1/5 Unfinished Business For all of the five people that enjoyed the last Ken Scott/Vince Vaughn collaboration, you are in luck. It’s been two years since Delivery Man, but in that time, Vaughn has continued his plunge into jaded mediocrity and Scott has failed to regain the small spark of 2011’s Starbuck. Worst of all, Unfinished Business, about three mismatched schmucks who take a business trip to Europe in a last ditch effort to save their company, just may be the worst film any of the creative talent has been involved with. That is saying something for Vaughn, who has not had a substantial role in a great film since 2005’s Wedding Crashers. Sometimes a super-successful role such as this can be the worse thing to happen to an actor. In a case similar to the Johnny Depp/Jack Sparrow situation, Wedding Crashers locked Vaughn into a pouty man-child, usually with a heart of gold, typecast that he has not been able to shake for a decade. Hopefully his upcoming role in the second season of True Detective can set him on a more fruitful path. Until then, we are stuck with this garbage. Vaughn plays Dan Trunkman, a straight-up guy who quits his job and starts a new business. On his way out the door, he teams up with two guys of equal loser status. The great Oscar-nominated Tom Wilkinson plays Timothy, an older man in an unhappy marriage who fantasizes about affairs with hotel maids. Seeing someone this good stumble is a tragedy in its own right. Then there is Mike Pancake, played by an ill-cast Dave Franco, a character not stupid enough to be considered a simpleton, but no smart enough to be considered normal. He really is a horrendous creation, aided none by Franco’s awkward portrayal. The cocky jerks of 21 Jump Street and Neighbors are much more his speed. | Director: Ken Scott Starring: Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco, Sierra Miller, James Marsden, Nick Frost Writer: Steve Conrad |
Now that I have talked about the three leads, there really is not much left for me to discuss. None of the characters really have true arcs, unless you consider he-really-wants-to-have-sex-and-he-eventually-does an arc. The purpose of Timothy and Mike never reaches beyond these uninspiring, laughs characterizations. Dan has to deal with his kids back home, who are dealing with bullying at school. Despite its brief glimpses of tenderness, these storylines, like all the rest, begin and end as dead and uninspired as the jokes that are supposedly this film’s drawl.
Not a chance. Unfinished Business is one of the least clever, most unfunny films I have had the displeasure of seeing so far this year - and I saw Hot Pursuit. Not once do any of the actors look inspired, or even like they are having a good time. These look like easy paydays and contract obligations. From the opening scene, I could never shake that feeling that everything was, well, unfinished. Better luck next time? Better yet, let’s just break up Vaughn and Scott for good.
(Available on Redbox)
Not a chance. Unfinished Business is one of the least clever, most unfunny films I have had the displeasure of seeing so far this year - and I saw Hot Pursuit. Not once do any of the actors look inspired, or even like they are having a good time. These look like easy paydays and contract obligations. From the opening scene, I could never shake that feeling that everything was, well, unfinished. Better luck next time? Better yet, let’s just break up Vaughn and Scott for good.
(Available on Redbox)