Entourage, Season 5

On one of my international flights, the flight attendant looked like she was uttering something to me. Alas, my earphones were already streaming audio from my MacBook to my ears and, as far as I was concerned, no other audio mattered. I was after all watching the "Gotta Look Up to Get Down" episode from Entourage, Season 5. And, I and mine will attest, since the Sunday HBO played this months ago, I knew I was going to get hooked. This 27-minute episode is packed with literary and cultural references to aesthetics, gender, work and family dynamics, the form/content clash and so forth. In sum, it's a gem.

I remove the earphones to find out what the content of her comment was all about.
"Nice! You're watching Entourage." said the friendly flight attendant to which I said, "Yeah! It rocks."

But, you see, it's not just this episode that is ripe with rich motifs. The entire Season Five is a gem. The way Stellan Skarsgård portrays a kooky German director, or how Jason Isaacs so convincingly portrays a not-so-straight performing straight-acting fashion businessman. And on and on.

I have already blogged about the ending of the "Gotta Look Up to Get Down" episode which features one of the most tender scenes I have analyzed this year. A sensitive Ari Gold puts his emotions on display for his favorite client, Vinnie Chase, to witness.

Portraying Ari's vulnerability is what's proving to be Jeremy Piven's opportunity to show the world his acting chops and that he's so much more than John Cusack's side kick or a potential George Costanza. Ari Gold is the making of Entourage. He has a kind of range that is really almost overwhelming me every time I watch this show.

What has made a lot of my recent trips more enjoyable has been the following:

The newly released Season Five of Entourage
Steve Martin's Shopgirl, the last 6 minutes of the film
Three minutes out of Zach Braff's Garden State, the "You're in it right now, aren't you?" scene.

I'll explain.

Being a close reader by training, I have a trained (and natural) tendency to zoom in on certain snippets of texts. Close reading, I am told at home and out, is not just how I make my bread and butter, it's an extension of my nature. Ergo, focusing on certain segments in certain filmic pieces is as natural to me as griping about my Venti Macchiato coming my way lid-less and sleeve-less. Incidentally, getting easily vexed by such oh-so-menial faux annoyances like a lid-less and sleeve-less Starbucks drink is yet another side effect of close reading.

Whether you share my close reading tendencies or not, you should consider getting the newly released Season Five of Entourage.

I give it thumbs and toes up. Season Six of Entourage will start July 12th on HBO.

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Homosociality in Entourage

A good example of homosociality. And Radiohead's Fake Plastic Trees accompanies what, in my view, is one of Jeremy Piven's best performances in Season 5.

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Ari Gold Is the Making of Entourage

(Jeremy Piven's character of 'Ari Gold' is on the right.)

I was never interested in the HBO show Entourage. For some reason its charm never rubbed off on me. But when Jeremy Piven was awarded a third Emmy in a row for his portrayal of Hollywood super agent Ari Gold, I thought I would give it a bit of a chance. Season 5 is the only one I watched and I'm glad I did because during the experience I got to learn about the character of Ari Gold. There are a lot of snore moments in this show and the only reason to watch it, per me, is to see Jeremy Piven's Gold in action.

Ari makes other hyperactives feel gotten. He gets the pace of life of a hyperactive and he unapologetically humanizes the essence of an overachiever.

Yes, he resorts to crudeness quite often but what makes him likable, even relatable, is his brutal honesty vis-a-vis those he truly loves and appreciates.

The episode length is perfect for those of us who are a) pressed for time or b) are of the hyperactive persuasion. Another thing I discovered in the episodes of Entourage, Season 5 is that the subtext of gender is quite fascinating. I read up on the show and many of the reviews say that some have a hard time with the show's premise. More specifically, the show does not have many strong female characters and it's too much representative of male speech.
I am not one of these people.
To those who say that the show lacks strong female characters, I say, I see you and I raise you Dana Gordon. Even Amanda.
The show's creator Doug Ellis wrote a show about the lasting value of true friendship within the bounds of solid homosociality and that it is, de facto, the only thing one needs to survive the plastic nature of Hollywood.

Let me provide a bit from the show. In here one sees Ari Gold in a therapy session with his wife.

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