Entourage: Stupid is as stupid does

Well, well, look what show is finally starting to get better – and it only took them 6 shows into the season to lose the slump! Now that only 50% of the episodes remain, Vince and the boys are going to have to keep this ball rolling to make up for all the previous suckage. It’s ironic that this week was actually NOT a stupid episode, since the theme seemed to be people doing really stupid things. First up? Ari Gold.

I think I speak for everyone when I say “just fire Andrew already.”  Ari, fresh off his return from his exile in couch-ville by Mrs. Ari, manages to get her to forgive him, and it almost seems like he’s on his way to cleaning up the whole Andrew mess once and for all…until Andrew’s wife Marlo storms the Miller Gold agency like a disgruntled Godzilla wife trying to figure out which slut was F-ing her husband (her words not mine, and classy ones at that). And here we have stupid thing #1 ladies and gentlemen. Infuriated by the scene she caused, Ari orders Lloyd to find Andrew and Lizzie and deliver their heads to him on a platter. Not really, but it would’ve been so much cooler if he did. Ari nearly fires both of them (threatening to deport Lizzie naked to the Taliban was a nice touch) and then tells Andrew to go home with his tail between his legs because that’s his only real option. Not because, you know, walking out on your family is vile. It remains to be seen whether Andrew will finally stop being so pathetic and pull it together, but I vote for less of his story line and more of Lloyd’s – and I will keep repeating that request every week until they comply (or Lloyd gets a spinoff, whichever comes first).

Next up is E, who when last we saw him had just called his girlfriend by his ex-girlfriend’s name (no wait, it gets more stupid…). Then, he somehow convinces Ashley the Gremlin that she heard him wrong and was mistaken, then he recants, then she yells at him and eventually she forgives him because he swears he would not lie to her (insert ominous music here). Incidentally, 2 seconds later Ashley listens to a message Sloan leaves on E’s voicemail which reveals that they had seen each other the day before. Doh! She storms off (out of her own house, by the way) while E is in the shower, tells him to F-off when he calls her and then E makes his biggest mistake so far – he tells her the truth. Dude, I’m all for being up front in your relationship, but if the girl you’re currently sleeping with asks you if you still have feelings for a girl you’re no longer sleeping with, the only acceptable answer to that is “Sloan who?” and then lie through your teeth. E you stupid, stupid little man. It’s no wonder Ashley slams the door of her little troll cottage in the forest (where all elfin creatures live, naturally) in his face. But, to be fair, the real issue here is that he should’ve dumped HER first because any girl who will check your voicemail is straight up psycho, end of story. Just about the only smart thing E did the whole episode was accept Murray Berenson’s job offer, thus adding another hatch mark next to the ‘sleazy agents in LA’ running tally, nice work.

Elsewhere, Turtle has started school and arrives on campus with Vinnie Chase and a hot car, which pretty much makes him the coolest person ever (except for the backpack he’s wearing). While killing time between Turtle’s classes, Vince takes an anatomy class of his own with a female coed wielding a video camera. Seriously? Can’t he see where this is going? Everyone else can, sigh… Hence stupid thing #3 which will be sure to come back and haunt him soon, and then they’ll have to dust off ol’ Debi Mazar again to clean it up – hey, she needs a paycheck, too.

Finally – rounding out the stupid quotient for this week, we find Drama on the set of “Five Towns” making out with Jamie-Lynn while Turtle shields his eyes in disgust (that’s not the stupid part, wait for it…). After a dozen or so punishing takes where Jamie-Lynn tells Drama that he’s making her teeth hurt, she heads off to lunch with his boss – a notorious womanizer. Ever the loyal friend, Drama stalks them at lunch and tries to protect his precious Turtle’s girlfriend (and her virtue) and eventually storms his boss’ office in the neurotic and irrational way that only Drama knows how to do – which is why we love him. The fatal flaw in Drama’s plan comes in the form of leverage, however, as in – he has none and his boss has it all. We leave off with the Suited One threatening to have him written off the show and Johnny Drama’s future is suddenly uncertain.

I can’t say that I was disappointed in this episode (pleasantly surprised, actually), but I will say that they still need to tweak a few things. Ashley still needs to evaporate, Vince needs to start actually filming something again (he is a working actor, right?) and Ari needs to focus on cutting deals and abusing Lloyd and send Andrew back to the valley. For now, though, I’ll settle for steady progress and less E.

For another take on this episode, Tanya Lane’s review here.

Season 6, Episode 6: Murphy’s Lie (originally aired August 16, 2009)

For more Entourage, click here.

Sundays at 10pm ET/PT on HBO

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