It's all about the substanceFirst off, apologies for the hiatus. It's been a while -- too long, some would say. But now I'm back, and the creative juices are flowing.
Therefore, to return by announcing the creative demise of "Entourage" is a little bittersweet. "Entourage" is one of my favorite shows; I have seen every episode multiple times, including the ones from the just-premiered season. The first season is awkwardly scripted at times, but the concept -- a young movie star and his three hanger-on friends become acquainted with the powers and pitfalls of Hollywood -- was fresh, and the inside look at the film industry was fascinating (especially to a movie fan like myself). More importantly, the cast, notably Adrian Grenier as easygoing actor Vincent Chase, Kevin Dillon as his washed-up but supportive brother, and Jeremy "I Will Fucking Kill You" Piven as super-agent Ari Gold, were undeniably believable, and made the show pop with chemistry. The series hit its apex in its second season, as Vince was cast as the lead in James Cameron's "Aquaman" and had trouble coping with his co-star, former flame Mandy Moore. Simply stated, season two was terrific. The "will-he-or-won't-he-play-Aquaman?" storyline was beautifully paced, subplots involving Ari's boss Terrence (Malcolm McDowell, you're missed, mate) and Johnny Drama's career were involving, and the finale, in which Vince must choose whether or not to subject himself through months of working with the girl who crushed him to achieve film immortality, is downright heartbreaking. This show was original, exciting, and damn funny. And then it all went to hell.
So when did "Entourage" lose its soul? There was no exact moment, but if I had to pinpoint it closely, I'd say as the third season was winding down and the plotlines didn't make any fucking sense. Don't get me wrong, season 3 has its moments -- Vince's new role as "Hollywood bad boy" was interesting, and his decision to fire Ari was pretty surprising -- but there are too many uneven moments as compared to the taut storyline of season 2. For one, the show (like Vince)didn't seem to have any direction: as Vinnie floated around from project to project, never quite having his next job secured, so too were we subjected to pointless transitions in plotting. Come on, did we really need the boys' old pal Dom, big, out on parole and annoying (props for that actor being on "The Wire", though)? Did they really need to waste Martin Landau in a three-episode arc in which he was reduced to senile producer and catchphrase slinger? Did Vince honestly need to hire hot new agent Amanda, become intimidated by her, have sex with her (???), develop a pseudo-relationship with her, and then fire her, in the span of five episodes?
Worst of all, the characters had become reduced to predictable cartoons, with Drama getting irrationally pissed-off a lot, Turtle forever in pursuit of bootay (fuck, WHY did they end his Saigon plot thread so quickly and carelessly?), Vince just sort of smiling and being cool, and E constantly bickering with Ari. Speaking of E, I know I haven't really talked about him, and even though he IS arguably "Entourage"'s main character, he's always been too wishy-washy a character to carry the show. Nowhere is this more evident in season 3, where he's given an outrageous plotline (three-some with Sloane and some blonde chick), and he can't even make THAT interesting. Okay, I'm sorry, I'm skirting the issue: the absolute low point of the season is in the next-to-last episode, where moneyman Yair Marx offers to finance "Medellin"... as long as Vince fucks his wife. This is where "Entourage" stopped being about the inside peek of Hollywood and became a circus act/soft-core porn. I invite anyone to watch this episode (319, titled "The Prince's Bride") and not be confused, appalled, or just really, really sad.
Anyway. Season 3 ends with Vince finally getting his dream project "Medellin" off the ground, with the help of lunatic "Queen's Boulevard" director Billy Walsh. I could write a dissertation about Billy Walsh as a character; he is an apparent spoof of the young filmmakers who view themselves as avant-garde gods and remain unapproachable to anyone they deem unworthy of touching their gift (simply stated, they're cocks). And hey! Billy was fun in the first two seasons, when he clashed with E and gave Vince indie cred. In season 4, which details the production and subsequent marketing of "Medellin" before it is unveiled at the Cannes film festival, Billy is given a huge amount of screen time, and it makes the show grating. "Entourage" has always benefited from being an easy-going show, with the main characters enjoying the hell out of the good life and the audience living vicariously. Billy Walsh disrupts the entire mood of the show, and it doesn't look like he's going away anytime soon, as Vince has already committed to doing ANOTHER movie with him, this time a laughable sci-fi epic called "Silo". Blame the writers for being too reliant on recycling old characters instead of introducing new faces and expanding the scope of the show. Don't get me wrong, I didn't think characters such as Dom, Amanda, and E's girlfriend Sloane were very well-drawn, but at least they added new dimensions to a show that frequently feels trapped in its own silly boundaries.
As for the rest of season 4... it's not HORRIBLE. It just kind of glides on a well-treaded mediocrity, and it's very disappointing. Drama gets pissed off, Vince smiles, Turtle enjoys women, Ari screams at people, places, and things. We get it. The episodes range from enjoyably stupid (E and Turtle race to have unemotional sex with a random girl) to let's-watch-"John From Cincinnati" bad (Drama helps the mayor of Beverly Hills hook up with a transvestite). E becomes Anna Faris' manager, which is weird. Worst of all, we just don't seem to care about Vince's career anymore. "Medellin" has lost its mystique by being too heavily relied on, and "Silo" just sounds boring. As "Medellin" gets booed at Cannes and Walsh curses off the audience, we realize that we're watching the shell of a great show, now stale from poor writing and a sense of immobility.
I'll keep watching "Entourage", even though deep down I know it's not going to improve anytime soon. It's still entertaining, although rarely of the high quality of the first two seasons. "Entourage" always has the potential to get back on track, though. So here's hoping. Plus, you can't knock HBO too dramatically, since they axed "Lucky Louie" and gave us "Flight of the Conchords". That shit is hott.
