JPTV: What I'm Watching This Weekend
Of course the penultimate Sopranos is on deck, but let's not forget the season 3 finale of Entourage. Which is kind of weird, since season 4 of Entourage starts again two weeks immediately afterward. But that's HBO, I guess. There are no rules.
I've been a little frustrated with this show. I mean, I never regret watching it, exactly. I don't expect it to have deep, larger meaning. But it feels like it's been spinning its wheels a little too long. I start to wonder how long we can believe Vince is a red-hot star on the strength of Head On ("Apply directly to the forehead!"), Aquaman and the unreleased Queens Boulevard. Thank God Medellin is finally on track, if only to give him something to do. Also, although the Yom Kippur episode was a Larry Davidian mini-classic, the whole Vince-and-Ari breakup storyline did little for me, first because obviously Vince would take Ari back, second because it seemed like the writers had let the audience's love for Ari go to their heads. The show was already about Ari, but that worked better when the storyline didn't make the show explicitly about Ari.
Regardless, I'll be there Sunday. And this all reminds me of a question I've meant to ask for a while: how good an actor do you think Vince is? That is, how good an actor do you think we're meant to believe Vince is? From the praise given Queens Boulevard, you'd think he was great; but the few glimpses we've seen of his work ("I am Queens Boulevard") verge on parody. What say you? Is he Leonardo DiCaprio or Ashton Kutcher?
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I think Vince is supposed to be a pretty good actor - I mean, the story is loosely based on Mark Wahlberg, right, and he's had his good performances (Departed, Boogie Nights) and bad (Planet of the Apes). But overall, a good actor.
I think the one part they've nailed of Vince is his general air-headedness, for lack of a better term. He is a very intuitive actor, and not a thinking/studious one, which I think works to a degree for the character - a guy like that NEEDS people around him, because he literally can't drive or cook for himself, but he does have the talent to act....
Bring on the Tony-Phil Leotardo showdown!
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"What say you? Is he Leonardo DiCaprio or Ashton Kutcher? "
I think we're supposed to think he's the next DeCaprio, but when the actor playing him is an Ashton Kutcher...
In a lot of ways, Entourage is like Sex in the City, which had one really good actress (Cynthia Nixon) one adequate actress in the lead (Parker) and two actresses who, to be kind, were "limited in their range."
Where Entourage kicks Sex's butt is in the "continuing character" sector. I mean, Kyle McLaughlin? Chris Noth? John Corbett? Compare to Piven, Malcolm McDowell, and Bobby Lee (not to mention the DIVINE MS Christine Baranski!!!)
We watch shows like SITC and Entourage because of the quality of the writing -- and the eye candy.
(BTW, is Debi Mazer every coming back? She's still listed on the credits, and I know she had a baby and all -- but the writers haven't even bothered to give her the literal "phone in your performance" for "stars" on maternity leave for ages...)
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I think Vince is famous more for his looks than for his acting chops, but we're led to believe he's a better actor than other Hollywood hearthrobs like Jake Gyllenhaal (who replaced him in Aquaman 2). I think I'd put him in league with someone like Ryan Gosling, who was excellent in Half Nelson.
Either way, Vince is clearly the best actor in the family. Drama is so wooden he could do an arc as a CTU agent on "24".
Entourage has had more "eh" episodes every season -- maybe because they keep getting longer. Season 1 was a very tight 8 eps, season 2 was 15, and season 3 is 20 (in two parts). The show is at its best when Vince has to make important career decisions -- that way you don't have episodes devoted to Drama and Turtle getting blueballs. You know everything always going to be OK, because otherwise the ultimate male fantasy would be ruined, but a little turmoil never hurts.
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Hello James, this refers to your post regarding "white collar" songs. I saw recently on the CBC's "Life and Times" series the Randy Bachman episode. Turns out "Takin' Care of Business" was titled "White Collar Worker" in its early development. This link is to an interview Randy did and includes a description of what transpired.
http://www.classicbands.com/RandyBachmanInterview.html
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