Entertainment

R 5.7
2015 1 hr 53 min Drama , Comedy

Set in the Mojave Desert, the film follows a broken-down comedian playing clubs across the Southwest, working his way to Los Angeles to meet his estranged daughter.

  • Cast:
    Gregg Turkington , Tye Sheridan , John C. Reilly , Lotte Verbeek , Dean Stockwell , Amy Seimetz , Tim Heidecker

Reviews

Linbeymusol
2015/11/13

Wonderful character development!

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SnoReptilePlenty
2015/11/14

Memorable, crazy movie

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Hadrina
2015/11/15

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

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Allison Davies
2015/11/16

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

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picturetaker
2015/11/17

I usually dig movies like this. Ones with wide open panoramic cinematography and nobody characters but this one really made no sense at all. We basically have this unstable guy who travels around doing a horrible comedy routine. He takes in the sights and wears a yellow hat. I get the premise of this movie. Basically it's a statement about how delusional we can be in our dreams. The main character absolutely fits that part. He doesn't know how to tell jokes, except to convicts and the most hilarity in his act is basically his comb over look. When someone heckles him he can't handle it and tears the person apart. He really doesn't care about anyone or anything.I do not recommend this movie even if you are a fan of independent movies. This one is really forgettable. It's not very good and its ending is abrupt and pointless.

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jadavix
2015/11/18

"Entertainment" is almost as hard to watch as Turkington is hard to look at. Why does his hair always appear wet?It's one of those sparse art movies where nothing happens and the movie barely seems to notice the main character, which I suppose is the point. Turkington found fame as Neil Hamburger, an "anti-comedian" who is funny because he isn't funny. That's the joke.In "Entertainment", he plays a comedian - nameless - who isn't funny because he isn't funny. His shows are bad at first, and continue to get worse until he gets on stage and blows a continuous raspberry - repulsive to view and listen to - and in a final performance, collapses.It wouldn't be one of these weird art movies without two things - unexplained celebrity walk-ons and equally unexplained disturbing scenarios. For the walk-on, we get Michael Cera in one scene where he asks the comedian to "hang out" with him in the men's room. For the disturbing material, we get him approaching a woman in labor on a public bathroom floor, and then a cut to him with a newborn baby in his arms while he sits on the floor, looking as bored as he has throughout the entire movie.The stand up performances are the only part of the movie that have any kind of drama to them. Yes, they're bad, but there is some kind of character arc present in the way they devolve. Nothing else in the movie is of any value, none of it makes sense, and it's not even interesting enough to frustrate you when you realise that.

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shamusmcskrap
2015/11/19

I get what this film was going for, and I'm aware of the new sub- genre of "ultra-awkward," and yet none of this seems to change the fact that this movie didn't really stir any sort of emotion from me whatsoever. Turkington is interesting, but here we are treated to a series of scenes designed to make you cringe and wonder what the purpose is, if any, of anyone going to such great lengths to achieve such a ho- hum goal.There is elements of Sid and Nancy here. You have a bizarre cultural phenomenon (Hamburger) touring a bunch of po-dunk towns as to not "preach to the converted." The result is unhappy dullards responding harshly to an assault on whatever simple beliefs they have. It's no shocker that in the scene (spoiler) someone hucks a glass at Hamburger's head, because that actually happened to Greg at a real set. And in the film Greg seems to be surprised and keeps talking about getting "more security," which is mildly amusing because this guy antagonizes rednecks for a living. Neil Hamburger is a funny character for the most part, but in this there is no contrast between the character and the person. Both are utterly miserable creatures. There is no character arch to speak of. Greg goes from a hollow husk going through the motions to a hollow husk going through the motions. The Comedy was great because there seemed to be some resistance to giving into the great despair of life. There seems to be no point either in the other "celeb cameos." John C. Reilly plays a guy that literally could of been played by anyone's uncle. Michael Cera appears to draw out a few more cringes if you have any left to draw (I had begun to read a book at this point and glanced occasionally to see Turkington staring off at something with a frown, or sitting at the edge of his bed with a frown, or...well you get the point. Sadness. The sad clown is sad on the inside etc, etc.I guess this is a film about depression. As a comedy it doesn't make you laugh, as a drama it doesn't really have anything that dramatic happen, and it fails as nearly everything else. Also a big fan of Greg Turkington, but his near crippling cynicism is getting played out.

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temrok9
2015/11/20

There is a thin line, in the world of independent cinema-and European and world cinema as well-between good intentions and an accomplished form that can work as a piece of art. The usual thing, especially in places of art festivals-such as the Thessaloniki film festival where I watched the film- is to meet films that are rather pretentious, wanting to look clever(one perfect example of the kind is the highly regarded by the critics Lobster, which may go as far as bare the title of the best European film of the year), or that through their pronounced emphasis on social situations demand to be taken seriously as movies about people -in contrast with exactly what? Robert Bresson's masterpieces could teach something to all those mediocre directors who claim a place in the history of cinema. So, when I encounter a film maker who has really the capacity to create a cinematic vision with virtuosity and precision I am very glad. This is, I believe, the case of the film Entertainment, which although not easy to enjoy, it is in my opinion a remarkable work of musical quality(it has a pace that is successfully maintained throughout the film) and a personality that is not the sum of its influences(perhaps David Lynch, David Foster Wallace among others?).All actors are perfect but the protagonist, I think, gives probably the best performance of the year.Surely it is a film that very few things happen, but they do happen in a context that is meaningful, in a form that shows that the director is a master of its means, despite the difficulty of the task. A rare experience, copious sometimes, of being in the margin, and what it is all about, strolling in the desert of our lonely damned hard seeking Entertainment souls.

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