Ever wonder what “Entourage” would be like if it were about French Muslims and Johnny Drama had a slightly larger propensity for violence? Because that’s precisely what “The Price of Success” is. And I apologize in advance for the amount of parallels I’m going to draw between this film and and Vinny Chase’s crew but as I have (embarrassingly enough) seen every episode of that show it’s sort of inevitable. That HBO series and this movie share the same primary weaknesses.
Teddy Lussi-Modeste’s new film centers on a wildly popular French stand-up comic named Brahim (Tahar Rahim) who is slowly coming to realize that his brother/manager Mourad (Roschdy Zem) is doing him more harm than good. Guiding Brahim to that conclusion is his girlfriend, Linda (Maïwenn), with whom Mourad clashes with at every possible opportunity.
“The Price of Success” presents Brahim to us as a massively popular, incredibly gifted comedian with a huge following. In its first scene, Brahim is recognized by an unruly fan while in the car with his brother. Later, we see Brahim come out onstage to audiences of hundreds, applauding and cheering his name. And yet, we never – not once – get to see Brahim say or do anything even remotely funny.
Like “Entourage” tended to do with Vinny, “The Price of Success” conveniently always cuts away just as Brahim is about to hit the stage and perform, presumably because the script has no jokes or Rahim isn’t funny. Either way, it’s always odd when a movie refuses to portray a character doing the thing they are ostensibly famous for. We’ll see him dance out onto the stage, take in the chants of “Brahim! Brahim!,” and give a monologue about how much he loves his girlfriend, and then – cut to later, after the show, when he’s either being told how brilliant he was (or, in a later scene, how mediocre he was). The few bits of his stand-up that we do see are lame relationship jokes, too-obvious identity politics bits, and some Dane-Cook-ish physicality.
The film’s central conflict between Brahim, Mourad, and Linda is a condensed version of the Vinny-E-Sloan-Johnny Drama stuff that we all were forced to suffer through for eight long seasons. Is the superstar’s manager/relative making the right decisions? Or is he too impulsive, bad at business, and in it for himself? Does the superstar’s girlfriend really have his best interest in mind, or is she just a gold-digger? None of this is new or exciting; “Entourage” is hardly the only example of showbiz-adjacent content that has covered this material in recent years.
Things kick into a higher gear in the middle of the second act, when it becomes clear that Mourad isn’t just a jerk, he’s a real jerk. And by that I mean he starts beating anyone who says anything that he doesn’t like. It’s at this point that the film becomes noticeably engaging, as the audience is left to grapple with Brahim’s undying sense of loyalty to his brother even in the face of numerous serious red flags.
It’s too bad, then, that the film rushes through its decently-plotted climax, not allowing much time for processing or unfolding a believable resolution. By the time we get to the wildly indulgent and unnecessary “two years later” epilogue, we’re bored of these relationships and don’t much care where they’re going next. By now, Brahim’s residual affection for his brother is tough to wrap your head around, considering everything we’ve seen Mourad put him and his girlfriend through.
Lussi-Modeste’s direction is lackluster. He’s just not trying for anything particularly interesting is all, which is regrettable. In fact, “The Price of Success” is sort of directed like an episode of “Entourage” – a televisual gloss and lack of cinematic ambition on display in every frame.
The performances are all quite good, as a matter of fact. Aside from the crippling fact that the hilarious Brahim never gets to demonstrate his sense of humor in any meaningful sense, Tahar Rahim does have an undeniable intrinsic charisma, and “The Price of Success” would be much worse without him. Roschdy Zem is good as Mourad, wavering between pathetic, Johnny Drama posturing and genuine menace. Maïwenn is perfectly serviceable as Linda, a character that doesn’t, unfortunately, ask a whole lot of her. But the fact that the three central performances aren’t bad is just not enough to save what is otherwise a disposable movie.
Cliché showbiz plot points and a lack of proper character development, not to mention substantial narrative inconsistencies doom “The Price of Success” to weightlessness. At least “Entourage” had the occasional Gary Busey appearance. [C+]
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