Unfinished Business - D

Rated R, 90 minutes
Wes's Grade: D

Flat and unfocused "Unfinished Business" is one of Vaughn's worst comedies

As much as I hate to say it, Vince Vaughn's last truly great comedy was nearly 10 years ago in "Wedding Crashers." Some of you may disagree with that assessment, but I'm afraid it's true. Vaughn is certainly charming (though annoyingly chatty) but his unfocused, unfunny new comedy "Unfinished Business" has to rank as a low point for the comic actor in spite of the actor's charms. Hard-working small business owner Dan Trunkman (Vince Vaughn) and his two associates Tim and Mike (Tom Wilkinson, Dave Franco) 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 imaginable - and unimaginable - way, including unplanned stops at a massive sex fetish event and a global economic summit. Directed by Ken Scott (who directed the Vaughn vehicle "Delivery Man") and written by Steven Conrad, the flat "Unfinished Business" is an incoherent mess, though it isn't all Vaughn's fault, given that it's simply a poorly directed and badly written film with long stretches where little, including any funny moments, happen, except to have Vaughn yak on about one thing or another. It wastes a terrific, acclaimed actor in Wilkinson, who must've needed the money, and likable one in Franco, who's character is the most baffling and unfortunate (and despite how the script treats it - having a last name of pancake is actually kinda cool): is he special needs or not, because he really doesn't act like it. The mid-section of the film, where the trip traipses across the globe, is most unfortunate, and a scene in a German bathroom with some male private parts is just gross and weird; as well, unnecessary sections with Dan's family involving a bullying subplot, in which Dan must stop and talk to them via face time, tends to make the action come to a grinding halt. You could say that "Unfinished Business" is a an unfinished, unpolished and unoriginal film, and it mostly feels like "Horrible Bosses" set on the road, except these dumb guys are just their own worst boss. This mess of a film seems to be a cry by Vaughn for career guidance (Johnny Depp needs some too), and maybe his turn in the upcoming season of TV's "True Detective" will give him some much-needed resurgence, and we look forward to seeing what that does. As for "Unfinished Business," it's one to skip.