Episode 8 - Sniff Sniff Gang Bang
26 August 2010
Synopsis: Ari tries and fails to be on his best behaviour. His wife suggests their marriage is in trouble if he can't behave better. Johnny stubbornly refuses to be a cartoon monkey even when the studio approve of the show. Turtle seeks financial investment now that his publicity has created orders for the tequila. Sasha gets a high priced offer to do a porn film and Vince doesn't want her to do it. Vince refuses to take a drug test and so Randall Wallace quits Air Walker. Eric confronts Vince about his drug use but is ignored.
The Good: The Vince story has been well paced so far. If the next four episodes see him spiral further into addiction then the season will have been well spent. He should not be able to recover any time soon.
The content of the story is pretty good too. Entourage always avoids the histrionics of other drama shows and keeps things feeling authentic. So Vince and Eric have a stern confrontation but they don't yell, they are far more passive aggressive than that. Eric has become more serious and adult as Vince has remained in the pampered world of stardom. Now the cracks in their relationship have become evident. Vince has kept his drug use from Eric because he knew the judgemental reaction which would follow. Conversely Eric feels betrayed; he has been out defending Vince's good name while being kept in the dark. There is no soap opera like falling out, you know Eric will be trying to reconcile and help Vince next week. That interaction feels far more like reality than most shows and it's what keeps Entourage interesting.
Vince's relationship with Sasha takes an intriguing turn when she is offered a role in a porn film. We have seen Vince become foolishly preoccupied with a woman before (Mandy Moore in Season 2), so this situation fits his character. His desire to prevent her from sleeping with other men is entirely understandable but his methods are manipulative. He tries to use his status (both through a direct payment and then through Air Walker) to control her and keep his world a happy place. It's a good story because no one is watching thinking he is being unreasonable in his desires. His affection for her is nice to see but his manipulations fit ideally into his downward spiral.
Ari's attempts to not misbehave were pretty funny (see Comic Highlight). The threat to his marriage should be a serious story and someone of his intelligence should recognise the need to change. The therapy sessions are easy comedy and communicate the problems well but more is needed to make viewers really care.
Johnny's stubbornness still makes sense considering his ego.
The Bad: Turtle's story has no emotion attached to it. The lack of production for the tequila makes sense but is the story going to turn into an excuse for Mark Cuban to play actor? The fact that his business manager is played by veteran actor Bob Odenkirk suggests it might be.
As I said in the previous episode, Ari's story seems to have been downgraded in terms of serious consequences. At work the tone turned immediately from talk of law suits to laughs about Ari's temper and language. Jeffrey Tambor is wheeled out to resume his role as the irritating client\friend. I still don't think he has been written correctly. He is playing a role very similar to many of his actual acting parts but it just seems to signposted that he is meant to be annoying.
The marital problems don't really seem that big a deal either. Every Ari marriage story ends with them having impromptu sex and there's no reason to assume this won't end that way as well. It also seems a bit strange for his wife to be so ashamed of his language. Not only does he use it around her but we have seen him use it in front of her friends and the children's teachers before (in early season 4).
Comic Highlight: You have to see it to understand the comedy value of Ari's final facial expression in this scene. Ari leaves a staff meeting to speak to Dana Gordon and has made a big show of how he intends not to lose his temper or say anything rude. Unfortunately Dana's request that Vince take a drug test angers him no end. He cannot resist using a colourful metaphor to make his point and says: "I am sure there are guys who have fingered you in the ass long enough that eventually you let them fuck it and now you think that you've got me bent over with your finger in my ass, thinking that I'm gonna let you do the same. I am not like you Dana, you will not fuck me in the ass! Vince will not piss in a cup for you or anyone else!" He slams the phone down smashing it and looks up to see the entire staff meeting looking at him. He buries his head in embarrassment and anger. Classic Ari.
Victory?: The Vince story is pretty good, the rest are just average.
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