Things are starting to gain momentum in Season 2 of Entourage. Disc 2, which I just finished, had some of my favorite episodes yet — including “I Love You Too” (pictured above) and “The Bat Mitzvah.” (I’m a Jew who never had a Bat Mitzvah, so I guess I’m living out my 13-year-old fantasy on the show. And no, I’m not going to be one of those people who gets Bat Mitzvahed as an adult. You can forget about that.)
Because it’s almost Father’s Day, I thought I’d take a couple of minutes to talk about Ari as a dad in this episode. I laughed so hard when he said, “Only Daddy speaks that way” to his kids after using profanity. That’s something that I should probably be offended by as a parent, but I’m not. I think that now — after having a child — I’m finally coming to realize how much you crave just being yourself around kids, instead of always having to be a sing-songy purveyor of good taste and values. Ari’s not a great role model, but hey, we’ve all got our issues.
I was pleasantly surprised at how sweet he was to his daughter at her Bat Mitzvah party and how heartfelt his words to her were. (Although we could all see the combination of rage and panic in his face when he saw his boss-turned-partner talking to Vince during his speech. I thought he was going to lose it! He did ruin the candle-lighting ceremony, though.).
It’s too bad that he can’t be as nice to his wife. But I suppose she’s not that nice to him, either. Their relationship seems to have lost whatever it was that brought them together. He angers her by working too much, and she gets annoyed, but ultimately shrugs her shoulders and asks for something in return (like a trip, for example). I don’t know what will happen to them. I think they’ll probably get divorced because she’ll be unfaithful and his ego won’t be able to take it. Not to say that if she cheats on him, he should suck it up; I just mean that his ego is so large, and even if he wanted to forgive her, he probably couldn’t allow himself to alter the distribution of power in the relationship. Or maybe she’ll be the one leaving him. Either way, I don’t see them together. (Isn’t this fun? I have no idea what all of you guys already know. Just don’t tell me how wrong I am, okay?)
Another development in “The Bat Mitzvah” was the introduction of Sloane (Emmanuelle Chriqui), who I thought was Rose Byrne at first glance. She is a very charming, striking woman. Who my husband couldn’t stop talking about for an hour after the episode! I’m wondering why she hasn’t been in more things I’ve seen. I hadn’t heard of most of her work when I looked her up on IMDb.
The other thing that I loved about this episode was Drama/Turtle not eating before the party and then complaining the whole time because they were so hungry. I can relate because I have totally been that hungry complaining bitch at a party. I had a good laugh when the waitress presented them with the kids’ buffet and they were in heaven.
I’m glad that Vince has Mandy Moore (which is making me chuckle; she’s such a goody two-shoes) so that he’ll stay out of E’s way and stop competing for Sloane.
One more observation / question regarding celebrities in the show: how famous do you have to be in order to play yourself as opposed to just another character? I was sort of surprised that Melinda Clarke played herself in this episode. Unless it’s supposed to be a joke about the fact that she married a much older man when she played Julie Cooper-Nichol on The O.C., and here she is married to a similar type of guy on Entourage. Is it a matter of how well-known the celebrities are? Or just dependent on how people want to use them in the show? I’m sure if Emmanuelle Chriqui played herself instead of Sloane, E would have less of a chance with her, so maybe they’re trying to make her a “normal” person so that they’ll be a better match.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the last few episodes:
“The Sundance Kids”
“Tell me something. Managers, agents … what the hell is the difference between you guys?” — Harvey, to E
“Managers are the ones who care.” — E
“Oh, Mandy”
“This is sick! This is like Far Rockaway minus the crack whores.” — Turtle, in reaction to Jessica Alba’s beach house
“The Bat Mitzvah”
“Fuck you guys. I’m going to Men’s Wearhouse.” — E
“Oh, come on, E. I think you can afford a nice suit. — Vince
“Yeah, E. Don’t be such a chaza, eh? -I’m brushing up on my Hebrew for the affair.” — Drama
“Chaza means greedy, Drama, not cheap.” — E
“How do you know?” — Drama
“E used to valet park at Ohav Shalom.” — Vince
“That’s great, Drama. Now you’re illiterate in two languages.” — Turtle
“Good move, E. You’re going to need all your facilities.” — Drama, after E turns down a hit from his joint
“My what? Idiot.” — E
“[To himself] Did I say that wrong?” — Drama
“Look at that gorgeous piece of bread. It’s like a big … baked … cloud.” — Drama, referring to the challah
“Imagine making a 6-foot hero outta that thing. A little mortadella, some capicola, provolone …” — Turtle
Clacked by Rachel Blum-Jose 
on Jun 17, 2011 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
