in America, and he is almost as bad here as he is in the ghastly Brit series "Mr.Selfridge." Who castes these people?!
8
Having worked in the entertainment industry for the last 15 years, I initially watched the show but grew tired of it. Why? Because this cast of characters reminded me too much of the guys who show up at the clubs off Sunset 5 nights a week and are only tangentially involved in the industry. I've always thought (hoped) that's why Hollywood embraced the show and now movie... We all know those guys, and entertained at their sense of self-importance.
2
Chic-lit. bubble gum pop music, romance novels and Entourage--these are are understood to be low art for adolescents & their adult derivatives.
Cartoons are for kids.
That American cheesy marketing 'culture' has tried to make Shallow the new Hip...that is pitiful.
Little boys will always look excitedly at breasts.
Cartoons are for kids.
That American cheesy marketing 'culture' has tried to make Shallow the new Hip...that is pitiful.
Little boys will always look excitedly at breasts.
2
Cartoons aren't just for kids. Check out South Park some time. Or The Simpsons.
1
I'm afraid this reviewer has lost his way after so many reviews. This is meant to be just a fun summer movie. If you liked the original series, come over. I would have guessed before going to the theater it was more of the same. No new ground was going to be broken. Why should they? They had a successful formula all those years and it was good to see the boys back up on screen, the larger screen as this reviewer points out. Just because it's a motion picture doesn't mean some major changes to the franchise need to take place. I feel as if the reviewer were waiting for some eye opening event or lesson. That wasn't in the original Entourage and it was not here either. Bottom line: it was fun, a continuation of the series and fun to see a movie this summer not drenched with super heroes, green screen pollution or a world of computer graphics. Actual people having a good time in their made up world of Hollywood. What's not to like? It's 2015! Not every movie has to be reviewed as if it should be "Gone with the Wind" simply because its on a larger screen. C'mon New York Times, lets have some reviewers who aren't looking to trash a movie before the first keystroke hits their computer screen perhaps?
9
He trashed it because it is trash, Jon. Unutterably trash. No way around it. In other words. Mr. Scott did his job.
10
I worked in Hollywood in the 70s and 80s and watched several young stars work their ways to the top. NONE of them were like Adam Grenier. Not at all. They and those that surrounded them were smart, savvy and knew how to work hard, very hard. My colleagues in the business watched it the way cops must watch network TV cop shows. After all, this movie's about Hollywood the same way the Melissa McCarthy movie opening today is about the CIA. By the way, is it just me, or is Adam G the most uninteresting actor of his generation? Each actor in the series seemed to have one single emotion which they play over and over.
13
His name is Adrien, not Adam. And what's wrong with a little foolishness?
2
Since this is a show that was big in the 2000's the people you knew in the 70's and 80's have no bearing on what was going on. This is the Hollywood of TMZ and most of the "movie stars" of the age of the protagonist don't come across as great thinkers or hard workers. They are mostly pretty boys and girls that look good and people want to see reciting words that others have written. I also think you probably over sell the people you knew, or your circle was the exception, not the rule.
1
I'm confident anyone this dismissive of other people's creative efforts has penned a great novel and directed a great movie. Somehow I missed them.
Please share the names of his personal achievements in the arts so I can check them out.
Please share the names of his personal achievements in the arts so I can check them out.
2
Bless you , all movies can't do the same thing , for its target audience and for what the movie tries to achieve , they did good
2
And only cooks have the right to dislike the taste of a dish.
4
Apparently this movie is marketed toward men with very, very low self-esteem, who have to live vicariously through development-arrested adolescent fantasies, and who have to pay $10 a pop to ogle women's breasts (is there no internet in their mom's basement?). Embarrassing, really. If the point is to make us despise La-La Land even more, then Entourage (the franchise) succeeds, well, idiotically. And if only more movie reviews were as honest as this one by Mr. Scott.
14
Saw it and as a big fan of the show, I genuinely loved it. It didn't try to be something it isn't. It was true to the show and what everyone loved about the show. It did feel like a longer version of a normal episode but on a bigger and better scale. I still love the characters and the wit the show/movie brings to the table. Great job doug ellin, big fan. Roll wave!
