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MSRP $39.98
RATED Not Rated
STUDIO HBO
RUNNING TIME 280 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES
• Hollywood Sunset A Farewell to Entourage
• A Look Back at Entourage with behind the scenes footage and candid interviews with cast, crew, and special guests.
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The Pitch
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Entourage finally comes to an end.
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The Humans
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Jeremy Piven. Adrian Grenier. Kevin Connolly. Jerry Ferrara. Kevin Dillon —
The Nutshell
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Season eight is the last hurrah for the boys (barring the threat of a movie) and as Vince gets out of rehab there are many questions to be answered. Will everyone end up happy and together? (probably) Will there be lots of scantily clad women and cameos from random celebrities? (most definitely) Will anyone end up caring about Turtle storylines? (Only masochists) —
The Lowdown
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Entourage will never go down as one of the best shows to air on HBO. However, during its early seasons, it was an enjoyable half hour with amusing plots and characters that were likeable. It was able to make fun of Hollywood and all its trappings while not taking itself very seriously. However, by the time it reached the final eight episodes which comprise its eighth season, Entourage is a shell of its former self.
At the start of the season Vince has left rehab behind and appears to be sober and Eric has called off his engagement with Sloane. These two issues will take up most of the plot of the season along with Ari trying to get back with his wife who has left him. The problem with this is that none of these are very interesting on their own and also conspire to keep the group separated.
The best early Entourage episodes were ones where the entire entourage and Ari would hang out and crack jokes together and not have big issues weighing them down. Unfortunately, this season is all about these big issues. Where the guys making fun of Eric for his woman problems was once funny, it seems less so now, not only because it is just a rehash of older jokes, but also because Eric claims to be deeply in love with Sloane, even though most of his actions make it seem like she is his mortal enemy.
Ari’s story is also a bummer and keeps him on his own island for most of the episodes. Ari was once the best part of Entourage, but here he is never enjoyable. He spends most of the episodes pining after his wife. Turtle and Drama also have what may be their worst story lines of the entire series and include what is definitively the worst cameo in the series which comes from Andrew Dice Clay.
The biggest problem however, is the ending. While everyone who has watched Entourage knew that it would not end up with Vince penniless and everyone a failure, it is still amazing to see how little thought is given to making a realistic happy ending. It may be the fault of the shorter season, but it seems like the writers hit the last two episodes and then realized they had to end the series. Relationships are saved by basically having characters outright lie and others find success through the magical properties of Vince being able to make everything better.
Overall, this is easily the weakest season of Entourage. All of the jokes are rehashed from earlier seasons and the turn to serious plots just serves to weigh the show down. All of the best episodes consisted of the entire gang was together and examples could be seen in episodes where they took trips to Vegas or to Comic con. However, many of these episodes do not even have scenes with everyone together, let alone entire episodes. This season is really reserved only for those who have been devoted to Entourage for its run and want to see how it ends, rather than anyone trying it out and trying to see why so many people once watched it.
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The Package
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For long time fans of Entourage, the behind the scenes look is a real treat. There are interviews with all the main players, both behind and in front of the camera. However, overall it is a very slight package. Audio commentaries would have been a welcome addition, but what is there is a great watch.
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Rating:
Out of a Possible 5 Stars