Entourage: Series 5: DVD Review

Entourage: Series 5: DVD Review

Entourage Season 5
Cast: Kevin Connolly, Kevin Dillon, Adrian Grenier, Jerry Ferrara, Jeremy Piven
Rating: M
Warner Bros Home Video
At the end of Season Four (currently airing on TV2 on Thursday nights - find out more here!), things looked a bit rough for the gang.
(Consider this your spoiler warning if you're about to catch up E, Vincent Chase et al on TV)
With all of them facing a lot of fall out from the Medellin saga (Chase's film about drugs baron Pablo Escobar), it looked as if it couldn't be anything but the bad times for the Entourage gang.
But, don't forget Hollywood loves a comeback.
And not only is Entourage Season 5 a comeback for Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier) on screen, it's also a comeback for the series which, to be honest, was starting to hit a bit of a lull.
The problem with a show like this is somewhere down the line you reach the point where you feel there's nowhere for the writers to go as the gang hits a high, followed by a low, followed by an upturn - and every Hollywood excess has been mined for comedy gold.
However, there's no need to worry because this season is one of the best - with Chase having to claw his way back up the power lists, there's actually an emphasis on getting the guy to act - granted there are still the distracting subplots of Drama (Chase's brother, played by Kevin Dillon) who's forever determined to muck up his own career; and Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) who's still in search of some kind of career rather than just being part of the Vinny Chase Entourage.
It's divided into two parts - the first is about Vince's comeback as a movie star and the second half sees him on a film which could either seal his comeback - or his fate.
But it's once again Kevin Connolly and Jeremy Piven who steal the series - Connolly's E is trying to make his way in the showbiz world (this season he's looking after some new writers played by Giovanni Ribisi and Lukas Haas) - and his nice guy approach is a direct contrast to the continuing foul mouth hard ass agent Ari Gold - played as ever by the brilliant Piven.
Piven is clearly the star of the show - from his insane behaviour and feud with a fellow agent in Season 5, the writers clearly have a ball with Gold - but thanks to Piven and an inherently decent streak underneath the foul mouth, Gold is pulled from the brink of stereotype and manages to pretty much steal every scene he's in. Piven relishes the role and brings so much gusto and spark to it.
This season doesn't skimp on getting the Hollywood high and mighty involved in some form of cameo - but the best appearance has to be Eric Roberts who takes the boys out to the desert and gives them magic mushrooms to help Vince make a career decision.
Brilliant.
Extras: While the show itself is great and you get the entire 12 episodes of Series Five, unfortunately the extras are somewhat lacking - a couple of commentaries and a behind the scenes piece. Those are ok but for a show this good, you'd hope for a little more.

Rating 8/10