vince

(S06E02) "Who would've thought I'd be the only one guaranteed to have sex tonight?!?" - Turtle

I know I've said it before, but one of the things that I've always loved about Entourage is how the writers behind the show seem to have this uncanny knack for re-creating exact conversations that I've had with my friends before. I know I'm not the only one out there who's had a laugh with their buddies trying to figure out how exactly did Seth Rogan get laid in Knocked Up? When Turtle made his final point ("His ugliness is oddly fascinating."), it was like deja-vu for me.

Then they went and killed the moment when Vince got that nudie pic of Sloan's friend. That never happens to me or my friends.

(S06E01) "Can we drive with the airbags deployed?" - Drama

The boys are back, and as I mentioned in my Early Look review last week, everything we knew about Entourage finally seems to be evolving. Some of it's logical and some of it's forced so that the story progresses, but all of it makes sense. Entourage was due for an overhaul if you think about it, and what could be more perfect than seeing what life is like for the guys when they aren't constantly worrying about Vince's career?

You think Turtle would have ever had time to smoke a J in a hot tub with Jamie-Lynn Sigler if Scorsese hadn't called Vince? I don't think so.

Like many shows before it, Entourage has officially reached a point where the title of the program doesn't exactly make total sense anymore. Think season two of Prison Break after they had, you know... broken out of prison. In this case, we've spent five seasons watching boys become men, and much like the tagline for Entourage's sixth season plainly spells out, "life changes, friends don't." What exactly happens when Vince no longer has an entourage?

The show gets a helluva lot more interesting is what happens.

I've talked at length in the past about how much I've loved all the creative taglines Entourage has featured over it's previous five seasons. They're short and witty, yet the brevity always gets across the point of the season too. The latest promotional campaign for Entourage's upcoming sixth season is no exception:

"Life changes. Friends don't."

When we last left Vinny and the boys, they were gearing up for Marty Scorsese's Great Gatsby re-imagining and it began with moving home to Queens. Speculation seems to be leaning towards Vince finally getting his due and being recognized for what's sure to be a stand-out performance in a Scorsese classic.

I know, I know, two commercial-inspired posts in one day, but this one's pretty funny. It's a parody of the ShamWow ad. It shows us all of the things that paper towels can do, regardless of what Vince tries to tell us in those commercials. Personally, I think he should drive home the "paper towels are better" point more.

[via AdFreak]

First there was the ShamWow, then the Slap Chop, and then Vince was caught fighting with a prostitute. He's a pop culture icon already, and someone has put his Slap Chop commercial to a backbeat and it's pretty good! This is a remix of the commercial set to music, and it's actually better than 50% of what's in the Top 20 right now.

[via AdFreak]

You'll never look at infomercials the same way again.

The ShamWow pitchman, whose real name is Vince Shlomi, was arrested in South Beach in Florida for getting into an altercation at a hotel. Seems that he paid $1000 for the services of a prostitute for an evening, and when he started to kiss her, she bit his tongue and wouldn't let go! So he started to punch her several times until she let go of his tongue. He ran to the lobby and had hotel workers call the cops.

It's not the first time the prostitute was arrested, but she's thinking about suing Shlomi for the incident. I guess she didn't love his nuts. Charges against both of them have been dropped.

This actually happened last month, according to The Smoking Gun, which has all of the details (of course), including Shlomi's mug shot. They even have an interview with the woman involved.

As one of the few hits that's currently keeping HBO afloat, Entourage is still only a modest success - it's recent fifth season premiere hit a three-year low. Despite the lackluster ratings, HBO still gave the greenlight to a sixth season much earlier than expected... because, well, they don't have much else going on right now.

