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Entourage: Season 2
R4 - Australia - Warner Home Video Review written by and copyright: Steve Wrigley & Noor Razzak (1st January 2001). |
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The Film
 The Indie film 'Queens Boulavard' is in the can and Vinnie (Adrian Grenier) is ready to make some money. The problem, he's gone cold. This Season takes the foundations of the first and builds on top of them tremendously. Firstly by increasing the number of episodes from 8 to 14 and second, by jamming those episodes with all the things that made me love the first season and more. The guest stars are bigger, the girls are hotter, the guys get richer, and Ari (Jeremy Piven) tantrums reach new highs. This season focuses heavily on Ari and his agency. On the power plays that take place as people step all over each other to make a name for themselves in L.A. Ari has to convince Vince to star in the new Warner's big budget super hero movie franchise, 'Aquaman'. It's a three movie deal worth millions, and the only big picture on offer for Vince since his time away on indie films has turned most of the studios cold on him. Vinnie would rather perform Shakespeare in London for a couple hundred a week than wear tights (Yup, the irony was lost on him) so Ari must once again try to control his client. Not an easy thing when his new manager is his best friend E (Kevin Connolly), probably the only manager in Hollywood who cares about his client. Ari has no ally. When all of a sudden, the best guest appearance emerges. Aquaman has a director and It's James Cameron. Vince wants in. Bad. But now there is a new problem. Cameron doesn't know who Vince is. Cameron is magic in the few scenes we see him in. One of the most memorable is the Sundance Film Festival episode where Cameron tells a ticket lady he only made Titanic "to make little girls cry". I wont tell you too much about the twists and turns of Vince's career in season two, but there is a Japanese energy drink commercial involving kung fu, bad dubbing and Jonny Drama (Kevin Dillon). What I will tell you is Piven is amazing. Ari's old boss returns to take over the agency that Ari spent the last ten years building since he was put in charge. It's "Jerry MacGuire" (1996) on speed, P and acid as Ari tries to figure out what his old boss is up to, who's with him, what actors he needs to take with him, tantrums, tantrums, tantrums. The cast gets a new and welcome addition in form of Llyod (Rex Lee). Ari's new assistant. A gay asian man. Llyod is great value. He takes all of Ari's beyond un-PC remarks with a grain of salt and is the perfect PH balance for Piven's comedy. Mandy Moore also guests stars. I know, you all start groaning but don't. She jumps in full throttle and shows some real acting chops as Vince's ex-girlfriend (Whom he used to stalk) and co-star with. The story arc lifts the lid on how the studios and agents will do ANYTHING they can to squash the press and any rumours that might loose them money. The guests stars graciously make fun of themselves and the industry in which they belong to. The tongue-in-cheek pokes at Hollywood are in-jokes for sure, but the charm of "Entourage" is that it makes you feel like you are in on it too. I was amazed at how enthralling it was to see these guys coast along making the deals, choosing the films and almost loosing it all but then in the final act win it back at double the money. Like I said, This season builds on the first fantastically. It's the season that won Piven an Emmy. It's the one with James Cameron in it. I couldn't stop till I'd watched it all. The tension comes from virtually nowhere but the characters themselves, the wit and humour is razor sharp and If you're a Hollywood buff or just like to see the hottest chicks strut around in bikinis, then this is for you! The Second Season includes all 14 episodes, below is a description of each one featured on this 3-disc set: Episode 1: "The Boys are Back in Town" The guys are back from shooting "Queen Boulevard" in New York and Ari is wanting to get Vince into a big commercial project set up at Warner Brothers, the superhero film "Aquaman", but Vince isn’t buying it. Eric has is now officially Vince's manager that has Turtle annoyed about his new job and is multi-tasking at a new level. Episode 2: "My Maserati Does 185" Eric gets frustrated when his girlfriend Kristen cancels their date, especially since they haven't had sex in month. But he forgets his problems at a late-night beach party were he meets a hot young girl. Meanwhile Johnny Drama gets self-conscious about his calf's and wants to get implants. Ari pushed Vince to make a decision over the “Aquaman� script that ends up in an argument. Episode 3: "Aquamansion" Vince decides to go house-hunting despite the fact he doesn't have a lot of cash to spend and is shown some terrible houses. Instead he chooses to buy a house that is far out of his price range in an expensive and exclusive part of L.A. and Eric tries to convince him to do "Aquaman" so they can get some money rolling in. Later the guys get ready to go to a pajama party at the Playboy mansion but Drama is banned and cannot attend due to an incident that happened years ago. Episode 4: "An Offer Refused" Vince hasn't signed the contract to do "Aquaman" but he continues to spend money like there's no tomorrow hiring an interior decorator for his new mansion. Eric gets stressed out because he knows that the money will run out sooner rather than later and leans on Ari to seal the deal with "Aquaman". Episode 5: "Neighbors" Vince's casting as "Aquaman" hits the Hollywood news even before the deal is actually sealed. Ari and Eric try furiously to arrange a meeting between Vince and the film's new director James Cameron but things don't look good when they discover that Ari's old assistant, Emily, who both Ari and Eric had a falling out with, is now working for Cameron. But some good news emerges when Cameron agrees to screen Vince's latest film “Queens Boulevard� but Eric has trouble getting a print from the film's eccentric director. Episode 6: "Chinatown" Cash is quickly running low when Ari lands Vince a high dollar deal to appear in a foreign commercial for an energy drink. Turtle decides to help raise money by entering an Xbox boxing tournament, but he gets eliminated in the first round by some kid. Eric tries endlessly to get a copy of “Queens Boulevard� for Cameron, when he can't deliver Cameron agrees to screen the film at the Sundance Film Festival were the film will get its Premiere. Episode 7: "The Sundance Kids" The guys attend the Sundance Film Festival, were "Queens Boulevard" will get its premiere. The crew are eager to see what Cameron thinks of Vince in hopes of landing "Aquaman" but when Eric encounters independent film producer Harvey Weingard, the boys decide on a power-play and commit to film with his company and starts shooting soon in Australia. Vince later decides to risk it and turn down Weingard's film in hopes that Cameron will like him and cast him in "Aquaman". And after seeing ten minutes of "Queens Boulevard," he decides to offer Vince the part as his leading man. Episode 8: "Oh, Mandy" Eric and Vince are given a list of the top choices to play Aquagirl in the new movie, one of the girls is Mandy Moore whom he had a relationship with while working on a previous film. Meanwhile Drama is not happy about their new temporary home. Episode 9: "I Love You Too" The guys attend the San Diego Comic-Con to announce "Aquaman" and do a series of interviews. Drama as it turns out is a big hit at the convention because of his starring in a cancelled show "Viking Quest". Vince later decides he can work with Mandy and keep his feeling sunder control. Eric and Vince's publicist, Shauna, tries to make good with an Internet journalist who wants to sink "Aquaman" and Vincent Chase. Later Drama gets a birthday present form Ari. Episode 10: "The Bat Mitzvah" Ari’s boss turns up after years out of the business and Ari gets the feeling that his job is jeopardy. Meanwhile he has to plan his daughter's Bat Mitzvah. Eric decides to buy an expensive new suit in order to make a good impression with Sloan, a woman he's interested in. Later, Drama and Turtle can't seem to get any food at the Bat Mitzvah and is helped out by a waiter who leads them to the kid's buffet. Episode 11: "Blue Balls Lagoon" It's Mandy's birthday and Vince acquires a painting from Ari, as it turns out the painting is a fake and Eric calls him out on it to make good with the real thing. Shauna gets upset over a press leak about Vince and Mandy's relationship. Later Drama starts work on a Movie of the Week with Brooke Shields and gets fired for getting an erection during a scene. Episode 12: "Good Morning Saigon" Vince misses a physical and also causes Mandy to miss out on a meeting has the suits in a stir as they think he's no good for Mandy. Eric and Ari worry about this relationship and how it's interfering with business. Meanwhile Turtle and Drama discover Mandy with her old boyfriend and follow her. After Eric's stolen Maserati is recovered Turtle makes a discovery that leads them to a wannabe rapper. Turtle sells the song to Walsh for the end credits of "Queens Boulevard" and Turtle also begins to represent the rapper. Episode 13: "Exodus" Mandy breaks Vince's heart when she tells him that she still has feelings for her ex, Ari schemes against his boss but is ratted out by a junior agent who never liked Ari. Ari is escorted of the premesis. Episode 14: "The Abyss" A depressed Vince makes it hard for everyone as he pulls out of "Aquaman". Drama has his own problems as he can't get in touch with his agent after the Ari situation that left him jobless. Turtle arranges a promotional event for his new rapper client, Saigon. Later in a meeting with Cameron, Vince wants to pull out of the film, but at the last minute changes his mind.
Video
Presented in the show's original broadcast ratio of 1.33:1 this full screen transfer is clear and sharp, I did noticed that some episodes appeared softer than usual. Colours were crisp, vibrant and bold, especially blacks. Some light film grain can also be seen in several episodes otherwise I found no major flaws such edge-enhancement or compression artefacts. Overall it is a decent transfer that will likely please everyone and is better than broadcast quality.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included on this disc, an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround as well as a French Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the show with it's English soundtrack and found it pleasing. The dialogue is clean and distortion free, for a 2.0 surround mix it did have minimal depth, which is better than no depth. Some active surround ambiance was thrown in and the music was well mixed within the sound space and was never too intrusive. Optional subtitles are included in English, English for the hearing impaired, French, Dutch, Finnish, German, Greek, Hebrew, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Danish.
Extras
Warner Brothers have released this Second Season with only a single extra, a short featurette on the last disc. Below is a closer look at that supplement. "The Mark Wahlberg Sessions" featurette runs for 22 minutes 32 seconds and is the only extra featured on this release. The clip shows Wahlberg interviewing the stars of the show about how they got the parts, the inspiration for many of the characters and provides some rough background on the show and its inspirations. Overall it's a short clip that doesn't garner repeat viewing and it's a shame that with a season that tops the first in so many ways was neglected extra-wise. If only a few audio commentaries could have been produced...
Packaging
This 3-disc set is packaged in a amaray case which is housed in a cardboard slip-case. Although this DVD is stated as being Region 4, it is in fact encoded for Region 2 and 4.
Overall
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