Entourage, HBO, Airs Sundays 10pm E/P
Episode: “Fantasy Island” (Season Five, Episode One)
Synopsis: Six months after Medellin premiered at Cannes to a disastrous reception, the quartet is divided by the repercussions. Eric (Kevin Connolly) and Drama (Kevin Dillon) have returned to work in LA, where Eric has taken on a third client (played by Bow Wow) and Drama is living up to his name by refusing to have promo photos taken of his “bad” right side. Vincent (Adrian Grenier) and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) meanwhile are hiding out on a beach in Mexico, relaxing, jet skiing, and feasting on a diet of poi and pussy. Ari (Jeremy Piven) seems to be the only one scrambling to save Vincent’s career.
Review: The premiere episode’s title, “Fantasy Island”, is fitting for several reasons. Vincent and Turtle are living on a beach in Mexico that looks to be part of a secluded island, with only a shack, a hammock, two jet skis, a butler, and about twenty-eight fake boobs. Back in LA, an offer comes to Ari for Vincent to star in a thriller called Danger Beach, and when Vinnie won’t return to meet for it, Ari, Eric, and Drama all head down to Mexico to try and convince him. As their plane flies overhead, the small, rotund man (Turtle) points and cries “Da plane! Da plane!” The gang returns to LA only to discover that the meeting was a ruse to get Emile Hirsch (who recently had his own Medellin-style disaster with Speed Racer) for the role at a lower price. Adding to the “fantastic” aspect were a couple throw away lines regarding money… the beach getaway where Vinnie and Turtle had spent the previous six months? “$79 a night”, which may have been believable if it was just the shack sans jet skis, butler, and babes. The lower price the producer wanted to sign Hirsch for? “$2 million less his quote”, which I’d wager would put him at a negative $1 million since I can’t see Hirsch pulling in more than a million per film. As usual, the episode provided some great laughs at Hollywood’s expense. Vinnie scoffs at the idea of returning to LA for a thriller, but Eric tries to convince him by telling him the role is “the same kind Shia LaBeouf had in Disturbia. You look scared a few times, you smile so the girls want to fuck you, then you laugh all the way to the next Raiders of the Lost Ark.” I’m guessing this episode was filmed before Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was actually released and reviewed, otherwise the barb may have been sharper. By the episode’s end, very little has actually transpired. Basically the gang is all back in LA, they’ve accepted the obvious suckage that was Medellin, and they’re ready to move on to something new. That said, they’re still entertaining enough that I look forward to checking in on them every Sunday night for the rest of the season. If only they’d back away from the trend towards unattractive, implanted chicks and return to the natural beauty of season one’s Beau Garrett…
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