ENTOURAGE 707 - Tequila and Coke  | Review By: Conan Milne

Original Air Date: August 15, 2010

HBO

Rating: 4/5

Dub Quotable: With a winning combination of laughs and suspense, “Tequila and Coke” was perhaps the best episode of this accelerating season.

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Drugs are always going to be a part of Hollywood lore. Cocaine has long been glamorized on and off film, and plenty of celebrities have been victims of related scandals. Until now, however, Entourage has cautiously veered away from giving the white powder any screen time. The dark depths that cocaine addiction can reveal are, after all, hardly in keeping with the shows comforting, optimistic tone. However, the show is also committed to covering the movie industry as accurately as an HBO comedy-drama can. “Tequila and Coke” found a troubled Vince experimenting with the drug, and dangerously neglecting his next project in the process.

Particular praise for this episode is reserved for Vince’s effortlessly cool portrayer, Adrian Grenier. In a stark contrast to the Vince of prior seasons, here the intoxicated star is skittish and overzealous. Vince’s cocaine abuse is made obvious through Grenier’s perfect mannerisms, from stifling his own chuckles during a crucial meeting, to insistently lying to his closest friends. Whereas the audience has always rooted for Vince, now we share the same concern that his potential director does. His pale, bleary expression and erratic actions are alien to the fresh-faced A-lister we have long been familiar with.

Grenier was vying with the predictably fantastic Jeremy Piven for performance of the night. Despite the authoritative and domineering image that the agent exudes, this episode confirmed where his true priorities lie. Faced with a catastrophic revelation that could both derail his NFL deal and cost him his family, Ari was only truly affected by the prospect of losing his wife and kids. When one of his explicit tirades is finally leaked to a prominent showbiz website, Piven’s face crumples in one of the more moving scenes of recent memory. Faced with accepting a call from a disappointed Jerry Jones or from his other half, Ari opts for the former. He does this knowing that losing his NFL bid is easier to accept than the raw emotions of his household.

With Vince and Ari facing separate troubles, it was left to Drama to deliver the laughs. Billy Walsh’s pitch to the aging actor goes every bit as terribly as one might predict. Kevin Dillon is hilarious in his brief scenes, outraged by Billy’s audacity to pitch him an animated show. “What a waste of my day,” he erupts, storming out of the office. After his fuming exit, Billy repeatedly beats his chest, emulating a gorilla. “What are you doing, Billy?” enquires a puzzled Eric. “That’s what Johnny will do on the show,” Billy responds, drawing an intrigued smile from E. Billy’s unorthodox ideas leave the audience just as interested as Drama’s manager. Hopefully we will see more of the ingeniously titled Johnny’s Bananas,

With a winning combination of laughs and suspense, “Tequila and Coke” was perhaps the best episode of this accelerating season. The biggest gripe is a frequent one - the shows regretful treatment of great character, Turtle. Jerry Ferrara’s spirited performances are really willing the audience to enjoy his tequila-related subplot, but separating him from the gang has depleted his ball-busting sense of humour. It’s the sole complaint that one hopes can be rectified before this seasons anticipated finale. Otherwise, this was another thrilling, escapist j

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The views expressed here are those of the authors and not
necessarily those of Dubcnn as an organisation.
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