Saturday, 20 October 2007

The Gold Standard

While I've been a little disappointed by the second season of Heroes, I'm really enjoying Entourage (season 4 has just ended in the US). The premise is a little cheesy: a young actor (Vincent Chase, played by Adrian Grenier) is starting to hit it big, and is using his newfound fame and fortune to have a good time with his closest childhood friends. Vincent is a laid back and free spirited guy who grew up in a poor neighbourhood in New York, and generally doesn't care about material things, but does love to have a good time.

However, what makes the show really work are the interactions with Vince's agent, Arie Gold (played beautifully by Jeremy Piven). Arie is well connected, aggressive and abusive. On the surface, he's a stereotypical Hollywood asshole and his exaggerated personality comes across like he's speeding on amphetimenes. The funniest moments in the show are the frequent barrages of insults he will fire off at his gay PA, or the actor's manager, really for no reason other than ball busting.

Yet, while he'll do anything to get the job done (work is unquestionably his highest priority in life), he's never cheated on his wife (in four seasons) despite his high flying lifestyle. It's not unusual to see Arie put himself into a very precarious position between a deal he's desperate to win and resolving a family situation (such as trying to get his daughter into a prestigious school).

While Arie generally acts in Vince's best interests, the tension created from the misalignment between Vincent's principles and artistic values vs Arie's mission to maximise Vincent's earnings can make for some excellent viewing.

Watch a few good episodes and you'll be hooked.

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