Entourage Season 5 Premiere
HBO
It’s taken some time for Aerial Telly to review Entourage – he nearly sued when it came out. A handsome and charismatic talented boy from a poor neighbourhood achieves magnificent success, secures untold poontang and brings his friends from the ghetto along for the ride? How dare they tell the Aerial Telly life-story without his permission? It took some persuading for him to even watch the show but when he did he had to admit that he was impressed and that certain biographical elements could conceivably apply to other so-called stars. This was the male Sex and the City, only well written and with characters you didn’t want to kill every time they opened their mouths. Four boys from Queens take on Hollywood? Bring it the fuck on.
Medellín, Billy Walsh‘s heartbreaking work of staggering ineptitude, has bombed critically and commercially and Vince is hiding out in Mexico with a George Best beard, indulging in three-way sex, jet-skiing and cocktails. But is he really happy? Well, yeah he is. He has Turtle for company and he’s still spectacular rich, famous and handsome. Trigger, what?
"Much of the show is the basest kind of wish-fulfilment and there’s nothing in the world wrong with that."
But Ari has plans for his boy. Danger Beach, a hot new script is circulating, the producer Carl Ertz wants Vince and, get this, is willing to pay his full quote. As Ari points out to Eric "we live in a post Medellín world" and this cannot be turned down. Vince however, begs to differ he’s living la vida mocha with an assortment of coffee-coloured honies. Why would he care about Hollywood?
It’s Eric who persuades him to come back and take the meeting with Ertz. Vincent Chase is very much back in the game. Only he’s not because evil producer Carl Ertz is using Vincent to get his real target Emile Hirsch to take the role. Hollywood can be so cruel. But misery can never last long in Entourage because much of the show is the basest kind of wish-fulfilment and there’s nothing in the world wrong with that.
"Beyond the star cameos and the glitz Entourage is about what it means to be a man, putting your friends first and knowing where you came from."
And yet there’s something a little too familiar about this season opener. Chasing Vincent around to persuade him to do something he doesn’t want to is well-worn territory. It’s a good job the show doesn’t rely on that for its longevity. Because beyond the star cameos and the glitz Entourage is about what it means to be a man, putting your friends first and knowing where you came from. It’s very acute on relationships when it wants to be and I fully expect to see more of the same in the post Medellín fifth season.
The best thing about it: The ‘bros before shows’ ethic.
The worst thing about it: Celebrity cameos rarely help, often hinder.
The verdict on Entourage Season 5 Premiere: Fantasy for you, reality for Aerial Telly.
Marks out of 10: 7
Imagined: 10th September 2008