Tired of working for the man only to have him step all over you? Tired of doing the same mundane thing over and over again and not getting any results? Tired of people making fun of your breakfast-sounding last name?
Well have no fear because “Apex Strategies” is here. Unfinished Business details the lives of three office workers who go around. . .finishing everyone’s unfinished business. Dan Trunkman (Vince Vaughn), Timothy McWinters (Tom Wilkinson) and Mike Pancake (Dave Franco) go across the globe in search of the coveted handshake, the act of closing a deal. The partners either quit, were laid off or never were hired by their now current competitor, whose boss is Chuck Portnoy (Sienna Miller). As the two competitors go head to head for a shot at getting a buyer for swarf; old metal filings, they find themselves at odds in whatever situations they are led into.
Directed by Ken Scott (who previously wrote and directed another Vaughn movie, Delivery Man) and written by Steve Conrad (writer of The Pursuit of Happyness), it stars other well-known actors of Nick Frost, who plays Bill Whilmsley, who is the assistant to James Marsden, who plays Jim Spinch. The story follows the three Apex workers who go to Seattle to meet with Spinch and discuss their plan and numbers. Hilarity ensues as a real maid gets confused for a sex maid, just as Trunkman goes jogging in women’s clothing. As the story goes on, the trio find their competitor Chuck is there as well, and is rather close to Spinch. They decide that they are the fluffers of the business deal meaning they were only invited to show competition for the real partner the buyer is going to choose. Not accepting their fate, Trunkman and the other two decide to go to Germany to sidestep Spinch and talk to his superior who will listen to them and examine how their numbers are better than Chuck’s.
To add more hilarity to the awkward situation, they find themselves in Germany during Oktoberfest, a Gay Pride Celebration, and a 99% demonstration. With all that in mind, they can’t find any hotel rooms so they resort to staying at a hostel, in a business center and as part of a museum display. With their hopes lost and their efforts beat, Trunkman tries his best to make sure he makes up for his team and for his family problems he’s facing back home in St. Louis. As their business deal gets closer and closer, the trio become immersed in a partying. They find themselves closer to each other and with Bill Whimsley as well.
The film’s premise does seem like a The Hangover meets Office Space, but one can’t deny it had its moments. Vaughn’s fast talking pan comedy eases much of the silences the film would have, as Franco’s holy fool character brings light to any of the setbacks the group finds themselves in. And Wilkinson ties it all together with his spirit. Possibly the funniest laugh from the film involves a FaceTime call Vaughn has with his family, and in trying to avoid answering a question about the business deal, he freezes mid sentence, causing his family to think the program has stopped working.
An even funnier aspect of the film involves the nudity. No matter what the situation is, the film does rely strongly on its short situational humor but that’s enough to keep you entertained for the hour and a half you’re there. Unfinished Business is now playing.
