ENTOURAGE – Review by Susan Granger

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If you were enthralled by all eight seasons of the HBO show, you won’t want to miss the movie. If you’re a newbie, you’ll have an all-access pass to glitz and glam, a hedonistic fantasy of Hollywood, parodying the decadence and outrageous excesses of the entertainment industry. But who really cares read on...

about what happens to movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), his clueless half-brother, actor Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon), and their buddies from Queens: glib superagent Ari (Jeremy Piven), pizza boy-turned-manager Eric (Kevin Connolly) and driver-turned-tequila mogul Turtle (Jerry Ferrara)?

The movie picks up where the series ended, as the ‘guys’ join Vince and a bevy of bikini-clad babes aboard his luxury yacht off the coast of Spain after his five-day marriage went kaput. Newly appointed head-of-production at a major studio, Ari wants Vince to star in “Hyde” – but Vince also wants to direct.

Six months and $15 million over-budget, Vince still hasn’t finished the film. Begging for more money brings them to Texas oil billionaire Larsen McCreadle (Billy Bob Thornton) and his spoiled son, Travis (Haley Joel Osment), who’s eager to visit Hollywood and bed actress Emily Ratajkowsi.

Meanwhile, Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui) is pregnant with Eric’s baby, Ari and his wife (Perrey Reeves) are in therapy, Turtle has become involved with MMA/UFC champion Ronda Rousey, and Drama’s in crisis because his X-rated home video has been leaked online.

On TV, I suspect the slick 30-minute episodes zipped by, but this two-hour movie, written and directed by “Entourage” creator Doug Ellin drags – despite 50+ cameos, including Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Alba, Kelsey Grammer, Armie Hammer, Liam Neeson, David Spade, Matt Lauer, Pharrell Williams Gary Busey, Bob Saget, Richard Schiff, Warren Buffett, Jon Favreau, Common, and Piers Morgan, along with New England Patriots Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski, Green Bay Packer Clay Matthews and Seattle Seahawk Russell Wilson.

Since 2004, the movie business has changed; top talent agencies are now controlled by powerful private equity firms that focus on the bottom line so “Sadly, all good parties must come to an end.”

On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Entourage” is a phony 5 – bromance is a bust.

E

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Susan Granger

Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at R.K.O., M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures; her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M. As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O'Brien and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, Phi Beta Kappa, with highest honors in journalism. During her adult life, Susan has been on radio and television as an anchorwoman and movie/drama critic. Her newspaper reviews have been syndicated around the world, and she has appeared on American Movie Classics cable television. In addition, her celebrity interviews and articles have been published in REDBOOK, PLAYBOY, FAMILY CIRCLE, COSMOPOLITAN, WORKING WOMAN and THE NEW YORK TIMES, as well as in PARIS MATCH, ELLE, HELLO, CARIBBEAN WORLD, ISLAND LIFE, MACO DESTINATIONS, NEWS LIMITED NEWSPAPERS (Australia), UK DAILY MAIL, UK SUNDAY MIRROR, DS (France), LA REPUBBLICA (Italy), BUNTE (Germany), VIP TRAVELLER (Krisworld) and many other international publications through SSG Syndicate. Susan also lectures on the "Magic and Mythology of Hollywood" and "Don't Take It Personally: Conquering Criticism and other Survival Skills," originally published on tape by Dove Audio.