In 2004, the show Entourage hit us like a bag of rocks. It was an instant hit among many and it gave us “normal” people sort of an insight of how the world of Hollywood works. Following the exploits of Hollywood’s latest superstar Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) and his entourage Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) as well as his manager and life long friend Eric ‘E’ Murphy (Kevin Connolly) and his agent Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), Entourage shows us what transpires behind the behind-the-scenes in Hollywood, how a career is built as well as how easy it can be destroyed.
The show starts off big with Vincent having a big premiere and his career taking off, and over the course of 8 seasons we get to see how he rises to a kind of million-dollar choose-your-own-project stardom, battling bad career moves, resentful directors, studio execs with a grudge, a drug addiction, relationship issues among other just as heavyhearted decisions, choices and people disrupting what seems to be the easy streets of Hollywood.
This show is a personal favorite and I have watched it start to finish at least three times now and I’m guessing I’ll do it at least three times more before 2026 (do the math!). But why am I talking about a show that’s been off the air for 4 years? Easiest question so far this year! I’m talking about the Entourage-show now because the Movie Entourage is coming towards us fast! Come June 4th, the latest exploits of Vinnie Chase and his entourage hits the world for the first time feature-length and as that date approaches, i thought it be good to binge the show again, you know, for good measure.
But, as the show is a personal favorite, it does come with some less good things. I won’t be doing a complete rundown on everything negative, but I’ll give you a few neg’s to keep you going and the first one, which also happens to be the worst one (to me, at least), is how Ari is treated by his wife. Melissa Gold (Perrey Reeves) may be beautiful but she is also a bitch. Not in any galaxy or solar system known to the human race is a man supposed to be berated by his wife because someone else is having an affair. It’s just not right. And the way his wife and their therapist gangs up on poor Ari in therapy is just a travesty.
Another thing that kept bothering me (the first time I watched it) is how the crew keeps making bad decisions career wise. Ari keeps saying that to stay on top, Vince needs to do a studio movie (meaning a movie with a big budget and a big studio’s support behind it) but Vince keeps going toward indie-films (which is not a good idea if you want to be a star, apparently) and even with ‘E’s well-intentioned know-how gnawing in the background, they keep wanting to work with the most deranged character I’ve ever seen on television, the “brilliant” but utterly insane indie-director Billy Walsh (Rhys Coiro). It just seems that after the first time it failed, they should know not to do it again but they just keep going in for more after more after more, to the point where I wish I could just pop in to the show and slap some sense into them.
There’s also the way they all berate each other, but that’s kinda how a close knit group of friends work I suppose, it just gets old at times.
I’m also not too fond of how they wrote the character of Johnny ‘Drama’ Chase (Dillon), Vincent’s older brother. In 32 years of living, I have never met such a neurotic, disfuntional and unwell person like ‘Drama’. Everything about him is an over-the-top cartoonish portrayal of what could have been a perfectly funtional side character, but no, they had to make him like this;
Just look at that dude and tell me you actually know someone like that with a straight face… I dare’ya!
But enough with the negativity and on to some good things, and what better thing to start off with than to give kudos where deserved! The main cast (Grenier, Connolly, Dillon, Ferrara, Piven) plays their characters flawlessly. With every season, they all bring something new to the table, whether it’s Turtle crying, Ari showing his sensitive side or Vince feeling insecure, they always deliver what we’ve come to expect and more.
Next positive thing I wanna say a few words about is Jeremy Piven. Sure, everyone in this show does their jobs brilliantly but Jeremy Piven, oh wow, does he bring home the bacon on this one! He has never been someone I cared much for, but in Entourage he’s the one that kept bringing me back for more. His berating every single person outside his marriage, to the loyalty he has toward Vince (even when Vince and the crew shows him none) and the love and sincere devotion he has for his family, the character of Ari Gold is a work of art, and if I ever met Piven in real life, I’m pretty damn sure I would call him Ari by mistake, just by him being so awesome in the part! His mannerisms, his brutal language, his grin, it’s all just amazing and I can’t wait to see him on the big screen!
Speaking off, have you guys seen the trailer? To give it a quick-shot review; It looks like a hit show with a feature length-budget.
Which it kinda is, I suppose, but damn…. as a fan of the show, I can’t hardly contain myself in anticipation of this film. And yeah, that means I’m longing for this movie more than ..Age of Ultron (take that, nerds)!
Anyway, the trailer shows us pretty much what one would expect, parties, girls, dumb lines andcelebrity cameos up the ass! Oh, and the plot, of course, Vince wanting to direct which seems to be a slight pain in the side for Ari Gold, recent studio head.
Like I said, I can’t wait to see it, but before anyone of us gets to do that, here’s the trailer for your viewing pleasure!
So, I won’t be taking up any more of your time, ’cause I have a movie to watch right now. But… that just means you have to waste more time on my words later on, if you want to read my review on Robot Overlords, so until then…..
Tango's Thoughts 