5
Entourage is what you can call a guilty pleasure. its like smokey and the bandit or a stallone movie. its for the guys who watched the show. Me and my entourage will go see the movie and after have a few beers and call it a night.
nothing more nothing less.
nothing more nothing less.
3
...or as H.L. Mencken famously said,
"No one ever went broke underestimating
the intelligence of the American people".
"No one ever went broke underestimating
the intelligence of the American people".
13
Great review!
6
A.O. Scott isn't my favorite movie critic, mainly because I can read most of his reviews and still have no idea whether he likes a given movie or not. I did, however, like this one, and I liked it a lot.
Unfortunately for Western society, this movie could very well double what it cost to make ($30 million) in its first weekend alone. That's the beauty of Hollywood- whether their products are dirt cheap or $150 million+ money pits (middle ground? What's that?), they will make cold hard cash hand over fist. There are exceptions, but not enough of them.
Unfortunately for Western society, this movie could very well double what it cost to make ($30 million) in its first weekend alone. That's the beauty of Hollywood- whether their products are dirt cheap or $150 million+ money pits (middle ground? What's that?), they will make cold hard cash hand over fist. There are exceptions, but not enough of them.
4
Excellent piece! More fine writing by AO Scott (truly).
8
Fun reading in the Midwest. Nothing better than the naked snobbery of a New Yorker making fun of a Hollywood film about Hollywood by using the jagged edged knife of gender analysis.
Well done AO. I am sure that your mother will be very proud.
Well done AO. I am sure that your mother will be very proud.
6
I'm sure your mother would be proud of what amounts to cheap name calling. It's not as though you are REALLY taking this review to task for any justified reason. (from the midder midwest)
8
It rates only slightly behind the humblebragging that people from the Midwest feel compelled to engage in when they feel left out. What's your mom up to? Probably feeding the country while staring at the setting sun with a age-worn smile and rough hands, right?
7
Do you even know who AO's Mom is? Not so cheap, really. Joan Wallach Scott would be proud. Check her out sometime. Brilliant mind. The son is just a small chip.
Too bad you missed the point.
Too bad you missed the point.
7
You missed the point. For fans, the movie doesn't have to be better. It just has to be the same as the show.
This isn't Academy Award stuff.
This isn't Academy Award stuff.
5
You missed the point of what a Nytimes movie review does. A.O Scott nor any of his predecessors would give a movie a pass for being 'mediocre but good enough for die-hard fans.' Those fans don't really need to be reading reviews anyway, right?
19
When I heard they were making this movie, I was hoping it would be a prequel set in Queens. Would have been a much more interesting story.
4
I always thought the best actor to play Vince wasn't the nonentity they hired. Whatever success any movie or TV show might achieve depends on persuading the audience to suspend disbelief. The moment that actor appeared onscreen my attention vanished. Casting made such a colossal mistake that I still can't remember his name.
Why wasn't he believable? He wasn't "A-list". Rin Tin Tin was. So was Cheetah, of "Tarzan" fame. Or Mister Ed. The actor who played "Vince" was no Mr. Ed, let alone Cheetah.
Which begs the question: who would have been? Tom Cruise.
Now, you're probably thinking: "Impossible. Too old. Why would he do it? They couldn't pay him enough. It would be a step down".
Too old? "Rewrite!".
A step down? His recent projects haven't been a step up or even two. It's a cautionary tale about what can go wrong in late show-biz careers that Clooney is learning now.
Money? He didn't need it.
What he actually needed was humanization; badly.
"Vince" could have revitalized him. Not only could he have played him well, he could have done it by revealing things about himself usually hidden from the public. He knows the life inside-out because he's lived it. Imagine the incredible lines he could have ad-libbed.
In an industry so fake many call it "tinsel", something valuable that isn't, he could have brought insight, authenticity, pathos and gravitas to the role while teasing the audience about where reality stopped and fun began. Millions would have watched for that alone.
Why wasn't he believable? He wasn't "A-list". Rin Tin Tin was. So was Cheetah, of "Tarzan" fame. Or Mister Ed. The actor who played "Vince" was no Mr. Ed, let alone Cheetah.
