COMEDY; 1hr 44min
STARRING: Adrian Grenier, Jeremy Piven, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara
Precious mettle: Piven
The Queens boys are back in town, and not just any old town but the only town that really counts. Life is a Beverly Hills bauble for Vince (Grenier), Eric (Connolly), Johnny Drama (Dillon) and Turtle (Ferrara). Vince is directing his first movie, Hyde (in which, being mega, he is also starring), green-lit by his one-time agent Ari Gold (Piven), who is now a studio head. Budgeted at $100 million, the shoot is running over, which is where Texan co-financiers Larsen McCredle (Billy Bob Thornton) and his meddlesome son Travis (Haley Joel Osment) and Ari’s caffeinated anxiety come in.
Assuming it struggles to a release, will Hyde be a hit? It has as much chance as this crowd-pleaser from director, co-writer and Entourage HBO series creator Doug Ellin: Entourage the movie is devoted holus-bolus to giving E-fans what they want. The intrigue, egos, T&A, tabloid scandal and as-themselves celebrity cameos (Jon Favreau, Kelsey Grammer, Liam Neeson, Mark Wahlberg, Pharrell…) come gift-wrapped with the sun-splashed sheen of La La Land’s poshest locales. It’s a super-sized, eye-candy indulgence, fleshed out with quick-fire banter and blokey mateship whose sincerity keeps the fizzy real.
