Episode 5 - Bottoms Up
24 August 2010
Synopsis: Johnny is furious to discover that John Stamos has offered his role to Bob Saget. Vince starts seeing porn star Sasha Grey and his reckless behaviour takes a new twist when he tastes the tequila which Turtle brought back from Mexico. Ari tries to personally reassure the clients who Lizzie is targeting.
The Good: Vince's story is certainly moving in unexpected directions since the car stunt (701). Rather than a "simple" addiction to adrenaline and danger Vince is becoming less careful in different aspects of his life. Not only could dating a porn star be bad for his image but bringing her to meetings is definitely a risky thing to do. I like the way the story is playing out so far. It's not as if Sasha is some wild hedonist nor has Vince lost his mind. She actually advises him to dress more appropriately for a meeting but they both forget their priorities when he tickles her through the door to the meeting. Again the decision to become the face of an alcoholic drink won't be good PR as he chases a movie role as a Marvel superhero (remember long ago he was warned that Aqua Man should not be playing Pablo Escobar in 305).
The idea that Vince has been on pain pills since the stunt is a plausible aid to his erratic behaviour. But considering the real life issues (including Heath Ledger and Brittany Murphy) that pill addiction touches on the writers need to not treat the topic flippantly.
There was a lot of fun to be had during this unsubtly named episode. Some of it was as crude as Entourage ever gets and doubtless there is a certain constituency who will laugh at Johnny's claim that the "vagina is my third favourite hole." More amusing was Sloan and Eric's simulation of awkwardly attempting the act. It was nice to see Lloyd back playing Ari's sidekick and the most fun of all was seeing Mike Tyson play the celebrity game just right (see Comic Highlight). I'm pleased Stan Lee was able to laugh at himself with his cameo.
The return of Amanda Davies as one of Ari's nemeses is an interesting idea. It's more good continuity from the show as she has made repeated guest appearances since her recurring role in season three. But I never found her character to be particularly well defined, so we shall see where it goes. Certainly the idea of Ari's wheeling and dealing being exposed to all his clients would be fun to see.
The Bad: On the other hand if it means seeing endless celebrity cameos then it may not be a great idea. Bob Saget was wasted here and his girlfriend offering Johnny a blow job seemed a rather pathetic attempt at a punch line. Jessica Simpson was doing fine until she threw out all her morals for a poodle. Similarly Aaron Sorkin's dignity may be fun to play with but it's not like he is well known in front of the camera and so his coercion by Ari was hardly knee slapping stuff. Again the problem is seeing celebrities so blatantly display immature traits that ruins the joke.
Comic Highlight: On the contrary Mike Tyson played it just fine. Hardly known for his sensible decision making Tyson's hilarious suggestion that he play Mike Brady and his hopeful pleas to Ari hit the spot. Throw in his unruly children believably messing up the office and the general chaos Ari was dealing with and you had a very well put together scene of light comedy.
Victory?: An episode which substituted smut and celebrity for actual comedy and character development. Entourage has a habit of doing this, throwing distractions at the audience to disguise the snail's pace of storytelling. Don't let talk of anal sex fool you, this show is going nowhere interesting.
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