By: Buzz Byrne
It may be enjoyable to see Vincent Chase woo starlets and star “chasers” alike while loyal manager Eric steers the career and Turtle and older brother Drama play the "B-story" fools for relief, but the show has always been Ari Gold’s. Jeremy Piven won an Emmy for his portrayal of Vince’s agent, Gold, and with good reason; he is an amped-up, dark force who struggles with ethics like some would a stray hair that's annoying and present, but ultimately trivial. Now that the show's writers have wisely ended Vince’s dalliance with another agent, Ari fans would rightly hope to have the scene-chewing foul mouth roaring back. It doesn’t happen in this episode.
Vince and Eric are after money since they bought the rights to “MEDELLIN ” and decided to make the movie themselves. Ari stops in long enough to hook them up with a prince from somewhere who made his millions doing something -- drugs, guns, whatever, as Ari suggests. He also says Prince Yair’s wife, former Eastern Bloc pinup girl Nika, is the brains of the operation. Ultimately, a business proposal is made, with indecent overtones. Vince has to decide how much he wants $60 million of backing. Maybe Ari isn’t the one without a soul.
Meanwhile, Johnny Drama is mistakenly offered a role in RUSH HOUR 3 -- mostly so the director, Brett Ratner, can make a cameo and prove through his acting that being in front of the camera is a bit tougher than donning blue body paint and retractable claws.
Turtle is starting to experience genuine affection for Kelly, daughter of a hard-scowling auto body repair shop owner. She is more than a foil for Jerry Ferrara’s dim but earnest Turtle. When she makes him take off his hat during a meal and asks for his real name, there is moment where it seems as if nobody ever cared enough to ask him either of those questions, and that he might be in over his head.
While that moment is sweet and the girls always have the potential for destruction in this series, the problem is that time spent on Drama and Turtle's individual goals means less attention on Vince, and ultimately, less time with Ari onscreen.
And enough with the goofy, awkwardly prepared characters portrayed by mid-level talent like Artie Lange and Adam Goldberg. Michael Lerner is a superior actor, but even his mild, strong-arming producer comes across as rushed. This week, Assaf Cohen gets the nod as the oddly-accented Prince Yair. What a wasted opportunity to introduce a little bit of danger. Vince and Eric are striking out on their own, and things should get a little bumpy. Instead, the role is played obviously for the final punch line, and even that isn’t a surprise.
The missing element from ENTOURAGE can be solved immediately. Just look for the guy holding the Emmy and put him in front of the camera. Problem solved.