Entourage Review: Bottoms Up

Things can change at the drop of a dime in Hollyweird, as the boys are reminded in this week’s episode of Entourage. One minute things are looking up, the next minute you’re back to square one.

Drama was all set to star in a new comedy on NBC. Phil Yagoda had lined up a meeting with a writer who supposedly created a script with Drama in mind.  Now that I think about it, that does sound fishy. Does Drama really hold that much caliber as an actor that he could command such individualized attention? I don’t think so, but I can’t fault him for being gung ho about the idea.

It looked like the tide had finally turned for old Johnny. Not so fast.  After last week’s ping pong rematch, Stamos promised to read the script and get back to Johnny.  After a few days with no word from his prospective co-star, Drama begins to wonder if he will really sign off on the project.  Eric tells him to be patient, but eventually we find out that another one of Eric’s clients will be starring in the show. Guess who?  Eric’s favorite pain in the ass, Bob Saget.

Saget unceremoniously swooped in and stole the gig right out from under Drama’s nose.  Poor Drama!  He goes on the warpath, showing up outside Saget’s house with a bat, ready to knock his block off.  Why did Saget steal the job, when it was a role tailor-made for Drama?  It turns out that the writer gave everyone the same spiel, Saget included.  Drama was lied to, and now he’s left out in the cold.  He has always annoyed me, but Drama has his good points.  He’s fiercely loyal, and in Hollywood it doesn’t get much better than that.  His recent disappointment serves as a painful reminder of the sleazier side of the City of Angels.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.  Or in Lizzie’s case, piping hot.  She’s determined to make Ari rue the day he let her get away.  Not only is she trying to steal away his clients (Mike Tyson, Jessica Simpson, and Aaron Sorkin), but she’s enlisting the aid of Ari’s bitter old nemesis, Amanda.  Remember, she’s the agent Vince replaced Ari with when he fired him a few seasons ago.  She’s a real bitch on wheels, and now that she has teamed up with Lizzie, Ari better watch his back.  It looks like he was able to hang on to his clients, but he’ll be in for a fight going up against these two ball breakers.  I think he will prevail, but it’s going to be a challenge.

Last week, Turtle traveled to Mexico with Alex and listened to a pitch for Vince to be the face of a tequila company.  At first he was offended, but after a few shots and a make-out session with Alex (not shown), he is convinced that it would be a good move for Vince.  If you’ve noticed the evolution of the crew, you’ve noted that the guys conduct business more formally now.  Eric is Vince’s manager, so Turtle schedules a meeting with him to discuss the idea rather than approach Vince directly as a friend.  Unfortunately Eric shoots down the idea, and Turtle leaves it at that.

Things begin to look up after Vince actually tries the tequila, which he and his porn star flavor of the day seem to really enjoy.  It turns out that Vince “wants to be a part of it,” so Turtle may be in business after all.  Side note: Vince doesn’t take much seriously. From impulsively cutting his hair to allowing the porn star to tag along at a business meeting, he pretty much does whatever he wants. That’s cool, I guess – but I think Vince needs to tighten up a little bit.

And we save the best for last.  After listening to his knucklehead friends, none of whom are actually in a successful relationship, Eric decides to broach the topic of *ahem* a different type of sex with Sloan. Here’s a hint: it’s popular in jails across the country.  You’ve got it: Eric wants a little back door action. I shudder as I type. In the last scene, he and Sloan try unsuccessfully to enter uncharted territory.  Eventually they just decide that if their sex life ain’t broke, don’t fix it.  It was a pretty racy scene, even though there was no nudity. I thought it looked real, but one of my married friends said that it wasn’t realistic at all. I’ll take her word for it!  Seriously, I think the scene showed what a great girl Sloan is.  She was willing to try it. At the end of the day, that’s all you can ask. I’d say Drama got more screwed over in this episode than Sloan.  There were awesome cameos in this episode, and this season kicks ass so far.

Season 7, Episode 5: Bottoms Up (originally aired August 1, 2010)

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Photographs courtesy of HBO and IMDbPro