Entourage – dreamt up
by actor Mark Wahlberg and pal, Doug Ellin – is the coolest series
since, well, Lee Majors called himself ‘The Fall Guy’ and wrestled
Heather Thomas every week. It’s the show that all of Hollywood talks
about.. and beyond; a universally appealing series that’s as funny as
it is informative. Think Larry Sanders by way of The Player (1991) and you get the picture.
Hollywood
is a wicked beast… and this exposes every pussy pimple of its ugliness.
From the prick agents, the single-minded managers, egoistical actors,
and of course, those who stick close to anyone with money, it’s
frighteningly spot-on. The games these people play are ludicrous… but
true.
In the first season, we watched as young actor Vinnie
Chase (Adrien Grenier) received a huge career booster in the form of an
acclaimed independent film. His arrogant over-the-top manager Ari
(Jeremy Piven) suddenly saw him as a goldmine, as did his two friends
and older brother (Kevin Connolly, Jerry Ferrara and Kevin Dillon), who
all live at Chase’s house – and out of his pocket. Chase was suddenly a
product – wanted by studios, wanted by directors, and wanted by
females. He was, it seemed, hotter than a freshly cooked toasted
spaghetti sandwich.
The second season saw Chase’s star rise even higher, as he was offered the lead role in James Cameron’s uber-budgeted Aquaman
movie. The thrust of the season dealt with scoring the role; Chase
having to work with an old flame (Mandy Moore) on the movie, and
anything else to do with spruiking the pic. The funniest moment, for my
money, was when the guys headed to Comic Con. That was spot-on – the
unethical behaviour of [online] journalists, the spazzy behaviour of
pre-pubescent fanboys, and notably, the inability for TV nerds to see a
has-been for what he is (Vinnie’s brother, Johnny, a star on a show
called Viking Quest about a decade ago, is still a legend on the floor). Priceless.
At the start of Season 3, we learn that Aquaman
is a monster hit – and it’s now up to Vinnie to choose his next movie…
carefully. Everyone, including his manager, wants him to do the sequel.
Vinnie doesn’t care for that though. Instead, he’s offered the lead
role in a film based on The Ramones, and sets out trying to get that off the ground – with a bit of trouble.
The show just gets better as it goes along – I so hope they continue it for a couple more seasons – and funnier, too. Entourage
seems intent on mirroring anything going on in Hollywood at the time,
and it does a terrific job of it. It never comes across as a dud skit,
or plays too forced, but just “like it is” – which is where the humour
comes from.
The performances are also rather grand. Piven,
playing Ari Gold, is the standout of the show. He’s terrific. The other
boys are good too though, don’t get me wrong, they’re just not a shade
on Piven’s turn though – he is a monster here. It’s the performance of
his career – and he’s had quite a career – no doubt about it.
Guest-appearances this season include Martin Landau (as a Robert Evans
type), Seth Green, Penny Marshall and James Woods.
This season of Entourage
is a little longer than the others, and it’s also been split into two
(i.e. the second half of the season will air about 6 months later than
the first season), so I’m not going to fault the studio for releasing
two volumes of Season 3. I don’t like it. But there’s nothing one can
do about it. They could’ve waited, I suppose, but this is OK – after
all, there’s a good dozen or so episodes here, that’s about as many as
the first couple of seasons had too, so it’s not like this one’s any
different… or a rip-off.
DVD
Extras Includes a featurette on the 'Vegas' episode. Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: 50% 
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