Entourage: Season One Revisited

On a hot, sticky night in Boston last summer, I crammed into Saint with 200 other twentysomethings for the private East Coast premiere of “Entourage”, HBO’s new comedy about a young actor who brings his three best buddies along for the wild ride. After an hour of specialty martinis and appetizers I couldn’t pronounce, the screening began. I was expecting a predictable comedy that mindlessly combined the excess of “Cribs” with the Hollywood in-jokes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. I was wrong.

What I got, in fact, was something funny, smart and exceedingly entertaining. The show primarily follows up-and-coming actor Vincent Chase (played by Adrian Grenier), Vince’s washed-up actor brother Johnny “Drama” Chase (Kevin Dillon), the shy fish-out-of-water Eric (Kevin Connolly) and the wisecracking Turtle (Jerry Ferrara). Not to be outdone is Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven), Vince’s hotshot agent who is as conniving as he is fiercely loyal. Though based on real life super agent Ari Emanuel, Piven has created an original, utterly hilarious character who steals virtually every scene he’s in. The series is also executive produced by Dorchester-bred Mark Wahlberg, whose own experiences provide the foundation for the show (Emanuel is his real agent).

If you missed any or all of it, here is a rundown of Season One as Vince and his crew prepare to tear it up once again.

Episode 1: In the pilot episode, we are thrown right into the boiling Hollywood cauldron as Vince and company attend the premiere of his new action film, “Head On”. Upon arriving at the red carpet, Vince is met with a cacophony of female shrieks as he strolls the carpet and we see his “It-Boy” status. After the premiere we are introduced to Ari, who needles Eric about reading a new script titled “Matterhorn” (Ari describes it as “Diehard at Disneyland”). Eventually all four guys read the script, but Eric implores Vince not to do the movie. Stymied, Ari power dinners with Eric to change his mind. Eric doesn’t back down, stiffs Ari with the bill and bolts. The next morning Ari tells Vince that Colin Farrell signed on to “Matterhorn” and its hefty payday. Sitting on the front steps, Eric wonders if he made the wrong decision, and Johnny is only left to say, “Colin Farrell, he’s good…”

Episode 2: The crew gets a rude awakening as a terrible review is published in “Variety”. Undaunted, the crew makes the first of many visits to Ari’s flashy high-rise office. There they encounter Justine Chapin (a Jessica Simpson-esque pop singer who is saving herself until marriage) and Emily, Ari’s attractive new assistant. In their meeting Ari tells Eric to keep Vince’s mind off the bad review and introduces the new catchphrase, “Let’s Hug It Out Bitch”. At lunch the boys bump into Jessica Alba (Vince’s co-star in “Head On”), who invites them to a huge party at her house. Taking Ari’s advice a bit too far, Vince leases a $400K Rolls Royce, which leads to Eric getting chewed out by Vince’s accountant. At the party the boys mingle will starlets, Turtle “christens” the Rolls and Vince has a long, uncomfortable conversation with Justine. The episode ends on a high note, as the New York Times proclaims that Vince is the next Johnny Depp.

Episode 3: Thanks to Ari, the boys have ringside boxing seats at the Staples Center and, of course, flock to the after party. There they run into Jimmy Kimmel (who asks Vince to appear on his show) and Luke Wilson (who gives Turtle a hot tip on a primo home theatre system). Although Johnny tells Vince not to go on Kimmel’s show because of a past feud, Vince makes the appearance and even finds time for a pre-show rendezvous with actress Sarah Foster. While the boys enjoy the taping from the green room, Vince plugs the home theatre company (he will now get the system for free) and mentions the supposed feud to Kimmel. In a moment of clarity, Johnny realizes he was actually to blame for the tiff. He proceeds to head out in front of the camera for some welcome television face time, and he and Kimmel awkwardly reconcile on stage.

Episode 4: As Vince’s film opens nationwide, the boys start the day with breakfast and a huge box of fan mail. After drooling over the juiciest envelope (which contains an obsessive letter and a nude picture), the boys plan a date night to celebrate the opening. Vince invites Justine Chapin, Johnny invites a muscular female gym buddy, Eric invites Emily and Turtle invites a mystery girl. The night goes smoothly until Eric realizes that Turtle’s date is actually the obsessed fan mail girl. Already in a bad mood over lousy midday box office numbers, Eric builds to a slow burn later at a nightclub. Until, that is, Ari arrives with news that “Head On” is the #1 live action movie in America and a huge commercial success. Although each guy has lost their date by this point, they tackle of bottle of tequila to celebrate.