Which begs the question: who would have been? Tom Cruise.
Now, you're probably thinking: "Impossible. Too old. Why would he do it? They couldn't pay him enough. It would be a step down".
Too old? "Rewrite!".
A step down? His recent projects haven't been a step up or even two. It's a cautionary tale about what can go wrong in late show-biz careers that Clooney is learning now.
Money? He didn't need it.
What he actually needed was humanization; badly.
"Vince" could have revitalized him. Not only could he have played him well, he could have done it by revealing things about himself usually hidden from the public. He knows the life inside-out because he's lived it. Imagine the incredible lines he could have ad-libbed.
In an industry so fake many call it "tinsel", something valuable that isn't, he could have brought insight, authenticity, pathos and gravitas to the role while teasing the audience about where reality stopped and fun began. Millions would have watched for that alone.
5
Good job going back and forth with yourself about why Tom Cruise would be a better lead in a cable show that spanned the mid to late '00s.
Millions did watch this show helmed by the "nonentity, " as you say (he actually goes by Adrian Grenier, by the way. And it's pretty rude to call even a terrible actor a nonentity and he's by no means terrible.) The show was never about Vince, really, it was about his "entourage" which is why he plays an entitled movie star. He wasn't supposed to play some deep character, he was supposed to be believable as a movie star heartthrob and that he does particularly well, especially in the show.
Millions did watch this show helmed by the "nonentity, " as you say (he actually goes by Adrian Grenier, by the way. And it's pretty rude to call even a terrible actor a nonentity and he's by no means terrible.) The show was never about Vince, really, it was about his "entourage" which is why he plays an entitled movie star. He wasn't supposed to play some deep character, he was supposed to be believable as a movie star heartthrob and that he does particularly well, especially in the show.
1
Ah, a member of the entourage speaks from behind the Wizard's curtain. Exciting.
"Entourage" wasn't about Vince or his entourage. It was about nothing; a goal it achieved effortlessly.
Mr. Ed could crack a joke, at least. And Wilbur could be human in a pleasingly doofus way. As for Cheetah ... .
"Entourage" wasn't about Vince or his entourage. It was about nothing; a goal it achieved effortlessly.
Mr. Ed could crack a joke, at least. And Wilbur could be human in a pleasingly doofus way. As for Cheetah ... .
2
@Kelley:
Look, Chiefie, I grew up in Tinseltown. Projects about Da Life and Da Biz tend not to score big at the BO because they're too .... umm ... narcissistic; is that the word I'm looking for? Or is it "cannibalistic"? Or both?
Which is why The Real Deal has a sharp, hard cutting edge to it. In my opinion, the best movie ever made about the movie business itself was "The Departed". "No", you might be thinking, "that's a movie about organized crime, about vicious, paranoid, murderous gangsters preying on and betraying each other". Exactly, Sweet Pea. Change the monikers to "Suits", "Agents" and "Business Managers", you're standing on the corner of Hollywood and Vine.
Show Biz is much harder than it looks from the outside. It's a hard, hard life. People try to bury others to get ahead. Forget fictional Vince and his hip little posse. They made hate, torture and angst seem easy and fun.
Pass.
Forgive my retching.
Look, Chiefie, I grew up in Tinseltown. Projects about Da Life and Da Biz tend not to score big at the BO because they're too .... umm ... narcissistic; is that the word I'm looking for? Or is it "cannibalistic"? Or both?
Which is why The Real Deal has a sharp, hard cutting edge to it. In my opinion, the best movie ever made about the movie business itself was "The Departed". "No", you might be thinking, "that's a movie about organized crime, about vicious, paranoid, murderous gangsters preying on and betraying each other". Exactly, Sweet Pea. Change the monikers to "Suits", "Agents" and "Business Managers", you're standing on the corner of Hollywood and Vine.
Show Biz is much harder than it looks from the outside. It's a hard, hard life. People try to bury others to get ahead. Forget fictional Vince and his hip little posse. They made hate, torture and angst seem easy and fun.
Pass.
Forgive my retching.
1
I enjoyed Entourage, but there was almost no way this could be a good movie. I watched the show, but it's not big-screen material and, in addition, too much time has passed.
