Entourage Season 3, Part 1

Many easy comparisons dismiss Entourage as "Sex and the City for guys” — because, really, "boys behaving badly” has never been done before. And while it’s true that Entourage, which follows the ups and downs of young Hollywood star Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) and his posse (manager Eric, brother Johnny, friend Turtle, and agent Ari) plays it fast and loose (often too much so) with the hedonism, the reason Entourage is so amusing and successful (besides the charm of its cast) is its inherent understanding of the full of shit nature of Hollywood, its clichés and its ability to skewer them while embracing and transcending them. Along the way, the show has even inspired Tinsel Town to steal some of their ideas, and the countless cameos range from A-list stars and producers to those one-step removed from The Surreal Life. Initially based loosely on the experiences of Marky Mark (Mark Wahlberg) and his posse during the beginning of his career (he and crew even made an appearance during the series’ first season), by season three, Entourage has long since found its own way and grown beyond the Funky Bunch. Opening with the impending release of Vince’s superhero blockbuster, Aquaman, the first half of season three follows said movie’s release and Vince’s emergence into mega-stardom, his chasing of dream projects, Turtle’s career as a hip-hop manager, Johnny’s comeback trail, a trip to Vegas and Eric’s battle with Seth Green, and the potential firing of manager Ari. Along the way there’s lots of sex, partying, wanton consumerism, um, sex, and other things Hollywood stars do (sex?). The only real extras on the first half of season three are a couple of episode commentaries, which, while par for the course, seem a little light, and the recent habit of breaking seasons up (thanks, Battlestar Galactica) is getting more than a little annoying. Still, even with the truncated set, which is, granted, remarkably easy to breeze through, Entourage is never anything less than unabashedly fun, entertaining and pop culture savvy.