Entourage is so meta, man. Here we have Andrew “Dice” Clay talking about how the monkey show is the comeback he’s been waiting for, when the real-life Diceman is hurting for a comeback himself. So is Entourage going to provide him the comeback he’s so elegantly self-referencing? Well, I imagine the direction given to the Diceman about tonight’s episode was something relatively substantial, but he was probably like, “No way dude, I’m gonna just say ‘fuck’ a lot, because that’s just what the Diceman ordered!” (I also invented a catchphrase for him.) It doesn’t help that Clay has all the subtlety of a sleeveless leather jacket at a faux-coolness convention. His scenes were pretty terrible, and a major distraction from what was, knock on Avion, the second halfway decent episode of Entourage in a row. I know. What the fuck is happening to this terrible show I want so desperately to hate?
To be fair, I still don’t really consider Entourage appointment television by any stretch of the imagination. Unless the appointment is “to be pleasantly sleepy.” But this season has been focusing much of its attention on the personal lives of its characters, which is a sneaky trick that implies we’ve been following all along and care deeply for these people. So sure, their professional lives are all in decent shape. Turtle’s tequila company is huge, and profitable enough to employ a bevy of former background extras from Axe Body Spray commercials. Johnny’s show is testing through the roof. E is making a honest go of being a manager. Vince’s script is given the once-over by Billy, and the two of them have decided to make it happen. Ari’s still employed. Yet other than the Vince stuff, everything else is in the background. IT’S ALMOST LIKE ENTOURAGE IS ABOUT HOW BUSINESS AND PLEASURE CAN NEVER MIX!!! I get it. This is deep.
I get the real sense that the show is ready to start building towards what will surely be an epic finale of boobs. In an effort to make Andrew “Dice” Clay feel more at home, Johnny goes around the circle and points out that each one of the core four has been humbled at one point or another—when they’re not walking in a horizontal line somewhere. Turtle’s ex and current girlfriends are brought up and scrutinized. Ari learns that his wife is sleeping with Bobby Flay, the owner of one of Ari’s favorite restaurants. Entourage is doing whatever it can to remind us all of the good times we’ve shared, but maintaining the notion that the world barely existed before Entourage (other than vague mentions of being friends with each other for a while), and likely won’t continue after.
Because the cliffhanger of the episode—if you can even call it that—hinges on Sloan’s impending move to New York. Now, in the break between seasons, we learned that Sloan and E’s engagement ended, and that there really hasn’t been any sense of closure on either one’s part. This changed tonight when the two of them boned, though E admits he still has feelings for Sloan, and it’s clear from Sloan’s tearful phone call that perhaps she still has a thing for E too. Is there doubt in anyone’s mind that the season’s not going to end with E either convincing Sloan to stay, or E moving out to New York to be with her? Of course he will, because Entourage is the end-all, be-all of Entourage. It’s like The Truman Show of TV shows. How else can you explain the fact that Airwalkers waited for Vince to get out of rehab to shoot the movie? Wasn’t the fact that he was a potential druggie who would bail on the film one of his greatest liabilities? Is the Diceman really going to soil this entire deal for some bullshit made-up ego reason? Once this season’s over, I’m never going to be able to say “Oh that’s just Entourage” ever again. And that, my friends, is a travesty. Even more so than Ari’s many figure-enhancing suits.
- "Out With A Bang"= very little fucking, weirdly.
- I saw Steve Levitan this weekend at Just For Laughs. He's a very imposing man. I can understand why Lloyd was scared. Also from the fest, here's an amazing joke Jeffrey Ross told: "Ken Jeong is receiving the award for Breakout Comedy Star, for his role as the baby on Modern Family."