Director: Ken Scott
MPAA Rating: R
Countless actors have profited through mean-spirited, ugly comedy. Few have fared as well as Vince Vaughn, whose reign atop the comedy throne has recently begun to falter. Though there is little one can say about his latest film, Unfinished Business, that is positive, at least there’s one sure good thing to come of it: this may be the final nail in the coffin of his current comedic career.
Unfinished Business pulls off the dreaded double whammy of comedy: it bores and disgusts its audience while failing miserably at evoking laughter. One of the many recurring jokes in the film revolves around a gay fetish festival. There’s not much else to the joke, except a few people are gay and that there are glory holes and dom/sub costumes. Another joke revolves around one character’s misunderstanding of how the wheelbarrow sex position works. Perhaps the strangest thing about Unfinished Business is that its jokes are essentially just punchlines, with almost no follow through on what has been set up.
Not only does Unfinished Business offend, it also makes little sense. Much of the running time is devoted to confusing business jargon, only made more frustrating by the fact that we know a minuscule amount about what Vaughn’s character’s business is (other than that he manufactures some sort of metal, which he has dubbed “swarf”). It is also unclear as to why a major corporation would take a business as small as Vaughn’s – with a grand total of three workers – so seriously.
Ken Scott directs his comedy with a surprising lack of visual flair, failing to take advantage of the full frame or even half of it. There is an astounding lack of visual gags in the forefront or background. Each image seems haphazardly thrown together with such little care. Almost all of the jokes rely on writer Steve Conrad’s nauseating dialogue. The result is a faceless feature with almost no personality with a script authored by a hormonally addled adolescent.
Somehow, the editing is even worse than the direction and script. Comedy relies quite heavily on timing and a sense of urgency. Knowing when to let a joke linger and the exact point to move on is key. As one might expect, Unfinished Business fails miserably in this regard. A inordinate number of its issues come from strange cuts and unbalanced rhythm. Before any joke can make impact, or any potentially touching or amusing morsels can be processed, the filmmakers have moved on.
Painfully dull, but mercifully short, Unfinished Business is completely, utterly inept. When Nick Frost (of Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy) shows up in a minor role, the blandness is only accentuated. One is left yearning for comedies that are made with far more care and verve.
