Entourage "Motherfucker" Review

The theme of Entourage's final season seems to be architecture. No, the boys haven't suddenly formed a plan to build a multi-plex that only shows Vincent Chase pictures. Metaphorically, the boys from Queens are, individually, building towards something. For Vince, he's rebuilding his image. For Drama, he's trying to build a successful animated comedy series. For Turtle, he wants to build his own business, wants to bring Don Pepe's and their clams to the City of Angels. For E, well, I have no idea what he's building towards. Ari's trying to rebuild his marriage but he's clueless and prone to devastating mistakes.

Vince's latest pit stop in his redemption arc involved an interview with a journalist from Vanity Fair--a beautiful journalist from Vanity Fair named Sophia. The woman earned a first from Oxford University. Vince met and interviewed with her for an upcoming issue of Vanity Fair in which he'll grace the cover. The first interview went terribly because Vince flirted with her constantly. When she tried to dig deep into Vince, there was nothing to dig into; however, she allowed him a second interview. Sophia dug into Vince's issues with his father, his drug addiction and his choice of women. Vince spoke of his admiration for strong women because his own admiration for the women who raised him--his mother, grandmother and aunts. Sophia got her cover story. The woman resisted Vince's seductive charms but she'll be back because Vince loves her.

Normally, I'd rant and rave about Vince's history with women or about Doug Ellin and Ally Musika introducing a strong-minded female only to have her fall for Vince and forget everything about herself; however, I'm optimistic tonight. I'm not sure why I'm optimistic because Dana Gordon's regressed as a strong-minded female character once Ari had her in his bed. The magazine article angle allowed Musika to unearth layers of Vincent Chase (I forget if we knew these things about him before). At least Vince has layers though. Sophia makes the arc engaging because she's different from the other females who've entered his life. He dated actresses and she's a journalist for Vanity Fair. Vince wants to redeem himself. The Vanity Fair piece seems like a slam dunk and Sophia's the catalyst because she fought for Vince to open himself up. She'd represent his complete transform.

Drama, meanwhile, tried to lure Dice Clay back by offering half of his salary to Dice man. Dice refused because he feels the network owes him the money. Drama initially worked with Jamie Kennedy but the duo hasn’t worked well with one another, especially when Kennedy criticized Drama's line reading. Dice rejected Drama's offer. Drama went to the producer of the show. The producer essentially agreed with him about Dice; however, CBS planned to build the show around Johnny Drama if it took off, meaning that Dice or Kennedy would've been written out slowly. Drama, possibly inspired by Dice's son's acceptance into Princeton, joined the strike from the show. Entourage is essentially a fantasy--I doubt that CBS would cave into two has-been actors who've been reduced to prime-time actors. Of course, it's nonsense that CBS would air an animated series on their network. Drama's arc is the typical Drama arc though. Expect things to work out this time.

Eric met with Terrance's ex-wife, Melinda Clarke, and agreed to represent her. Also, they had sex. Melinda Clarke's presence confuses me. The real Melinda Clarke floats around network television, mostly The CW, as a character who shows up for a mid-season arc or a lone episode. Does fictional Melinda Clarke work for TV in those roles? Entourage never answers the question. She's a plot device. Eric heard from Sloan immediately after intercourse, and she told him that Clarke wanted to screw him in act of vengeance towards Terrance. I don't care about Eric, Sloan or this nonsense whatsoever. And Melinda Clarke continues an incredible streak of portraying a character that I absolutely loathe (and this time she's playing herself...maybe it's just Melinda always playing herself instead of a written character).

Mrs. Ari filed for divorce. Ari promised his two children a trip to Disney world (or is it land in California). Once again, though, Ari chose work over his family. His wife explained that he ruined his marriage and family because of his obsession with work. The man then drank a ton of alcohol and arranged some more sex with Dana Gordon. I can't image a scenario in which Ari and his wife reunite by the end of the series. The issues are too deep for believable resolution in three episodes. I appreciated Ari's admittance that he acted like a jerk and ass but I understand Mrs. Ari and agree with her decision. That is all.

Overall, "Motherfucker' is a decent episode of Entourage. The arcs have purpose and direction. That's good. I have one other thought: would agencies really care if Taylor Lautner's friend wrote a script that Taylor wanted to make? I understand Lautner's a marketable star, but what studio would buy a script from Taylor's friend? It doesn't make sense with everything I read about the industry. I don't expect an answer.

THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK