Director: Ken Scott
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Dave Franco, Tom Wilkinson, Sienna Miller, Nick Frost
Certificate: 15
Special Features: Show Me Your Business / Gallery/ Theatrical Trailer
Unfinished Business is sold as one of those ‘unimaginable outcomes’ movies but, disappointingly, everything about it is obvious and been done before and with a whole host more of natural laughs. The film does have a good heart beneath the bravado because it really does aim for the right targets with themes of family and finding yourself, but despite a decent cast, there’s not much here to embrace.
Initially set around the moment salesman Dan Trunkman (Vince Vaughn) is fired by his boss Chuck, played by Sienna Miller trying her best Rose Byrne but not hitting the mark, he decides to set up a business of his own Jerry Maguire-style and aim for a first big deal to get the company off the ground. Upon leaving his old job, he literally picks up Tim McWinters (Tom Wilkinson) and Mike Pancake (Dave Franco) in the car park and employs them because neither has a job.
Disregarding Franco’s pointless character surname, which becomes a joke that isn’t funny, his performance is entertaining and innocent as the young lad on his first vacation out of the States. He’s a quirky young actor and the film doesn’t do his prospects any harm, it’s just not a good film that surrounds some respectable actors. It’s also slightly undeserving of such talent as Wilkinson, who has a lot of pleasure with his role that includes smoking pot, hiring a sex maid and taking a pill to go dancing and standing in the middle of a whole room of pillow-fighting half-naked European girls, something I wouldn’t fight my way out of.
We also get a comical cameo from Nick Frost as an English businessman loving life in a German fetish party, Frost can do no wrong for me but once again – and this applies to everyone involved – the script isn’t tight enough, the directing has its moments but overall nothing really happens that you don’t see coming. If Ken Scott’s film was made 5-10 years ago, which is embodied by its quirky dated score, then this might have been something funnier and more successful but it’s all been done before and so maybe instead of being Unfinished Business, this shouldn’t be out there in the first place.
Unfinished Business out on now on Digital HD and on DVD from 13th July. Check out an exclusive clip from a scene near the opening here:
