Entourage Exegesis

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Thinking about Entourage, I realize how little about it I am able to grasp. The tone, the target audience, the reason it’s so popular, these elements remain a mystery to me, even though I’ve seen most of the series since the stunningly stupid pilot episode. I know it’s supposed to be a comedy, but I can’t tell if it’s being ironic about its subject matter. I thought it was a spoof, but now I hear people saying how realistic a portrait it is of the “New Hollywood.â€? I know the lead character, Vince, is supposed to be incredibly attractive, but to me he is somewhere between Ben Stiller and a generic swarthy Terrorist. i.e., icky in the extreme.

Okay, so here is my understanding so far: A bunch of creeps from somewhere come to Hollywood so that the Good-Looking one, Vince, can become a movie star. His buddy Eric, a midget, is acting as his manager, even though he has no experience at this. Their pal “Dramaâ€? is Vince’s retarded half-brother, who looks around 20 years older and once had an acting career. Their friend “Turtleâ€? is an overweight loser who wants to get laid, but not quite as much as the others. Vince has an agent named Ari, who is the consummate Hollywood prick, and is played by a guy with a reputation for same.

Vince and his entourage (get it?!) spend most of their time either arguing or ogling hot skinny chicks wearing bikinis. There is lots of sex, but we don’t actually see it, thank god. Vince has had a relationship with a girl played by either Mandy Moore or Jessica Alba (I get those two confused.) She plays an actress who keeps dumping him. Vince scores big when he gets cast as “Aquamanâ€? in a blockbuster directed by that guy who made Titanic, who plays himself. Despite major stardom, Vince and his pals are still moron yokels who speak every line as though trying to be heard by a deaf person. I can never figure out when something is supposed to be funny, so I turn to my Husband to look for cues. Since he has asked me to stop screaming at the TV, I have learned to maintain my composure until the closing credits, at which time I allow myself to curse freely, If you watch Entourage and don’t do likewise, please get in touch and explain before next Sunday.