Dear Tina,
I was lucky enough to snag enough time today to catch the season premiere of Entourage that originally aired this past Sunday. And then I watched it and realized maybe I wasn’t so lucky after all. The show has become what I imagine a group of 13 year old boys would write for a creative writing assignment titled “The Best Day of My Life.” It is almost entirely fantasy without any substance or base in reality for that matter. For a more articulate take on this problem, check out nymag.com’s article Tracing the Epiphany that Entourage is Not a Very Good Show.
I understand that life in LA for a rich, young actor must have its perks, but if I’ve learned anything from being around actors, it is that if their lifestyle doesn’t breed complexity, they create it on their own. We’re a dramatic people by nature and if you don’t start out that way, the business is sure to change you. After six seasons, the most Vincent Chase has ever had to overcome was a breakup with Mandy Moore. And maybe a Budweiser shortage, but based on the fact that Budweiser is clearly a sponsor of the show, I doubt it.
Maybe this show truly is Sex and the City for men and just as we women took delight at any and all shoe purchases made by Carrie, men can enjoy at least a dozen scenes set in car dealerships per season.
But I’m afraid men are also developing a short temper for the lack of effort put forward by the Entourage team. Ask almost any viewer what they think of the show and they’ll like respond with some variation of “I love that show. It’s sucked for the past two seasons though.” Sucked it has.
What I loved most about the nymag.com article was its emphasis on what the show could have been, all the potential that fell by the wayside as Doug Elin and Co. became more interested in making sure that Jeremy Piven had two cell phones in his hands at all times than what he was actually doing with those cell phones. Each new season became a cookie cutter of the one before it, and by season 7 we can look back and see that nothing has really changed. Vince has the same haircut and the same lackadaisical attitude regarding film making until he’s actually put in a film and then he becomes fairly adamant about getting taken seriously. Eric still has a girlfriend (now fiance) way out of his league and makes up for his lack of height by talking really fast. Johnny Drama is still trying to be an actor, yet having an incredibly famous brother has not helped him in anyway. Has Doug Elin never heard of the Baldwins? And Turtle is still a terrible actor.
Jeremy Piven used to be the saving grace of that show but his entire character has become a redundant schtick about as predictable as the audiencing “woo-hooing” everytime Cousin Cody walked into the kitchen on Step By Step. (Yes, I was an avid TGIF viewer. Weren’t you?) After six seasons, these men have nothing left to say that we haven’t already heard. And none of the writers seem to care.
In fact, they care so little, they no longer feel the need to offer an explanation for what any of these people are doing and why. For example, in the season seven premiere, what the hell is Turtle’s business? During the episode I was waiting for that entire situation to turn into a dream sequence. What job exists that requires a boss to inform the ladies who work for him where they need to be traveling to that day in skin tight uniforms? Besides pimping. Is that what it is? Get rid of it.
If this season they could introduce just one story line that truly changed the dynamic of these four individuals, then maybe the show is worth our time. If not, its time to call it quits. The solution to every problem cannot be landing your dream job and a group hug. If it was, I would not be working as an unpaid casting associate paying for my CTA pass with quarters from the family coin bowl.
30 Rock Quote of the Day:
Jack: Thanks to Comrade Obama’s recession we have to cut over-time for pages.
Dear Tina 