2
Ewww, THAT hurt!
Mr. Scott, next time, tell us how you really feel about a movie. Seeing as I was never a fan of the Entourage TV show, I guess I don't need to get involved at this point in this franchise. Now, Emmanuelle Chriqui, I may want to know what she is in next...
2
The first season of Entourage was a well written ensemble piece, the 1970's " Bruce Jenner" of the 30 minute sitcoms which sadly has metamorphasised into the 2015's "Caitlin Jenner" of reboots.
2
What if this review is a nostalgic dash of irony? I'm assuming the author loved the movie, but is being ironic regarding the many negative reviews that both Vinny & Drama received during the show... Lol
The Bro-outrage at Scott's review is amusing.
15
Thank goodness for social media it makes the opinions and relevance of news paper reviews mute. Entourage was great, not because it was over the top, infused with car chases or unbelievable plots, but simply a Hollywood story about friends in the business and all that surrounds it. It was a exactly what viewers expected and it didn’t disappoint.
2
You clearly don't know the realities of the entertainment industry. The "Entourage" story was about as realistic as a Disney animated film...merely horndog losers' fantasies about what they, as third party bystanders, naively believed it was like.
8
I'm assuming you're an expert on the entertainment industry yourself?
For me, Entourage the HBO Series began it's downward spiral when Vince Chase started dating porn stars and ended up in rehab - that killed it for me.
I however will go see the movie when it opens this weekend as I'm a fan of Adrian Grenier.
I however will go see the movie when it opens this weekend as I'm a fan of Adrian Grenier.
1
Look at the Critics review on the Aggregator sites like RT and Metacritic, then look at the Audience/User reviews on those same pages.
The Audience loves it, despite the critics insistence to demonize the movie because it doesn't fit their social agenda and commentary of today.
One review stated its 2015 not 2005, as if that makes a difference.
This movie was excellent, because it stayed true to its formula. It reminded Entourage fans that the early days of the show, when it was excellent, can be rehashed. We got familiar catch phrases and character nuances that we fell in love with in the first place.
Can a show about guys, be a show about guys without all the PC "Im offended" destruction that seems to be plaguing the social media generation?
Great movie, go buy a ticket, and CHILL OUT.
The Audience loves it, despite the critics insistence to demonize the movie because it doesn't fit their social agenda and commentary of today.
One review stated its 2015 not 2005, as if that makes a difference.
This movie was excellent, because it stayed true to its formula. It reminded Entourage fans that the early days of the show, when it was excellent, can be rehashed. We got familiar catch phrases and character nuances that we fell in love with in the first place.
Can a show about guys, be a show about guys without all the PC "Im offended" destruction that seems to be plaguing the social media generation?
Great movie, go buy a ticket, and CHILL OUT.
2
Just like Justin Bieber's fans who think he is the greatest artist ever, Entourage fans will defend the movie in the same manner.
31
I started out a big fan of the show, and the feeling morphed within a couple of seasons not just into indifference and boredom with it, but outright revulsion.
The thought of watching it now is rather like the idea of watching Rush Limbaugh stuffing his face with a meal only he could afford, with sauce smeared on his shirt and expensive champagne spilled on his crotch. And hearing him complain he can't get out of his chair. That's basically what the show was, except with prettier faces and even less self-awareness and more self-entitlement on the part of the characters.
A.O. Scott is right -- the very thought of it inspires disgust, and the ads for the movie don't change that feeling either.
The thought of watching it now is rather like the idea of watching Rush Limbaugh stuffing his face with a meal only he could afford, with sauce smeared on his shirt and expensive champagne spilled on his crotch. And hearing him complain he can't get out of his chair. That's basically what the show was, except with prettier faces and even less self-awareness and more self-entitlement on the part of the characters.
A.O. Scott is right -- the very thought of it inspires disgust, and the ads for the movie don't change that feeling either.
16
Not a surprise that AO Scott would pan this movie; he clearly was not a fan of the show either. But Entourage was never meant to be anything more than puerile escapism, and as such was a better show than Sex in the City could ever be. I'm sure I will enjoy this movie more than any of the comic book or natural disaster garbage that passes for summer movies these days.
