Cannes they do it?

Another season of Entourage has come to a close. Unlike the reception of Medellin at Cannes, I applaud them.


This season had some problems, and those problems were what plagued the Cannes cut of Medellin: there was just too much. Now, I love excess, and I loved having Drama, Turtle, Vince, Billy and Ari around all summer. Oh yeah, and E even had a couple moments where he didn't annoy the piss out of me. Taken on the whole, the arc of Medellin this season was excellent. But it was also blatantly clear that HBO had ordered up extra episodes to run alongside the dearly departed Sopranos this spring and then they whipped their workhorse boys of summer all summer long. And there were filler episodes. Most of those episodes had some serious hilarity from Ari and Lloyd, which made them not only watchable, but pretty enjoyable. Ari rescuing Lloyd from the lascivious writer was a particular favorite of mine.

But in these filler episodes where the Medellin action ground to a halt, the guys wandered about without much purpose -- much like Hollywood -- and the show loses some of its charm at those times. That's when it tries to compensate by being the male SATC, which is what made plenty of people kneejerk against the show in the first place. Because though Vince is a cutie, there's just not much tension in watching him get laid. Eric had a failed business/romance with Ana Farris, and if we all didn't hate Eric so much, his relationship foibles would be more interesting. I mean, look at him in that picture of up there! So tightassed you could shove a lump of coal up his ass and he'd shit a diamond later that day! So, since Vince holds no mystery and the thought of Eric having sex makes us nauseated, they basically have to rely on Drama and Turtle to carry the day when it comes to outlandish sexcapades.

And, luckily for them, once again Drama came through!


Nobody suffers indignity quite the way Johnny Drama does. Better, no one revels in the indignity and finds a way to pump his ego with it the way Drama does. So his adventures in Cannes were the perfect ending to his capers this summer.

As for the rest of the boys and Medellin, it turns out Eric was right about the movie being too long and needing re-cut. I kind of figured that was how it would roll, considering that's the way they've cast Eric -- as the supposed brains behind Vince's success. I buy it and all, but I still just really dislike the fucker. No matter how much the runt stands up to Billy Walsh -- and no matter how outrageously insane or wrong Billy is -- I still root for Billy. He's an arrogant prick, Walsh is. But Eric still just peeves me.

They've gotten a lot of mileage out of Harvey Weinstein this year. Either the real Harvey has an excellent sense of humor, or he gives extra latitude because Eric Weinstein is a producer on the show and I assume he's related to him? Probably his son? Anyone know for sure? If so, that only makes it all funnier! And, in the end, Harvey did end up in the driver's seat, didn't he?

I loved how this season ended. Once again, Vince comes off looking like a professional, classy artist instead of a spoiled, money-hungry actor. It may not be realistic, but it's nice to watch someone with so much integrity. And it's even better to watch him get routinely punished for it! After getting adjusted to the outrageous success these guys pull out every season with every project, the show has formed a new depth by now making them struggle so hard for their indulgences. Medellin has a lot in common with some other plagued movies. Apocalypse Now comes to mind. But so does Waterworld.

So what'll it be? Ultimate box office and Oscars for Medellin? I don't know. (but I'd be willing to be an awful lot of money on it.) I do know this: I sure wouldn't be upset if Entourage strutted off with the Emmy for best comedy this year.