Entourage starring Adrian Grenier, Jerry Ferrara, Kevin Connolly, Jeremy Piven, and Kevin Dillon.
Photo: Warner Bros.

Fans of the popular HBO show Entourage waited years for the movie to happen, and when it finally did they (along with critics) mostly bashed it or didn’t even bother watching it. After a week or so, Entourage the movie slunk out of theatres, labeled a box office “flop”. The Guardian critic said it best, “Entourage is like an enthusiastic puppy, slightly tipsy on beer, humping on a stripper’s leg, but desperate to please nonetheless”. Feminists will cringe, professional critics will groan, but true fans of the show with low enough expectations will laugh and cherish the 104 minute catch-up session with Vinny, E, Turtle, Drama, and Ari.

Vince is single again and trying his hand at directing, Sloan is pregnant, Drama is (still) unemployed, and Ari is finally trying to relax. That’s just how it starts; the rest is just like an extra, extra long episode. It’s not like people didn’t binge-watch the show to begin with, so the 1 hour and 45 minutes isn’t too much to ask of the audience. Since the writer and director are the same as the show, it doesn’t stray too far in terms of content; you still get your beautiful women, nudity, sex, drugs, alcohol, and ridiculously foul language. Of course, you also get the cameos. Entourage is packed with them (40 plus change, if you’re counting)!  Some actors/athletes/musicians play themselves (Bob Saget, Gary Busey, Liam Neeson, Ronda Rousey, Mark Wahlberg, just to name very few) and some play key characters (Billy Bob Thornton and Haley Joel Osment) but all of them are just along for the ride so the audience can say, “Oh, look, it’s ____!” and to make them feel like they’re getting a tiny glimpse of Hollywood “behind the scenes”. It might get old for some people, but it’s still fun to see.

Entourage is crass, blatant macho-ism, but so was the show. It’s either considered hilarious or incredibly pathetic, there’s nothing really in between. So if you lean more towards the former, give it a chance and laugh away the evening; otherwise, steer clear – you’ll only be disappointed. Finally, if you’ve never seen the show it’s likely that you won’t get a lot of what’s going on since many of the jokes and quick banter have a lot to do with the characters’ past relationships (with the industry and with each other), so it may not be worth it.

Despite not doing so well in theatres, it’ll likely be high on the download, rental, and purchase list for those who didn’t get a chance to see it during its short stint, or those who just want to complete their collections. There are some TV characters you just miss spending an evening with, and these guys are some of them. Unfortunately, given the lack of success, it’ll probably be the last time you see them – so treasure your time together and move on.

Entourage was released in May 2015 and will be available for purchase/rental on September 29, 2015. Available now on Apple TV.

Watch the trailer: