Entourage Ep. 88: Season 7 Series Finale

As entourage wraps up its 7th season the glamour of life in Hollywood is noticeably starting to fade and the show is exposing the darker side and downfalls of the entertainment business.

As excited as we all were for the season finale, episode 88 certainly didn't disappoint. The past six seasons have been built on the glamour, fun, fame, and awesome lives of the young stars in LA that we wish we could have. This season has really taken a U-turn, the "Entourage" of lovable characters are breaking up, each going their own directions and making a career of their own. Turtle with his Avión Tequila, Eric with the new management company and his fiancé Sloan, and Drama with "Johnny's Bananas. Vince and Ari are each dealing with relationship problems.

All these separate stories culminate in the last episode of the season. Vince fell off the wagon and in a coke induced confusion goes to Sasha Grey's porn vid set and threatens that if she does the film he will break up with her. Instead, she storms out of her dressing room and tells him off because of his jealousy.

After Vince's entourage has been looking for him they finally get a hint that he may be heading back and gather at his house to have an intervention about his vacuum cleaner nose. At the same time Ari's wife after being embarrassed by Ari's tirade in ep. 87 at the restaurant, is on the ropes about whether she wants to be married to him anymore. In an effort to save his marriage he has organized a surprise party with Christina Aguilera who will sing her favorite song. Back to the intervention, Vince comes home and is pissed off because his friends are worried about him. He is obviously strung out and upset because of Sasha and next runs off to a hotel to do more lines of coke and get wasted off a bottle of liquor.

In a minor side-plot of the ep. Mark Cuban and his business advisor come over to the house and agree to shell out 5 mil. to fund the new Avión factory. Also E has dinner with Sloan's Dad where they argue about signing a pre-nup because Murray (Sloan's godfather) feels like E will lose motivation after he inherits Sloan's wealth. Both of these fragments are pretty insignificant to the main lively hood of the episode which is too bad because any chance we get to see Sloan is wonderful.

At this point the episode actually takes a turn towards sadness, a feeling that has never really expressed itself in the series and is compounded by a melancholic performance by Christina Aguilera. Ari's wife wants a break and doesn't show up to the surprise birthday party. Cut to Vince at the hotel, Eminem is having a party and Vince is walking about, Skied up, drunk and asking to rail any girl around. When a body guard asks him to leave, and Vinnie tells Em "Fuck You" a fight breaks out and Drama struggles to save his brother. It is actually a very sad scene as Drama screams for his brother. The next few cuts are really ominous, Turtle and Eric receive calls without the viewer hearing any audio from the caller. Cut to the hospital and Vince comes out of the ER messed up and is greeted by his entire entourage, including Sasha. Still angry he attempts to leave when an officer holds up a bag of coke, asks him if he knows anything about it, and tells him to call his lawyer. So long season 7.

Entourage really does an excellent job in it's season 7 finale, but ends it leaving us feeling very different than in its previous finales. Not only is the episode sad because of what plays out, but it leaves the viewer sad and knowing in the back of their mind that this is the beginning of the end of a series that we have been invested in for the past few years. We have loved the characters, basked in the glamour and money of hollywood stars and looked forward to every Sunday night during the season. As HBO begins to bring the series to a wrap (with only one season more) the writers are finally showing the that Hollywood is not all glamor. Entourage has thrived on the young feel-good attitude of its stars, but now is finally growing up. Although it hurts a little to come to terms with this, it remains a reminder that all good things come to an end, and after one more season we will all have to say "Goodbye to Hollywood."

2010 VMAs - MTV = Mediocre TeleVision?

Who caught the VMAs tonight!?  What did you think?  I'll just put it out there that the VMAs are a guilty pleasure of mine and I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way.   Unlike the Grammys, Oscars, Golden Globes, or the plethora of other award shows the VMAs certainly have their own niche.  They are not serious, formal, and certainly not classy.  You can almost count on something crazy and stupid to happen every year, which personally is the main reason I watch them, but this year we viewers weren't so lucky...

The VMAs opened with, actually, an excellent performance by Eminem when he performed his hit "Not Afraid" off his most recent album "Recovery." Not Afraid" on Youtube  Honestly, most of us know that live rap performances aren't spectacular, but MTV had their audio and backing tracks figured out enough to make it sound similar to the studio track.  More surprising was the fact that Eminem actually came back to the VMAs after Bruno lowered from the ceiling and put his crotch in the rapstar's face during last years show.  The video actually ended up winning for "Best Rap Video" later but Em was already gone, probably took the money and ran... A guy who has a collection of Grammys isn't getting too excited over a VMA.

Chelsea Handler hosted the show and marks the first year that the VMAs have had a female host.  At that she did an excellent job, not only is she attractive and funny but she really has no inhibitions about what she says, probably why she her late night show is so successful.  She even hopped into a hot tub with the Jersey Shore Crew followed by a handful of witty comments about how trashy the shore cast members are.

The show was otherwise filled with a couple good performances by T Swift and Usher and other yawing performances by B.O.B and um the others were so unimpressionable that I can't remember them.  It ended with a Kanye performance introduced by Aziz Ansari (Parks and Rec on NBC) who is funnier than hell and did a little play on Kanye's Taylor Swift interruption at last years awards.  He laughed so long during it that it became awkward for a second but the dude really brings some fresh comedy.  MTV apparently thought Kanye didn't deserve the same audio quality as Eminem or they were too busy picking up pieces of Gaga's outfit because Kanye's performance was scratching and it just sucked.  Lloyd was featured in the song but Kanye played too many soundbites with his audio stand that you couldn't really hear his rhymes.