4
Mr. Scott did you miss something in your rush to review from your point of view? I mean thank god you are an intellectual and not vapid and vague with a lot of excess cash. Mark Wahlberg always has something to say in terms of social criticism so maybe the juxtaposition of Warren Buffet ( a stand in for some values and personal financial conservatism) and mindless hedonism is the point? I find that very entertaining. Maybe the fact that most people who attain financial freedom don't really know what to do with their excess cash is the point that is being made here, and yes their excesses are boring to the rest of us? But wait that is fueling the economy under current tax codes. Then point well made on the part of Wahlberg no? The world's problems could be solved with the appropriate application of noblesse oblige n'est pas? Instead of this extravagant wheel spinning. Is that what he is saying? Care to rewatch and rethink, with out being reactionary? I dare you....
Whose point of view should Mr. Scott review from? Yours?
1
"Mark Wahlberg always has something to say in terms of social criticism…" LULZ
I am betting on an inevitable companion piece: "Californication: The Movie."
1
Okay, that was genius-I was just thinking the same thing. Another misogynistic, repetitious, irritating but not in a good way piece of crap. Except that I like David Duchovny, and he can actually act-and has far more brains than any of those "Entourage" buffoons.
2
Not owning a TV, I had never heard of the show; however I will watch it just to see Ronda Rousey. The parts of the trailer containing her scenes are worth the price of renting it.
This is a terrific review and a rare case of vapid filmmakers being taken to task for unleashing their tripe on the public. Maybe it's a period piece, like some kind of less-talented version of Sunset Boulevard. What's too bad is that there are 1,000 stories of compelling pathos unfolding every day in the lives of folks still trying to make it in Hollywood. This movie could've been a lot more interesting had they shown the bro's in real situations, interacting with real Los Angeles rather than just ensconced in their bubble of privilege and totally oblivious.
12
Have you ever even watched the show?
AO Scott doesn't get Entourage. What it is. And what it's not.
On TV, it's a low drama series where the usual TV plot twists happen - drugs, breakups, guns, infidelity - but the take on it is light.
On TV, it's a low drama series where the usual TV plot twists happen - drugs, breakups, guns, infidelity - but the take on it is light.
3
I feel like the waited too long to make the movie the show was canceled for three years before they start working on the movie. As far as it not being a good movie you are probably not a fan of the show which happened to be one of hbo's flagship shows along with the Sopranos and Sex in the city however, but just because you didn't understand the concept the show as well the movie you don't have to trash it.
1
First I read Mark Olsen of the LAT, A.O. Scott makes it two big thumbs down, way down. I'll wait for the DVD or HBO to see this movie. 'Entourage' the HBO series as a whole was just guy fluff and product placement but it did have some quality moments with Martin Landau, Val Kilmer, James Woods, Eric Roberts, Matt Damon and even Gary Busey. That's about it for me other than to put in a recommendation for 'Episodes' on Showtime as a very funny "industry" show.
3
"Episodes" is a smart take on the business...the complete opposite of this junk.
6
Episodes is easily the funniest comedy nobody watches.
2
This review was a fun read, thanks AO Scott. I am sure the people very excited about this film won't care about the reviews, but as someone who did watch and enjoy the show for the first season or two, I'll pass on it. Has everyone already seen this very funny Go Fund Me campaign by a woman who is raising money for pediatric cancer by offering to see Entourage? Quite hilarious writing http://www.gofundme.com/v4csqe6p
4
I found many of the comments amusing, if less than enlightening. Then, I found the following report sobering. Good taste (and clever comments) do not make for an accurate measure of popular desire.
"Fandango reports that 50% of its ticket sales today were for Warner Bros.’ Entourage. The feature adaptation of the Emmy-winning HBO series outsold such upcoming big pics like Jurassic World and Inside Out in the most recent 24-hour cycle as well as pics currently in release such as San Andreas."
"Fandango reports that 50% of its ticket sales today were for Warner Bros.’ Entourage. The feature adaptation of the Emmy-winning HBO series outsold such upcoming big pics like Jurassic World and Inside Out in the most recent 24-hour cycle as well as pics currently in release such as San Andreas."