That being said, I'm a huge fan of the show and have been since it began. Yes, I'm one of the few that actually tuned in for the mostly ignored eight episode freshman season. I honestly don't see HBO pulling the plug without a true series finale at this stage in the series, but weirder things have happened and I want season six to roar back. So if you watch the show, great - glad to know you weren't part of that "three-year low" I mentioned. But if you used to watch Entourage, or never have, then this will be good for ya - the only six episodes you need to watch to know just what the heck is going on in the world of Vincent Chase.

(S05E12) "She's treating me like she usually treats Johnny." - Vince

Things certainly weren't looking good for Vince. But in true Entourage style, something always works out. Despite the fact that this was one of the strongest episodes of the season, I really wish it had ended differently.

(S05E02) "No indies E! Think of it like the Holocaust - never again!" - Ari

Ever since the beginning of Entourage, I've been waiting for this episode. As much as I love Vince, it's been a long time coming for his "I'll do whatever the hell I want" mentality to finally come full circle and bite him in the ass. His career is in the toilet, Ari even admitted that his worth as an actor "remains to be seen," and E is officially taking his own career more seriously. If Vince wants a comeback, then it's going to be up to him and I love that it's been set up that way. Up until now, his failures have been a direct result partly because of his reliance on Eric and partly because of his own laissez-faire, "what will be will be" attitude. If he screws it all up now, it's his own fault.

(S05E01) "Our next film is Medellin - the ultra-violent story of Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar starring Vincent Chase in a fat-suit in bad make-up that makes him look like the love child of Jiminy Glick and a case of Twinkies." - Richard Roeper

Ouch. It's been six months since Cannes, Medellin is getting a straight-to-DVD release, and people are still talking about it. One of the worst films of the year. I can't say that I'm surprised. Considering how last season ended and what we've come to expect from Entourage, this felt less like a season premiere and more like just another episode. Vincent Chase can only stay down and out hidden in Mexico for so long before the allure of his almost dead career came calling.

The fifth season of Entourage returns in just a little more than a month on September 7th, and HBO has been running a short promo for a few weeks now. Don't get too excited though. For a season that's going to feature appearances by Jeffrey Tambor, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Bennett, Phil Mickelson, Fran Drescher, and Bow Wow (there's even more that I'm not listing), you'd hope for a small taste of that in the promos. Nope. Business as usual - parties, cars, girls, and lots of Drama. Don't take that as me not being excited though. I read that this season is going to feature a Johnny Drama melt-down on The View. That right there is reason enough to tune it. Video is after the jump.

(S04E12) "In France, I'm a Viking god." - Drama

Medellin. We've been talking about it all season. We've seen clips, a ridiculously good trailer for the film, and even a "making of" documentary. Despite all the positive hype, we've only had one question: what if it sucks? Well guess what? It sucks... a lot. Amidst a frantic and hyper crowd at Cannes, Medellin's screening worked like a sedative. Only Billy and Vince seemed to be enjoying the film as if they were in on some joke. It even garnered a few "boos." To be honest, it felt anti-climactic to me if only because this was exactly what I've been expecting. This was the only logical outcome. Everything always comes up roses for this crew. They needed a reality check and this proved to be the perfect vehicle for it.

(S04E11) "Ninety-seven minutes, E." - Drama

It just keeps getting better. Like everyone else, I've complained here and there about some of the mediocre episodes that have aired this summer. However, it's hard to stay angry when we get one like this. It was perfect really. Hands down, one of the best written episodes of Entourage -- spanning all four seasons. Think about it. When was the last episode that flawlessly integrated every character into the action as well as guest spots from Kanye West, Sydney Pollack, and Anna Faris?

(S04E10) "I like being E." - Turtle

Back to the season. This episode did what we like to call "advance the plot." Remember the plot? This show had one at one point, and as much as I've enjoyed the past few episodes exploring E's choices, I'm glad we finally got back to what the show is all about: Vince's career. Another cool factor? Eric had nothing to do with it this time around. As many folks predicted in last week's poll, right out of the gate E seemed to be focusing his energy on Anna and putting Vince on the back-burner. Doubt very much that'll last too long.