unfinished business
2015 review number 44:
Unfinished Business: (Comedy): 33 out of 100: Have you ever seen a comedy where you can count the number of times you laughed on one hand? That's actually being generous because they were more like smiles. Have you ever asked yourself what possessed some decent actors to appear in such nonsense? The answer probably lies in the money they received for appearing. Unfortunately, that hard-earned money of yours along with your precious time will be wasted on this tripe. Luckily I had time to spare and this movie cost me nothing to see.
Vince Vaughn plays a small business owner named Dan who goes to Europe with his two associates, Timothy (Tom Wilkinson) and Mike (Dave Franco). They plan to close an important deal after being neglected by their company back in America. Along the way they come across some unusual people and situations which block their path to clinching the deal.
There are some interesting ideas but they're not executed well at all with many of the jokes falling flat. There is a fair bit of crude humour which I normally don't mind but if it doesn't work, it just comes across as drivel, and that's exactly what happened here. It's amazing that an actor of the calibre of Wilkinson would star in this but I guess his bills needed to be paid. Vaughn can come across as a grating, motormouth sort of actor and he's abrasive and annoying here. Franco plays the naive and dumb one and although funny to begin with, his act eventually becomes tiresome.
There really isn't much of a plot with the characters just encountering different situations. It doesn't know whether to be a raunchy comedy or a family drama and as a result, both themes of the movie end up being boring. Also, the jokes seem to be repeated such as wheelbarrow sex so the shock value of the crude jokes is abated.
It's not all gloom and doom however as there are some great outdoor shots of Germany and the gratuitous nudity is eye-popping to say the least. The scenes in the bathhouse and bathroom will really make you sit up and take notice! They probably end up being the funniest (or least boring) scenes in the movie.
There are heaps of better vulgar comedies around. I actually felt embarrassed for some of the actors to star in this. Comedy is so subjective though that you might totally disagree with my review. However, I can guarantee that if you laugh throughout this movie, you're easily amused and you'll laugh at pretty much anything.
Starring Vince Vaughn, Dave Franco and Tom Wilkinson
(91 minutes)
Parental advice: Coarse language, nudity, sex scenes, sexual references, drug use and adult themes
Additional scene during or after credits: Yes, during the credits we see Vince Vaughn's character with his family discussing his daughter's homework then he reads her writing about what a dad is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yb9Dn2mnMg (Movie trailer)
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