3
First of all, I don't see the comparison to Sex and the City at all. Entourage is just another one of the 99 percent of mainstream media vehicles that promotes white, male privilege and heterosexual normative stereotypes. Sex and the City was revolutionary because it took on female sexuality from a female perspective and gaze in a world where women are usually the gazed upon and objectified. Also, let's not pretend like these shows are just fun escapist junk food that has no cultural impact, whatsoever. A lot of young men take their social cues from these bro movie "franchises."
14
You could say that Sex and the City promoted white female privilege as well.
And that last film where the characters traveled to Dubai was worse than awful.
And that last film where the characters traveled to Dubai was worse than awful.
2
@TimesReader:
I think you are being entirely too polemical. I never saw Vince's or Carrie's baboon troops as being anything profound, let alone a trope for American sexual mores or sexual dysplasia itself circa 2005. Rather, both were commercial calculations, and pretty cynical ones at that.
The goal was relatively simple and entirely about business -- that is to say, parochial: in a world awash in DOA media products create a brand that's easily remembered and slick enough to attract and hold attention so millions of consumers are eager to watch and pay for the privilege every week. In that sense, Candace Bushnell pre-sold "Sex and The City", which is high-concept ("Entourage" is not), to its prospective audience through her newspaper column, why she was too valuable for the show's producers to simply rip-off.
But after watching either for about five minutes you basically know everything you need to know. Both fantasies simply mirrored what their "hyphenates" (writer-producers) thought was going on in the rest of the world around them, a world beyond reach. Like all true leaders they followed. And they certainly weren't remotely interested in "promoting white male privilege and heterosexual normative stereotypes", or promoting anything really -- besides next week's episode.
Furthermore, as my late grandmother (who came of age more than a century ago) told me in deadpan seriousness, "believe it or not, nothing has really changed. We just didn't talk about it as much."
I think you are being entirely too polemical. I never saw Vince's or Carrie's baboon troops as being anything profound, let alone a trope for American sexual mores or sexual dysplasia itself circa 2005. Rather, both were commercial calculations, and pretty cynical ones at that.
The goal was relatively simple and entirely about business -- that is to say, parochial: in a world awash in DOA media products create a brand that's easily remembered and slick enough to attract and hold attention so millions of consumers are eager to watch and pay for the privilege every week. In that sense, Candace Bushnell pre-sold "Sex and The City", which is high-concept ("Entourage" is not), to its prospective audience through her newspaper column, why she was too valuable for the show's producers to simply rip-off.
But after watching either for about five minutes you basically know everything you need to know. Both fantasies simply mirrored what their "hyphenates" (writer-producers) thought was going on in the rest of the world around them, a world beyond reach. Like all true leaders they followed. And they certainly weren't remotely interested in "promoting white male privilege and heterosexual normative stereotypes", or promoting anything really -- besides next week's episode.
Furthermore, as my late grandmother (who came of age more than a century ago) told me in deadpan seriousness, "believe it or not, nothing has really changed. We just didn't talk about it as much."
1
I fit the white, male privilege and heterosexual normative stereotype, and I gotta say, it's GREAT!
2
What? AO Scott doesn't love this movie? Unbelievable...
5
This series was built on observations of Wahlberg and his buddies' antics trying to be come a star plus hangers-on. You were expecting maybe Chekov? The show can be a hoot, not quite as funny as The Sopranos, but eerily close to what Hollywood is like. I watched an episode with my wife in the room. After about half way through, she turned and said "Honey, now I know what you must feel like when I watch 'Sex and the City'".
9
Entourage shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as the Sopranos.
3
Jeremy Piven is even worse in Mr. Selfridge.
23
Yes. Embarrassingly awful.
3
Like "Sex in the City," HBO sold its franchise for a hopelessly outdated film version. These shows were great because they were of their time.
2
SATC was a bit "ahead of its time but...how, exactly, was "Entourage" a prescient series????
3
A.O. Scott's review of the "Entourage" reminds me of Pete Well's review of Guy Fieri's restaurant in NYC: did you guys run out of things to do this week?
