Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Entourage: The Movie Blu-ray Movie Review

"It's not a relationship. I'm just having fun."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown September 22, 2015

The boys are back in town... for a decidedly small-screen big screen extension of the Entourage TV series. Creator Doug Ellin's little-Hollywood-comedy-that-could is bigger, bawdier and more expensive than its HBO incarnation, but, sadly, those feature film ambitions are shallow and superficial. Entourage: The Movie struggles to piece together a story compelling enough to justify the theatrical hype, settling for more of the same. There are pricier boats and planes galore, grander mansions and faster cars, and more real-world supermodels, industry moguls and A-list cameos than the series ever had, sure. But there's also a reliance on paper-thin subplots and familiar week-to-week TV safety nets that make the film play more like a mini-season of the show, which begs the question: why go theatrical? Why not trim the budget and air virtually the same movie on HBO? Does all the money being flashed on screen equal a better product? Not in this case. Does that mean Entourage: The Movie is a complete bust? Perhaps by box office standards. But as an extension of the show, it offers quite a bit of fun for fans who followed the series' eight-season run. I laughed and had a pretty good time. I also walked away shrugging my shoulders, happy to have caught up with Vinnie and the gang, but already forgetting the bulk of what I'd watched.

Movie star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), together with his best friend turned producer and agent Eric (Kevin Connolly), gopher turned entrepreneur Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and big brother Johnny (Kevin Dillon), are back… and back in business with super-agent, now studio head Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) working to help Chase realize his latest dream: directing one of his passion projects. Some of their ambitions have changed, but the bond between them remains strong as they navigate the capricious and often cutthroat world of Hollywood. The film also stars Billy Bob Thornton and Haley Joel Osment as father and son Larsen and Travis McCredle, Perrey Reeves as Ari Gold's wife, Emmanuelle Chriqui as Eric's on-again/off-again love interest Sloan, Debi Mazar as Vince's publicist Shauna, Rex Lee as the ever-faithful Lloyd, Constance Zimmer as Ari's colleague Dana Gordon, and champion UFC fighter Ronda Rousey as herself.

Much like the series it follows, the best bits in Entourage: The Movie belong to Piven's Ari Gold. The film might have actually been stronger had it ditched the boys entirely and followed Ari's trials as studio head. Little has changed with Eric, other than a dip in likability. Vinnie is still a touch bland for a supposed mega star. Turtle's finest scenes come at his own expense, despite his success. (Rousey doesn't help Ferrara, spending all her screentime fighting her limitations as an actress.) Johnny is... Johnny. No change there, other than an inexplicable eleventh hour comeback that occurs off screen. And Hyde, Entourage's "brilliant" movie within a movie looks awful. So awful. (Based on the single scene we get anyway.) But Ari? Piven is a profane poet, leaping from bewildered assistant to dumbfounded power player with increasingly hilarious rants and verbal tirades. Watching him desperately temper his rage when Mrs. Ari enters the ring is priceless; watching him bet big on Vinnie, to the point of risking it all yet again, is somehow thrilling, no matter how weak Ellin's screenplay is at times.

Otherwise there isn't much spark to the film. It's often more fun to spot cameos by the dozen -- Mark Wahlberg, Jessica Alba, Liam Neeson, Common, Jon Favreau, Gary Busey, Bob Saget, Mark Cuban, Andrew Dice Clay, David Faustino, Judy Greer, Richard Schiff, Armie Hammer and my favorite guest spot of the flick, Kelsey Grammer -- than follow the characters themselves. The film is more indulgent than the series too, which only further emphasizes style over substance. Of course, it's possible Ellin is more clever than it appears. It's possible Entourage: The Movie has a smarter splash of satire than it seems. Or, more likely, the Entourage crew is just excited to be running around LA with $27 million for a budget, when what would have really served the film is a sharper script. The most welcome change Ellin makes to the TV formula, though, is positioning Hyde as a masterpiece in a great bait-n-switch during Entourage's first act. For the next hour, Ari and the boys aren't racing to salvage a bad movie; they're racing to make sure Vince's vision is fully realized. Putting Ari more firmly in Vince's corner gives the movie some much-needed momentum and an extra helping of cast chemistry, with Gold and Chase aligning early and often.

Entourage: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Entourage: The Movie walks the red carpet with a confident and capable 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation that looks every bit as impressive as it should. Rich, warm Los Angeles colors are paired with strong primaries for a striking image, while carefully balanced saturation, lifelike skintones and natural, well-resolved black levels keep the Hollywood spectacle grounded in reality. (Contrast is a bit hot at times, particularly when the boys venture outside, but only insofar as Steven Fierberg's cinematography and the at-times blazing California sun dictate.) Detail is terrific too. Edges are crisp, without any ringing or aliasing of note. Fine textures are refined and revealing. And delineation is excellent. Moreover, the encode is pristine. No macroblocking, banding or errant noise to report.

Entourage: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Like the series, Entourage: The Movie layers bass-heavy music atop a surprisingly natural soundscape to effective ends. Warner's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track doesn't disappoint either. Dialogue is clean, intelligible and carefully prioritized, even in scenes involving crowded, on occasion chaotic parties at Turtle's mansion. Low-end output is strong and able-bodied. Rear speaker activity is quite enveloping, with accurate directional effects and a fairly immersive soundfield. And dynamics deliver too, without exception.

Entourage: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Gang: Still Rockin' It (HD, 14 minutes): Creator Doug Ellin is joined by actors Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara and Jeremy Piven to discuss the genesis of Entourage, its eight-season run on HBO, the series' appeal and success, and the development of the big screen reunion.
• Hollywood, Baby! (HD, 8 minutes): A more traditional making-of EPK that focuses on the process of raising the stakes from the show to the movie. Interview snippets feature producer Mark Wahlberg, Ellin, Connolly, Grenier, Dillon, Ferrara and Piven.
• The Making of Hyde (HD, 5 minutes): An in-character featurette covering the shoot of the opening scene of director Vinnie Chase's Hyde, Entourage's movie within a movie.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 19 minutes): A collection of deleted, extended and alternate scenes.
• Meet the Newest Member of Entourage (HD, 2 minutes): Doug Ellin's son Lucas then...
• Lucas Ellin is Jonah Gold (HD, 2 minutes): And Lucas now.
• Gag Reel (HD, 3 minutes): Crack-ups with cast and crew.

Entourage: The Movie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Entourage didn't exactly need a movie. Another season maybe, but a feature film? Ellin is short on ideas, and what fun there is builds on a nonstop string of series references. Fans of the show will enjoy the reunion, no doubt. Just not as much as they might expect. Warner's Blu-ray release is better, thanks to a first rate AV presentation. The disc is a bit light on extras -- no commentary? -- but no matter. If you loved the series, there's no reason to skip Entourage: The Movie. Otherwise stick with renting its big screen extension.