Season Seven of HBO's "Entourage" opened with a whimper. Each of the four boys is facing his own new challenges.
Vince (Adrian Grenier) is making an action picture and agrees to do one of his own stunts - a death defying car scene.
Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) is running a limo service with female drivers, who aren't Plain Janes. But one of his chauffeur chicks can't find LAX to save her life.
Eric (Kevin Connolly) is happily getting married to Sloane.
And poor Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) is an out of work actor, once again.
The fifth Beatle, uber agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), who now owns the world's largest talent agency, finds himself putting out fires worthy of his lowly staff. He's not managing well and Mrs. Ari (the wife without a name) is not happy.
Will Vince survive? Will Turtle's business? Will Eric remain hopelessly devoted? Will Hollywood finally notice Johnny? And will Ari learn to delegate?
The first episode was just a set-up for what's to come, so who knows?
But the real question for "Entourage" is whether or not these immature LA almost-men will ever grow up. At the close of last season Turtle had fallen in love with Jamie Lynn Sigler. Johnny's career was taking off. Eric took the engagement plunge. Ari learned humility. Even poor, pitiful Lloyd asserted himself with Ari and became a real agent. Only Vince remained unchanged.
Note to the producers: keep it moving. The countless playboy scenes were funny for the first six seasons, but they're stale now. If the writers are worth what Mark Wahlberg (exec producer) is paying them, they should be able to come up with humorous situations and good writing with predicaments for grown-ups. Hollywood can't be that boring.
"Entourage" at its best offers an inside look at the entertainment industry that even reading Variety can't provide. Add the cameos, the self-mockery and the Ari tirades and it's wonderful. If the situations don't change, however, and the characters don't mature, "Entourage" is just another sitcom that jumped the shark. Let's hope sophistication overtakes slapstick for this great HBO show.
Vince (Adrian Grenier) is making an action picture and agrees to do one of his own stunts - a death defying car scene.
Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) is running a limo service with female drivers, who aren't Plain Janes. But one of his chauffeur chicks can't find LAX to save her life.
Eric (Kevin Connolly) is happily getting married to Sloane.
And poor Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) is an out of work actor, once again.
The fifth Beatle, uber agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), who now owns the world's largest talent agency, finds himself putting out fires worthy of his lowly staff. He's not managing well and Mrs. Ari (the wife without a name) is not happy.
Will Vince survive? Will Turtle's business? Will Eric remain hopelessly devoted? Will Hollywood finally notice Johnny? And will Ari learn to delegate?
The first episode was just a set-up for what's to come, so who knows?
But the real question for "Entourage" is whether or not these immature LA almost-men will ever grow up. At the close of last season Turtle had fallen in love with Jamie Lynn Sigler. Johnny's career was taking off. Eric took the engagement plunge. Ari learned humility. Even poor, pitiful Lloyd asserted himself with Ari and became a real agent. Only Vince remained unchanged.
Note to the producers: keep it moving. The countless playboy scenes were funny for the first six seasons, but they're stale now. If the writers are worth what Mark Wahlberg (exec producer) is paying them, they should be able to come up with humorous situations and good writing with predicaments for grown-ups. Hollywood can't be that boring.
"Entourage" at its best offers an inside look at the entertainment industry that even reading Variety can't provide. Add the cameos, the self-mockery and the Ari tirades and it's wonderful. If the situations don't change, however, and the characters don't mature, "Entourage" is just another sitcom that jumped the shark. Let's hope sophistication overtakes slapstick for this great HBO show.
Love Entourage-- the one that got me was Mrs. Ari getting really aggravated with Ari for not being able to make the meeting at school-- I can relate --I think they're heading for a split.
ReplyDeleteFelt bad for dopey Drama as usual (so good to see Lloyd as an agent!)-- wonder if Turtle is going to be hit with a sexual harrassment suit.
Like the quick cameo by Stefan from Top Chef during the Sloan/E dinner.
Looking forward to what the season brings.
Monica
@Monica. Yeah, you have to love the characterizations. Just the fact that we root for Lloyd and even for Drama means the writers are successful.
ReplyDelete