Unfinished Business

I thought Vince Vaughn and I hit it off a few years ago when he was on my show. I am not saying we became best pals or anything, but we had a fun conversation, and he was able to promote his new movie. Instead, I fear I inspired him to create a character in Unfinished Business with a name “borrowed” from me in an unflattering way.

Vaughn stars as Dan Trunkman – a sales guy pushed too far. When the boss, Chuck Portnoy (Sienna Miller), informs him he must take a pay cut after the best and most challenging year of his career, Dan is fed up.

He decides to start his own company to compete with Chuck, but the only two people who want to join Dan are Tim McWinters (Tom Wilkinson), who is being forced to retire due to his age, and Mike Pancake (Dave Franco), a mentally challenged young man who feels this is a step up from selling sneakers at the mall (who is ordered not to tell anyone his last name because it is distracting).

A year later, Dan is about to close a deal that will save the company, but Chuck shows up, and the whole contract, as well as the future of these three, is in peril.

Will Dan and the gang have what it takes to beat the big corporation?

I guess they call it Unfinished Business because they meant to put in all of the jokes later, but forgot?

Writer Steve Conrad seems caught between making a raunchy, R-rated road trip movie and a heartfelt film about a father regretful over how his struggle for the legal tender has taken him away from the family and wife that truly matter. He should have chosen one or the other, because this mish mash isn’t working on either account.

The R-rated zany part of Unfinished Business feels like a rush to the joke, instead of telling the story. Director Ken Scott must think this stuff is hilarious because every scene is designed to get to the joke as quickly as possible with story just being an afterthought.

Yet, Unfinished Business isn’t very fun at all, since little of the material has any context, and Vaughn can’t save it no matter how hard he tries to do his Vince Vaughn thing.

Then, as we watch the gang engaging in all sorts of debauchery overseas, the audience is being asked to feel some emotion for Dan’s family situation, but how are we supposed to take the movie seriously? The two tones don’t go together, so the scenes feel crammed in next to each other, which would force the audience to change emotions on a dime, if we cared. Pick one!

Given how Unfinished Business has been sold to audiences, it’s hard to believe anyone buying a ticket expected a heartfelt story about a family man. They have been promised a crazy, outrageous farce that isn’t crazy nor outrageous.

I wish they “borrowed” my name for something better.

Unfinished Business is rated R for some strong risqué sexual content/graphic nudity, and for language and drug use.