Episode 5: Breaking the “Three Day Rule”, Vince lets a fling (a crunchy vegan named Fiona) crash at the house longer than expected. Later Eric runs into Ari’s old assistant (Eric Weinstein, now a rival agent) who hands him a new script called “Queens Boulevard”, a low budget, low paying independent project. Eric and Vince love it, but over lunch Ari lets them know the producer hates Vince. Fiona also gives Turtle a tip on where to find pot, since a drought has left Southern California bone dry. In the weirdest scene of the season, the boys travel to a commune owned by a deep-friend sherpa (played hilariously by Val Kilmer). Still high from the field trip, Vince and Eric meet with the producer of “Queens Boulevard”. The meeting quickly goes south until Vince mentions his pot hookup. After a quick back alley toke, Vince has the producer wrapped around his finger, and he is cast in the film.

Episode 6: “Head On” is a hit and Vince attends a large meeting where tons of new scripts are thrown at him, while downstairs Johnny meets with a low-level agent. Not happy with the agent’s status, Johnny bolts in anger and tells Vince to fire Ari, who arranged the meeting. At the behest of Vince’s publicist (played by the underrated Debi Mazar), the boys attend Gary Busey’s latest art opening and Turtle accidentally breaks one of the installations (and subsequently fears Busey’s wrath). At the exhibit Eric Weinstein invites the boys to a big bash in Malibu. Ari, not happy Vince is attending Eric’s party, sends Emily to watch for anything untort. Of course, Weinstein falsely claims that Ari is trying to block the final deal for “Queens Boulevard”, leading Eric to call Ari and let him know they will be seeking new representation. Next comes one of the coolest television moments I have ever seen, as Ari rushes to the party (with the help of an amazing steadycam shot) and proceeds to verbally pulverize Weinstein and reclaim his prized client. He assures Vince he’s not trying to sabotage the movie, and they kiss and make up.

Episode 7: With the new film project in motion the boys meet the proposed director Billy Walsh, an arrogant recent Sundance winner who wants to make the film his vanity project. Upon meeting, Billy loves Vince but is abrasive to Eric, repeatedly calling him a “suit”. In reading Walsh’s script changes, Eric is shocked by a disturbing scene involving Vince. This makes Eric hate Walsh even more, and they all meet at a strip club to get on the same page. Walsh reassures Vince that the scene will be done in good taste, but Eric is still worried. Before they make a final decision on the director, the boys watch Billy’s Sundance-winning film and are all blown away. The next day they meet Billy to finalize a decision, and he shocks them by revealing that the scene was a actually a test to gauge Vince’s commitment to the film. With the misunderstanding put aside, everyone toasts the upcoming project.

Episode 8: The season finale has the crew preparing to travel to New York for filming. Turtle plans a huge going-away party for Vince and Johnny, who has snagged a small part in the movie, scores an audition for “CSI: Minneapolis” (explained hilariously by his agent as “Don Johnson playing the William Peterson playing the David Caruso playing the Gary Sinise role”), a series with a filming schedule that will overlap with “Queens Boulevard”. While waiting for Vince to “say goodbye” to a lady friend, Eric realizes he wants to officially be Vince’s manager. He gets some hilarious advice from Ari and takes Vince out to dinner to make his case. Vince, not taking Eric’s request very seriously, invites Johnny and Turtle who proceed to mock Eric and ruin the dinner. His feelings hurt, Eric decides to stay in Los Angeles during the filming. On their way to the airport, Vince calls Eric and has him bring a wallet he forgot, seemingly just busting balls. After an awkward runway conversation, the plane pulls away briefly and then stops. Vince exits and lays it all out for Eric, saying that he can fire a manager, but he can’t fire his friend. Eric says it’s a chance he’s willing to take, and the boys take off to film the risky, possibly career changing “Queens Boulevard”.

Season Two of “Entourage” Premiers Sunday, June 5th @ 9PM (EST) on HBO