The best acting job in “Unfinished Business” is turned in by Vince Vaughn. He spends the 91 minutes of this seriously laugh-starved comedy trying to pretend he doesn’t want to strangle Dave Franco.
Rare is the performance that inspires such instant loathing. But Franco, shorter and toothier brother of James (if that is possible), plays a maddeningly annoying employee of Vaughn’s character’s metal shavings brokerage. His grinning, mousy-voiced, perhaps savant sexual innocent will drive you a little crazy. His upstaged co-stars certainly could be excused for throttling him between takes.
Dan Trunkman (Vaughn) gets tired of working for somebody else’s bonus and leaves his insufferable boss, Chuck (Sienna Miller), to go into business for himself. He invites his colleagues to join him in revolt. Tim (Tom Wilkinson) has just been laid off, so, what the heck? And Mike Pancake (Franco) had a job interview and no prayer of being hired. Any prior experience?
“Foot Locker.”
“Reasons for leaving?”
“I didn’t like … feet.”
A year later, the trio’s new firm is close to closing a big deal. But the duplicitous heel they need to shake their hands (James Marsden) strings them along. Chuck may be their undoing. But not if their flights to Portland, Maine, and then Berlin — to pitch to the big bosses — pay off.
