“Unfinished Business” (2015) Hits a New Low in Comedies (Part II of II)

(Continued from Part I)

This movie runs as if it knows none of the gags are funny. It spends an inordinate amount of time setting up the jokes, only to rush through the payoff before quickly moving on to the next scene. It’s as if the three editors (Aaron Brock; Jon Poll; Michael Tronick) each took a shot at cutting out the unfunny bits until, at last, they were left with 91 minutes of material that was still unfunny but they had to stop to leave director Ken Scott with a full feature-length motion picture to release into theaters.

I usually don’t ask the question “how was this movie ever made?” but I had to with this film. The idea of three guys flying around the world to secure a major deal is not inherently funny. There must have been something more in this project for the studio to shell out a reported $35 million and for an accomplished comedian like Vaughn to sign on. I kept looking for that something–in the story, in the set up, in the dialogue, in the acting, in… anything–to explain how this film came to be. That something never came.

Instead, the more this movie played, the more confused I became. As Trunkman, McWinters and Pancake circle the globe, Trunkman has to deal with melodrama back home involving his son Paul (Britton Sear), who is getting bullied at school, and his daughter Bess (Ella Anderson), who keeps nagging Trunkman to finish her homework that requires him to describe the kind of person he is. I don’t think either of these story arcs were intended to be funny, but if that’s the case, what are they doing in a purported comedy?

This film marks a new low in comedies. Oh, I’ve seen bad comedies before, but even in the worst ones like “Old Dogs” (2009), I could see a vision of what established stars were trying to accomplish, even if the film turned into a train wreck while getting there.

“Unfinished Business” doesn’t even exhibit what could have been funny. For a comedy, I can’t imagine a greater indictment.