‘Entourage’ is back! Season 3.5 of ‘Entourage’ started up tonight with an episode, titled “Less Than 30.” Oh how I’ve missed the ‘Entourage’ boys! While Vince and Eric worked with their new agent, Amanda (Carla Gugino), Drama obsessed over his billboard and Turtle stepped it up by throwing an amazing (and budget-conscious) party to celebrate Vince’s birthday.
Drama, blessed with wisdom, managed to find the perfect metaphor to describe Vince’s recent split from his agent, Ari. Recognizing that Vince’s relationship with Ari was second only to his relationship with his crew and his mom, in terms of length, it was only fitting that he view their split as comparable to a bad break-up. While Ari tried desperately to find a way to win Vince back with guidance from his trusted side-kick, Lloyd, Vince was clearly cozy with his new agent, Amanda.
Amanda is like Ari, in hot-girl form. Though she wasn’t intimidated by Ari’s usual arrogance, it was clear by the end of the episode that she knew there was a chance she could turn into the rebound girl if Ari found a way to get Vince back.
Let’s start at the beginning though. With the premiere of Ed Burns’ show approaching, billboards have sprung up all over Hollywood advertising the series. Drama’s mug is all over the place and while he’s ecstatic to have the exposure, it doesn’t seem to be helping to get him recognized. All in due time, Drama. When he wasn’t obsessing over the billboards, he was spending his time in his comfort place – the kitchen.
Amanda has been feeding Vince and Eric scripts on a regular basis, trying to find him a role that he can “sink his teeth into.” They don’t like anything she’s given them until she hands them a script to a movie that will be directed by American Beauty’s Sam Mendes. Vince and Eric both love the script and want to meet with the studio. Ari, aware of the Mendes project, realizes that if he’s going to get Vince back, he needs to act fast. Lloyd, playing the role of the best friend, trying to convince her pal to suck it up and call her man, talks Ari into calling Vince. Vince and Eric are hesitant to meet up with Ari, afraid that he wont be able to commit to a “just friends” relationship but agree nevertheless.
Ari meets Vince and Eric for lunch (no dessert) and gives Vince a wrapped birthday present. They eat without talking about business. Later, Vince opens the gift and finds the script to Medellin in the box. He talks to Ari about it, who assures him that the role is opening up. Amanda, who isn’t pleased that Vince had lunch with his ex, explains that the film will start shooting in a few weeks and that Benicio Del Toro is still on board for the role of Pablo Escobar.
Later, at Vince’s party, Ari and Amanda lock horns. She’s a firecracker, that one and isn’t going to allow Ari to steal Vince back without a fight. Ari appears to know more about the Medillin project than Amanda does but Vince continues pushing the “just friends” bit and doesn’t commit to going back to Ari. Everything seems fine until Amanda announces that the studio doesn’t need to meet with Vince on the Mendes film and that they’re ready to sign him right away. Rather than toasting this success, Vince says he wants to wait to see how Ari’s thing pans out. Just friends, huh, Vince?
Speaking of Vince’s party. Turtle planned the whole thing with the financial help of Drama and Eric. Though Vince offered to pay for it, the three insisted that it was their gift to him (though in truth, they get all of their money from Vince anyway so technically, he is paying for it). When Turtle’s elaborate plans push them way over budget, he comes up with a slightly tacky but mostly brilliant plan. He got the party sponsored by big names like Victoria’s Secret and Skyy Vodka. The sponsorship meant being able to upgrade the party to include things like Crystal Champagne and the one and only Queen Mary as the venue.
That about covers it. While it seems likely that Vince will eventually dump Amanda and return to Ari, I absolutely love the love-triangle they’ve got going on between Amanda, Ari and Vince. The biting words between Ari and Amanda were hilarious and hopefully there will be more of that in episodes to come. Also, I must say, breaking up with Vince might be fueling Ari’s ever-present competitive edge but its also doing wonders for his physique. I don’t think Piven’s ever looked better.
What did you think of the episode? How long before Vince returns to Ari? Will Drama’s TV show finally give him the fame he’s so desperately searching for? Will Vince get the Medillon role?