No one ever watched Entourage on HBO expecting Olivier quality acting; just pure escapism in a thirty (30) minute tablet. Most of us were willing to kick back with a beer and enjoy a few laughs, and trust me, compared to some of the thirty (30) minutes sitcoms on the networks this year, Entourage was a high art.
Not all of us can take a steady dose of films that were lauded over at Cannes. Every now and then it's nice to see a movie that has a beginning; a middle: and an ending that does not require a movie critic to tell us what it meant.
No one ever watched Entourage on HBO expecting Olivier quality acting; just pure escapism in a thirty (30) minute tablet. Most of us were willing to kick back with a beer and enjoy a few laughs, and trust me, compared to some of the thirty (30) minutes sitcoms on the networks this year, Entourage was a high art.
Not all of us can take a steady dose of films that were lauded over at Cannes. Every now and then it's nice to see a movie that has a beginning; a middle: and an ending that does not require a movie critic to tell us what it meant.
27
In other words, Entourage is fun garbage for dopes and movie critics are high falutin' city folk.
1
David Selznick once likened Hollywood the pyramids--that they would just gradually disintegrate and there would be nothing left. Entourage will go down in history as a chronicle of the Industry at its nadir.
4
And to think I was once worried that the passing of the late, great Roger Ebert had deprived us of critic worthy enough to boldly proclaim 'Your Movie Sucks', but Mr. Scott has proudly taken up this mantle and wielded his pen like the mightiest of swords skewering and flaying this vapid venal exercise in vanity like an unsuspecting House Bolton subject. Wonderfully done.
41
Shows intended to tell stories in brief episodes are rarely substantial enough for a full-length movie. I stuck with the series to the end (on library DVDs) but when I saw the previews for this, my jaw dropped. Not happenin', even on a free DVD. Too costly!
4
But who don't like boobies!
10
Funny how its not cool to like this show anymore.
14
Because blah blah something white male privilege and trigger warnings about rich people. Same Berkeley nonsense that gets Great Gatsby banned from the reading lists. Pell Grant recipients fee-fees got a boo-boo from seeing that there are people better off than they are.
I don't care. I'm going to see it. For the thrill of the Chase.
I don't care. I'm going to see it. For the thrill of the Chase.
I never liked and couldn't understand how anyone could. Nothing to do with political correctness, it was just dumb and boring.
AO Scott is one of the finest living prose writers in the English language. Sometimes I feel the whole film industry exists only so that he can write these masterpieces.
51
I don't think Mr. Scott liked the movie. Or did I miss something?
12
Is anybody really surprised? Furthermore, was anyone really asking for an "Entourage" movie??
35
The actors were.
I recently watched some late season episodes of Entourage.
With the exception of Kevin Dillon's Johnny, there is no one
to like. The world moved on.
With the exception of Kevin Dillon's Johnny, there is no one
to like. The world moved on.
12
Mr. Scott, you have restored my faith in NY Times critics that was shattered when Manohla Dargis rated "Spring Breakers" a Critics Pick.
26
Oooh, I respectfully disagree...it was because of that review that I decided to watch it...expecting to "hate" it, since I have no connection whatsoever with the spring break scene nowadays....my college era spring break in Florida in the '70's was sooo tame in comparison. But the "rabbit hole" it went down and how it got there was mesmerizing and well acted.
Or when she wrote that Jack Black deserved Best Actor over Daniel Day-Lewis' Lincoln.
I'm still baffled over that one.
I'm still baffled over that one.
That was one of the best reviews I've read in a long time. Respect, AO Scott.
40
I'm sorry you had to endure this garbage, even for money. I would think the Times would assign such movies to interns or something, maybe androids.
OTOH, maybe it's punishment for the good reviews you've written for bad movies (I will never forgive you for Much Ado About Nothing).
OTOH, maybe it's punishment for the good reviews you've written for bad movies (I will never forgive you for Much Ado About Nothing).
8
Wheedon's Much Ado is one of the best Shakespeare movies. Ever!