Overall the VMAs lacked the shocking rude moment to talk about on Monday morning with anyone else who is otherwise too embarrassed to say they watched them.  There was no ranting Kanye or pissed off Eminem.  The pool of nominees was virtually Gaga and five or six other artists or groups.  After weeks and weeks of advertising for them MTV really underperformed, even if they had written in an awkward/crazy moment it would have been the highlight.  Or maybe they should just tape the after-parties because there's no doubt they would have been a better way to waste a couple hours on the couch.

MTV seems almost hypocritical these days hosting an award show about music videos when they don't even show them anymore, even TRL the last remaining show that actually showed music videos was cancelled.  All the artists on the show are so young and new that Eminem seems like he belongs on a classic radio station, it could have just been called the GaGa-As.  She pretty much won everything, and was the focal point of the whole show.  I'm aware she is super popular but for real if you aren't a Gaga fan the VMAs were even worse for you.  Those of us who have watched the VMAs for a while are losing interest, without the gimmicks the MTV really might as well air a Jersey Shore marathon instead of pretending they are about music anymore.

Controversy in the Desert: Immigration Law Sends a Dust Storm Blowing Across All Frontiers of Our Country

If there's one issue right now that divides our country more than any other it is the politics of immigration.  In a time where we need to unite more than ever, the issue continues to forge deep trenches among Americans, and threatens the collective well-being of our society.  Don't get me wrong, I believe great diversity in opinions and stances is perhaps one of the most important aspects of our society; crucial to our survival as the greatest nation in the world.

As much as I believe differing viewpoints represents what makes us great, I believe multiculturalism fosters this a great deal of the intellectual contrast that exists in our country.  Our country was founded on values, values that were born from the mixture of many groups and ethnicities from all regions of the world.  Although some groups may have contributed a greater amount to our identity it is fair to say that in our "Melting Pot" society we have all left a footprint.

While xenophobia still conquers so many of us and is inevitably always going to exist in America, it is my opinion that Arizona Immigration law SB1070 is an upsetting attempt of a great state of our nation to embrace xenophobia.  The law, which has created uprising and discontent among Arizona citizens has created a dust storm clouding the air that Arizona breathes.  As the dirty air fills the lungs of Arizonans it also blows through every state in the union, taking the air out of our lungs and settling on top of the great progress we have made.  It may only legally take root in Arizona, it poisons all Americans.

In brief summary the law makes it legal for law enforcement to detain people they may suspect of being illegal immigrants, and also makes it a misdemeanor to not carry proof of citizenship.  It doesn't take a 4.0 to realize that it targets Hispanics.  Although it finds its legitimacy in assumption that it is targeting illegal immigrants, it makes those who are legal Spanish Americans, even those who may have a family tree with generations of legal American citizens, unfair targets.  President Obama thinks that the law "Undermines the basic notions of fairness we cherish as Americans, as well as the trust between police and our communities that is so crucial in keeping us safe."  Obama is absolutely right, and he's right because he is familiar with the plight of his own people, he represents the progress that can be made by anyone in America, no matter what race.  In a country based on the freedom to be who you are the law threatens this freedom.  Even at the most minimal level it is racial profiling.

SB1070 supporters claim that it is part of a solution to illegal immigration from Mexico, a solution that has been nonexistent and its lack of presence has threatened all aspects of our society.  Don't get me wrong, illegal immigration is serious concern to the well-being of our country and national security.  I am in no way condoning illegal immigration and I do recognize the harm it has caused so many people.  It needs to be recognized, however, that this law represents the wrong approach, an approach which will collect illegal immigrants and punish them, but at the greater cost of freedom and identity of so many others.

The broadest and strictest immigration law perhaps ever implemented in our country has an even greater impact because it will become the broadest and strictest failure in immigration policy; mark my words. This law is a violation of freedom of law abiding Americans and is an embarrassment.  I have no fair words for SB1070, if there are a couple positive things that may come from this law they are 1) State governments show they are willing to step up and brainstorm a solution to the immigration problem and 2) A law such as this reminds us that when we lose our way as a country, the voice of what is right will speak out.  The white house announced today it will file suit against the bill and the government of Arizona, and if you truly do value freedom, the one value all of us can agree on, you know Arizona has made a grave mistake.  

Enforce the borders, build fences, or increase international cooperation between the United States and Mexico.  What should not happen is robbery of freedom and equality from Americans, and that is what SB1070 does.  Although its goal may be noble, it hurts the American public it seeks to protect.  It is not the solution to our immigration perils and it will hurt many more Americans than it will protect.  A recent poll shows that the majority of Americans support the law.  We are all entitled to our opinions, but we are also entitled to equality and to live a life free of discrimination, at least discrimination by the government.  As long as this dust storm known as SB1070 continues to cloud the air we breathe, the air that our freedom floats upon, it will poison us and our freedom will only seek to exist under layers of dust which will continue to burry it.  I can only hope that we can sweep off this dust, but more likely we will all choke on the dust before we realize how we have damned ourselves.