'Entourage' Movie Review: Does It Live Up to the Hype?

— -- By Adrian Grenier, Jeremy Piven and Kevin Connolly

Rated R

Four out of five stars

"Entourage" is one of those shows you either loved or hated. Count me as one of the people who loved the HBO series, though my interest waned over time. And, like many others, I really didn’t think an "Entourage" movie would work. I was absolutely wrong.

Vince (Adrian Grenier) has just annulled his very brief marriage, so when we first see him and his friends, they’re partying on what looks to be a $100 million yacht off the coast of Ibiza with mostly women, many of whom are topless, and only a handful of guys. It’s not long before Vince is on the phone with his former agent, Ari (Jeremy Piven), who’s now the head of a studio and wants Vinny to star in the very first movie he makes. Vinny’s willing, as long as he directs the movie.

Cue Jane’s Addiction! (The band’s “Superhero” is the "Entourage" theme song. In case you were wondering.)

Cut to Vinny and his entourage as the subject of a piece by Piers Morgan, who has one of the many cameos in the movie. It’s clever and amusing, but not hilarious. Don’t worry, though, the hilarious is coming. The Piers Morgan piece serves as creative exposition and a nice setup for the rest of the action. See, Vince’s movie is running way over budget and when they ask Ari, for the third time, for more money, Ari is forced to go to Texas to see the movie’s financier, Larsen McCredle (Billy Bob Thornton) and beg for more cash. This time, McCredle isn’t just going to write another check. Instead, he dispatches his son, Travis (Haley Joel Osment), a spoiled egomaniac, to L.A. to decide whether the movie is worth the investment.

In the meantime, E, or Eric (Kevin Connolly), is no longer with Sloan (Emmanuelle Chriqui). But she is nine months pregnant with his child, so they attend Lamaze classes together while Eric, uncharacteristically, is sleeping with other women.

As for the rest of the entourage, Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) is now in great shape and reaping the rewards of a well-executed business venture, while Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) is hoping his role in Vinny’s movie will change his life.

I’ll leave the story there. This isn’t a knock on the series but it turns out “Entourage,” the movie, may also be the best episode of "Entourage," the TV show. It’s hard to prepare anybody for the dizzying number of celebrity cameos packed into this movie, just about every one of which is great. You are going to laugh, a lot.