“We wouldn’t want him to mistake your pale round face for a crack rock.” – Ari
There are two accusations that are always lobbed at Entourage when people are discussing the problems with the show. First, viewers complain that a lot of stuff goes on but nothing really ever HAPPENS. The second issue people raise is at least partially connected to the first. The lack of (negative) consequences for Vince (and to a lesser degree, the other fellas) really tends to drive people crazy. Regardless of what kind of jam the guys find themselves in, by the time credits roll they are jetting off to Vegas or partying with super-models. It’s hard to get invested in a show that never changes. And yet, I continue to watch.
I thought for sure that last season’s finale would once and for all provide the kind of consequences for Vince that had been so lacking. After all, he had gone on a pretty epic bender that resulted in the loss of an important movie role as well as an arrest for drug possession. Well, it turns out I was wrong. Despite all indications, the addiction and the arrest had little impact on his career and very little impact on his lifestyle.
He is able to avoid jail time by entering a rehab facility. And although he no longer uses drugs, he doesn’t seem to be taking his sobriety very seriously. “[Rehab] is exactly what I needed, a chance to be by myself and reflect,” Vince says, which indicates that he benefited from the experience rather than being punished by it. “I went to rehab to avoid jail,” he says, matter-of-factly. The implication being that he didn’t go to rehab intent on bettering himself, he merely wanted to once again avoid real consequences. Not only is he spared a bid in the clink, his movie career appears to be unharmed. His role in Airwalkers is waiting for him right where he left it, all he has to do is pass a drug test.
Really, the only thing that appears to have been affected by Vince’s out of control behavior is his relationship with Eric (Kevin Connolly). “They are like Sammi and Ronnie on the Jersey Shore,” Scott Caan’s character says of the duo. He seems to resent E for not being able to effectively separate their business lives from their long friendship. I have to admit, I didn’t quite understand the rationale behind Vince’s bitterness. I mean, what did he expect was going to happen when he hired his best friend to be his manager?
I have to give Entourage credit where credit is due: the show finally provides some consequences for Ari (Jeremy Piven). At one point in Entourage’s lifespan, Ari was the best thing about the show. But as the series wore on, Ari’s schtick began to wear thin. Even his once-hilarious brutal zingers (usually directed at Lloyd) became less and less effective. Ari has never really felt like a real person (although, I suppose the same could be said for nearly all the characters on Entourage), more like a cartoon or a caricature. However, I appreciate the show’s attempt to humanize him a bit in “Home Sweet Home.”
Mrs. Ari (Perrey Reeves), whose name I can never remember, is sticking to her guns and going through with the separation. In sort of a role reversal, Ari is beginning to allow his personal life to interfere with running the agency. In the past it was always work that was getting in the way of his responsibilities as a parent and as a husband. In a rare moment of honesty and vulnerability Ari pleads with his wife to take him back. “I’m devastated. Honey, I want to come home,” he says. Alas, Mrs. Ari is in no mood for reconciliation. In fact she claims to have moved on and is seeing someone else. It’s not clear whether or not she is telling the truth or simply trying to make Ari suffer. Either way, Ari is finally forced out of his Super Agent persona and brought back down to earth.
A bunch of other stuff happens in the episode, some of it funny, some of it not particularly interesting. But as I was saying before, it doesn’t really matter what actually happens from episode to episode because at the end nothing really happens. Entourage isn’t about action or plot, it’s about creating an atmosphere. And when it comes to building atmosphere, few shows are better. The world portrayed in the show is clearly fantasy, but it looks enough like the actual L.A. (or at least some version of L.A.) that the viewer is able to recognize it, aspire to it. I guess that could be what keeps me coming back: the world that Entourage has created just looks so damn fun. And sometimes, creating a setting that I want to hang out in is all it takes to get me to tune in every week.
Some stats and info about Entourage, “Home Sweet Home”
TV SHOW – Entourage
SEASON/EPISODE – Season 8, Episode 1
AIRED ON – July 24th, 2011
NETWORK/STREAMING SERVICE – HBO/MAX
GENRE – Comedy, Relationship Shows
CREATED BY – Doug Ellin
CAST – Adrian Grenier, Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, Jeremy Piven, Rex Lee, Perrey Reeves, Debi Mazar, Emmanuelle Chiriqui
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.