Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco, Sienna Miller, James Marsden
Ken Scott
Ken Scott, the filmmaker behind “Starbuck” and its Hollywood remake, “Delivery Man,” has reunited with Vince Vaughn, the lead from his bland 2013 film, for another project. The idea of the director and star of that comedy teaming up again isn’t exactly enticing, and neither is the final result, because once again, the duo has failed to deliver with “Unfinished Business.”
Vaughn stars as Daniel Trunkman, a salesman who quits his unsatisfying job and goes off to start his own business. What does Trunkman sell for a living? A product so boring that it’s hardly ever mentioned in the film, and when it is, Trunkman only comments on how dull the merchandise is. Trunkman only has two employees, Timothy McWinters (Tom Wilkinson) and Mike Pancake (Dave Franco), an odd but satisfying pairing responsible for most of the film’s scarce laughs. The small company is in serious need of a sale, so when a financially promising opportunity rises, the boss and his employees will stop at nothing to close the potential deal. Their work brings them to Berlin, where they’ll have to compete against Trunkman’s old boss, Charlie (Sienna Miller), for the sale.
While “Unfinished Business” initially looks to be an ensemble comedy, it mostly rests on the shoulders of its biggest star, which is a shame. Vaughn isn’t an actor that pushes himself to new places. He has a comedic persona which he rarely strays from, often playing straight shooters with a motormouth, and that’s the character he plays once again in Scott’s film. Every comic note Vaughn hits is stale and expected. There’s nothing fresh about his style or approach anymore; it’s tired and outdated. As for Wilkinson and Franco, they’re far more energetic and engaged than their co-star.
Now that awards season is well and truly over, it’s time to turn our attention to the new movies hitting theaters this month, although from the look of things, there’s not much to get excited about. With the exception of Neill Blomkamp’s latest sci-fi treat, there isn’t a single March release that I’m genuinely looking forward to seeing, and while there’s always the possibility that one or more of these films will surprise, I wouldn’t get my hopes up just yet.
“Chappie”
Who: Sharlto Copley, Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel and Sigourney Weaver What: When a police droid named Chappie is stolen and given new programming, he becomes he first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself. When: March 6th Why: Neill Blomkamp’s “Elysium” was a disappointment on a number of levels, so it’s nice to see the director hasn’t wasted any time erasing the memory of that movie with a new sci-fi project that appears to have more in common (both tonally and thematically) with “District 9,” the film that put him on the map. The decision to reteam with Sharlto Copley – who was hands-down the best thing about Blomkamp’s previous efforts – was a no-brainer, but if there’s anything that could possibly upstage him this time around, it’s Hugh Jackman (playing against type as the film’s villain) and his glorious mullet. That, or the killer visual effects.
“Unfinished Business”
Who: Vince Vaughn, Dave Franco, Tom Wilkinson, James Marsden and Sienna Miller What: A hard-working small business owner and his two associates travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. When: March 6th Why: It’s hard to believe that Hollywood is still betting on Vince Vaughn, because he’s not the comedy star he once was. He hasn’t had anything resembling a hit in years, and it’s been just as long since his last good film, which isn’t a coincidence. Though Vaughn’s upcoming stint on “True Detective” could prove to be the launch pad for his comeback, audiences will first have to suffer through this barrage of low-brow frat humor whose biggest crime isn’t how dreadfully unfunny it looks, but that it managed to convince a classy actor like Tom Wilkinson to submit himself to such stupidity. Does he owe back taxes or something?
“Run All Night”
Who: Liam Neeson, Ed Harris, Joel Kinnaman and Genesis Rodriguez What: An aging hitman is forced to take on his brutal former boss in order to protect his estranged son and his family. When: March 13th Why: It’s great that Liam Neeson has been able to revitalize his career by playing a bunch of senior citizen badasses with a particular set of skills, but even he must realize that it’s beginning to veer towards parody. Not only does “Run All Night” reunite the actor with director Jaume Collete-Serra, whose previous collaborations include the generic action thrillers “Unknown” and “Non-Stop,” but with some basic rewrites, it could easily be the next installment in the “Taken” franchise. Neeson’s latest shoot-‘em-up does boast a better-than-usual cast with veterans like Ed Harris and Vincent D’Onofrio, but sadly, it looks like just more of the same.
