Dave Franco talks about his Unfinished Business
By Shannon Dwyer
Unfinished Business lives up to it’s title, and that’s not a compliment.
Directed by Ken Scott, the film stars Vince Vaughn as Dan Trunkman, a St. Louis salesman who opens the movie by telling off his cutthroat boss, Chuck (Sienna Miller), before dramatically quitting and walking out of his office, grandly inviting his co-workers to join him in starting a competing mineral sales firm.
But the only people desperate enough are Tim (Tom Wilkinson), an old man being forced to retire, and Mike Pancake (Dave Franco), a dim-witted kid who just failed a job interview. This business is bound to fail, but somehow they’re still trying a year later, working out of a Dunkin Donuts and racking up debt. Finally they get a break in a major deal that’s ready to close, but first they have to travel to Portland for a business meeting. Once they arrive they find out they’re actually competing with his old boss for the deal and closing handshake. Determined to come out on top, the trio travels to Berlin to pitch their case one last time. There, they get caught up in bad hotel accommodations, an anti-G8 protest, a gay fetish festival and some difficulties on the Autobahn.
If you’ve seen the commercials, then you’ve probably seen the only funny five or six minutes of the movie. The movie brands itself as the next The Hangover, but doesn’t have the same character chemistry and dabbles with serious topics such as cyber bullying that keep it from achieving the same effect. The best laughs revolved around the name of Dave Franco’s character and his sexual inexperience. Franco is unquestionably the standout of the film, and in an interview Franco talked about his role as Mike Pancake. “The character is everything that you would expect from a name like that. He’s a little slow, but he’s also extremely sweet and naive and loyal and would kill for his friends,” Dave said. “It was nice to play a pure protagonist for once as opposed to some of the douche-ier roles I’ve played as of late.” 
When asked about working with Vaugh and Wilkenson, the young actor had nothing but admiration and respect for his fellow stars. “Vince is someone that I’ve looked up to for a long time. So to be able to work with him on a comedy. It was an invaluable experience,” Dave said. “It was really special just being in these scenes with him, but also somewhat intimidating,” He added. “He’s such a smart funny guy that he really does elevate everyone around him. Tom is just an absolute pro. He’s a two time Academy Award nominee, but we get to see a different side of Tom in this movie.”
With acting credits like 21 Jump Street and Neighbors, Dave has played several antagonists in his career. “It was fun to play that type of role at first, because it’s kind of liberating to play a role that’s completely outside of yourself,” Dave said. “I feel like I’ve completely exhausted that role. There is nothing else I can bring to it that’s new. So I’ve been trying to make a conscious decision to branch out.”
Dave is not the only Franco on the silver screen. His older brother James Franco is well established as an actor, comedian and celebrity. “He just directed me in something, it’s called Zeroville. It was really fun working with him in that capacity, because he’s the most happy when he’s behind the camera,” Dave said. “I would love to keep working with him,” he continued. “That being said, the past five years or so I really did make a conscious decision to distance myself from him work wise. Just because I wanted to pave my own path.”
He’s off to a great start. See Dave in Unfinished Business, in theaters now. He’s the best part of the movie.