‘Entourage’ recap: You have a roommate?
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For seven seasons, super agent Ari Gold has never been flustered. He bullied his way to the top of Hollywood on smarts and guts. But take Ari out of his comfort zone and he’s a lost little boy.
Lost is what Ari is these days and it makes him softer and more sympathetic. While his wife dating Bobby Flay, he is moping around the office and ignoring his star client Vince. Ari is great at landing clients, but he hasn’t had to land a woman in years.
Following the advice of Vince and Lloyd, Ari agrees to go out on a date. She’s a knockout but doesn’t have a lot going on upstairs. Ari, meanwhile, is nervous and antsy and doesn’t really know how to make conversation with someone who is probably about two decades his junior.
Photos: Hollywood Backlot -- On the ‘Entourage’ set
Nonetheless, the allure of power is enough aphrodisiac and before long Ari is making out with his date in his car. She invites him up but then remembers she’s out of condoms. Just the thought of running to a 7-11 for birth control, coupled with the idea that he’ll have to be quiet because of her roommate (who later pops up to completely spoil the already fading mood), is enough for Ari to bail.
Depresed and vunerable for once, Ari calls studio executive and former flame Dana Gordon for a late night chat that turns into a more intimate reunion.
While Ari’s trying to get his groove back, Johnny is losing his, thanks to Andrew Dice Clay. Dice, whose career has been in the dumpster for almost two decades, is determined to get a raise for the animated cartoon show they’re working on before it has even premiered. Eric and Scott, who are managing Dice, make a half-hearted call to the show’s creative executive who says, ‘remind Dice when we cast him he was doing stand-up in bowling alleys.’
Dice, who chews up scenery as if he hasn’t eaten in a week, is stubborn and fires his new managers and quits the show. Now everyone is in the lurch.
Vince meanwhile has gotten himself tangled up with Carl Urtz, a sleazy producer who once did him wrong and is now in the same recovery group wanting to make amends. Even though everyone from Ari to Turtle tells him to steer clear of Urtz, Vince is determined to give him a second chance.
Urtz offers to pitch the TV movie Vince wants to make for Drama to star in, but it soon becomes clear that the producer has another agenda too and is not clean or even stable. As usual, Vince is his own worst enemy when it comes to trusting people.
The episode, which seemed shorter than ususal, ended on a particularly dark note that was out of characater for the show. It will be interesting to see if that last plays a part in future plots or was just a way for the writers to get out of situation.
On a side note, Ari being insecure wasn’t the only new thing in the episode. Entourage finally showed another side of Los Angeles. Seeing Ari making out in front of a modest apartment building in a residential neighborhood was like seeing a McDonald’s on Rodeo Drive.
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-- Joe Flint