5
From viewing two and a half seasons of the TV show, my view is much the same as Mr. Scott's view of the movie. Vince Chase, the supposed center of the group of friends, is uninterestingly quiet, low-key, "bland and passive" (in Scott's terms), hard to buy as a star. The big-budget comic-book movie that occupies the second season is hard to buy as a James Cameron project. Everybody seems to be rolling in money. The guys' hijinks seldom cost them anything. Women appear as decoration more than as characters; Ari's wife is referred to as "Mrs. Ari" by the guys, as if she has no first name at all. Ari and Johnny provide flashes of humor, which so far have kept me watching, but the show seems mainly to be a male fantasy (money! privilege! women! cars and stars and big houses!) without much direction, and I can't help wondering how many people connected with it. Enough to justify eight seasons and now a movie? I don't get it.
17
The show is called "Entourage" not "Movie Star"
The show was never about Vince.
The show was never about Vince.
The male version of sex in the city
10
Except that the women in Sex and the City actually liked and respected men--and hoped to have a mature relationship with them. The same cannot be said for Vince and his entourage. Although his agent Ari did love his wife.
9
Bingo! Every bit as shallow, materialistic, sex-obsessed, and intrinsically vapid.
One doesn't go to their local pub for a Michelin star experience. I'll see this movie and I won't over analyze it, or complain about it when it's over. This show has always been nothing but a guilty pleasure, a really great one at that. Expecting it to be more than that is missing the whole point. It's simple brain candy. And sometimes, this is exactly what I hunger for.
27
Except that Scott's whole point is that this film for him totally didn't work even as a guilty pleasure. He was saying that on any level, the movie stinks.
30
No pleasure, no matter how it's viewed. Just boring. Made the mistake of seeing it before reading this review, although I had a bad feeling. Only interesting thing in the trailer or the movie was Ronda.
AO Scott, I love you.
65
Me too. Seriously. Thank you.
3
You obviously like easy targets. So what did you think of Sex & the City (or Entourage for chicks)?
4
To Inframan: I think the implication is that both Entourage and Sex in the City were well-done series, clever, funny, and insightful about friendship, but the two-hour movies that continued the two story lines of these comedies were inferior to the originals.
2
Like a lot of guys, I've watched the entire series from beginning to end. I can safely say it was all down hill after the third episode of the first season.
16
Hilarious review. "Axe body spray," "Maxim," "you wonder how you got there..."
Funny how a quick review can have more wit and wisdom than a 2 hour 30 million dollar movie.
I won't go see this.
Funny how a quick review can have more wit and wisdom than a 2 hour 30 million dollar movie.
I won't go see this.
86
I'm going to go to the theater to see it anyway.
9
Should be some top notch toplessness, after all.
2
I have yet to see a single episode of the series because I can't afford HBO.
But I plan on seeing it multiple times just to make angry butch feminists stomp their feet until they tire themselves out.
NB: Am female.
But I plan on seeing it multiple times just to make angry butch feminists stomp their feet until they tire themselves out.
NB: Am female.
It'll take more than one bad review for me to give up on "Entourage" - but I'm not surprised at the pan. The series at its best was clever and quick, well-written and acted, and - to we laymen - a realistic peek into the ingredients of a Hollywood star's life. Early Billy Walsh, the Sherpa, Wick - great characters. But a series has time to let things play out slowly, mix different story lines, slowly fill the cup. A movie has to get it all done in 2 hours, which means that Hollywood puts away the calligraphy brushes and brings out the hammers and loudspeakers. It just doesn't trust itself, or us, that it can make something sophisticated and meaningful that is also popular.
13
Do you really think that the HBO series sustained its first season-and-a-half of wry, funny satiric insight about boy-babes in Hollywood? Not so, for this former viewer.
I'm all for TV's guilty pleasures but ENTOURAGE on the small screen lost its punch and never regained it. If the movie aimed to pick up where the series left off, it had its work cut out for it. Seems like it's still wide of the mark.
I'm all for TV's guilty pleasures but ENTOURAGE on the small screen lost its punch and never regained it. If the movie aimed to pick up where the series left off, it had its work cut out for it. Seems like it's still wide of the mark.
1
Adrian Grenier in a swimming pool.
That's all the review I need to hear. Rrrrrow.
That's all the review I need to hear. Rrrrrow.
Looks like their choices in sunglasses may be the most interesting thing in the movie.
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