Entourage

Back in 2004 when HBO first brought us the hip comedy Entourage, it was an instant hit as it came out right around the time when everyone realized that getting famous was something that could realistically be attained with the rise in popularity of blogs, independent music labels and websites, and of course the infamous sex tapes. Everyone saw themselves as Vince or one of his three buddies from Brooklyn when they moved to Hollywood to take advantage of the lifestyle that we used to only dream about. It was cool to see how things actually worked behind the scenes in Los Angeles and to see how movie stars interacted with one another and with their agents.

Could it be possible to really hang out with Jessica Alba at one of her parties? Could I be the next Eric Murphy who went from managing an awful pizza place to representing one of Hollywood’s best up and coming actors? These were the questions this show had everyone asking themselves.

But then it all started to go downhill around season 4 or 5 when things stopped being fun and they tried to turn it into a drama. All of a sudden E is trying to become a real agent with his own office and clients, Vince is getting into real relationships, and Turtle starts crying at airports. It became Sex and the City but without the old woman boobs; and by the time the last season finally rolled around, people were openly begging for it to come to an end.

Well thankfully creator Doug Ellin decided to take over the writing and directing duties for this reunion movie and the result was what we were all hoping for; a return to season 1 of Entourage. He didn’t actually take us back to the first season but the comedy, sex, and relatability we all experienced in that season is definitely back.

The movie picks up just a week or two after the final episode of season 9; Vince is in the middle of getting his ridiculous marriage annulled, Eric and Sloan have broken up but are about to have a baby together, and Turtle and Drama are back to being Turtle and Drama. Drama is still struggling to gain respect as an actor in Hollywood and Turtle is just living off of the success of his tequila company. Ari, the person everyone in real life actually missed, has gotten approval from his wife to get back in the game so that he can become the head of a major studio, and his first move as studio head is to get Vince to be the lead in their big summer blockbuster. The only problem is, Vince demands that he also gets to direct it.

After giving into Vince’s demands, Ari, along with the movie’s main money man Larsen McCredle (Billy Bob Thorton), are getting a little worried about the quality of the film as Vince is constantly going over budget and he refuses to let anyone see a copy of the early cut. So McCredle demands that his son Travis gets shown a copy of the movie before he releases any more money, and once his son finally sees it, he comes back with a ton of ridiculous ideas of how the movie can be made better.

So now Ari has to turn into the Ari of old as he tries to meet the demands of the snotty kid while also protecting his investment, client, and friend Vince. I say Ari of old because Ari is trying his best to become a tamer version of his former self and as a result you don’t get the classic lines you are used to hearing in the television show. He does yell and go off quite a bit but most of jokes about gay Asians and his former girlfriend Dana Gordon get cut off before he has the opportunity to give us something truly quotable. Having said that, he is still the best part of this movie by far. Every time this long movie begins to have a bit of a lull, he pops on the screen just in time to punch a photo of a cute little kitten.

Vince and the gang throw wild parties on the regular that wind up having everyone who has ever done anything of significance in the past 5 years. You literally see everyone from Rob Gronkowski to Warren Buffett and all of the recognizable characters from the show are back, including Billy Walsh aka Wally Balls. There’s plenty of sex, fun, and high tension as Vince tries to keep his movie afloat, E tries to get back in the dating game, and Turtle tries to convince Rhonda Rousey to date him. If this movie fails, it could mark the end for Vince and Ari in Hollywood and that would mean HBO wouldn’t have the opportunity to give us an Entourage 2: Electric Boogaloo.

After walking into the theater highly skeptical of anything good coming from this forced production, I have to say that I walked out pretty pleased with the overall effort. I mean, it’s still Entourage, so don’t expect anything Oscar worthy but it was cool to see the old gang back together again making you laugh and once again dream about the possibilities in life. I give this movie a solid rating of FRESH and I suggest you check it out.