Unfinished Business (2015) Review!!

Synopsis – A hard-working small business owner and his two associates travel to Europe to close the most important deal of their lives. But what began as a routine business trip goes off the rails in every way imaginable – and unimaginable.

My Take – Just like the title suggests, this script of this film actually seems unfinished! Its hard to understand why director Ken Scott would make such a film which has no head or tail & no sense whatsoever about what it wants to be! Unlike his previous effort ‘Delivery Man’ (also starring Vince Vaughn), an American remake of his Canadian film “Starbuck”, which had an emotional as well comical storyline to support it at least, this film is bogged down by not only its dirty-minded tendencies but its directionless comedy and narrative as well. From the trailers, this seemed more like a comedic buddy misadventure film on the lines of The Hangover, just with better actors. But instead we are handed a film which is just dry, mainly as all the best jokes where already used in the trailer. The story follows Daniel Trunkman (Vince Vaughn), who quits his job after his boss Chuck Portnoy (Sienna Miller) tries to make him accept a five percent pay deduction. Just before walking out, he proclaims to his former coworkers that he is working on starting his own business and that anyone who wants to work for a fairer, more honest company should follow him out the door.

He’s followed by Timothy McWinters (Tom Wilkinson), an elderly man who was also just let go, and Mike Pancake (Dave Franco), a quirky, shy youngster who was interviewing for the business that same day. We fast-forward one year later, seeing the three as broke and clueless as when they started, with their only hope of achieving some income after two stagnant months is a trip to Europe to close the business deal they need in order to continue. Daniel keeps reiterating time and time again that the agreement is only a “handshake” away, but, as expected, and this goes without saying, a load of ridiculous bawdiness follows them overseas and they are left with their own wits and ridiculousness to try and make this deal work. The whole time while watching this film I had one important question in mind – what business are these men in, what is their company about, and what does this insurmountable business deal consist of? Writer Steve Conrad (the same man who penned “The Pursuit of Happiness” and “The Promotion,” which detailed something similar to this story in a more entertaining and empathetic way) dances around these ideas, with Daniel, at one point in the film, saying him and his two coworkers are in the business of selling “swarf,” or the stray metal shavings that turn up in mass amounts following the construction of a building, a bridge, or some other societal necessity. After that point is established, none the previous questions get answered. The three men talk about how revolutionary this business deal is if it goes through, but nobody takes the time to explain its effects, the monetary impact, what the three men have been doing for the past year while their business sinks like a rock, and so on. The narrative is so dead as nothing is explained or elaborated on, but in the sense that the film never manages to be funny. It lumbers through sight gags and attempts at humor that are so frequently dead-on-arrival. The only performer on hand that seems to be trying to create some level of character is Dave Franco, an actor I’ve appreciated in his last few film roles as a goofy soul who can play both clueless but confident or clueless and intimidated very well. Here, he’s the latter, and he’s often fun when he’s responding so nervously to Daniel’s requests or must recite his full name (which isn’t funny, but the film keeps trying to assert that it is) in the middle of a meeting. To be fair, Vince Vaughn and Nick Frost throw in a few laughs as well.

Frost is especially hilarious, especially about his confused sexuality. There are times you really want to like Vince Vaughn & maybe root for him, but he’s trapped in a film with a worthless family and mediocre sub-plots that come with them, he seems nothing less than walking breathing cardboard cut out through the entire film. Same goes for Tom Wilkinson, who tries so hard he seems like an unlikable creepy guy playing around with teenagers. Sienna Miller doesn’t have much to do. Vince Vaughn has just been digging a bigger hole for himself with every movie (& now TV as he is pretty terrible in HBO’s True Detective Season 2) he has done and this may be his all time worst. Never have I seen a comedy that tries to throw so much at us, yet I cannot think of one joke that I remember laughing at. The formula here is to show something gross, talking something business, banter, another gross thing, and repeat until the end. On the whole, ‘Unfinished Business’ is a miserably unfunny film, lumbering from one situation to the next in a stumbling fashion, making ninety minutes out to be an absolutely laborious affair on all counts. It packs nothing but an exhausting array of failed jokes and an empty plot, a mess certainly that can’t rebound and its writing/directing team sure can’t save once the cameras begin rolling. If you were perfectly happy with watching The Internship or Delivery Man, then this film will probably be serviceable to you. I however grew tired of seeing seemingly strong comedic concepts and characters flounder in Vince Vaughn’s movies! I rather watch The Best Man Holiday (2013).