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Aug 08, 2011 Web Exclusive By Jeremy Nisen

The seventh season of Entourage is frankly only enjoyable if you’re already invested in the characters—and even then, it’s not so sparkly.

Does Turtle’s subplot of trying to establish that he has value beyond that of being Vince’s buddy sound familiar? Yup. Vince’s downward spiral into drug overuse and denial is just boring, as is his porn actress girlfriend (Sasha Grey, playing herself). Ari Gold’s thread, wherein his difficulties with Lizzie Grant (played by Autumn Reeser, one of the season’s highlights) escalate into career- and family-threatening proportions, is solid, and Ari’s screaming is always fun, but the character’s lack of progression is disappointing. Jonny Drama’s same-old, same-old plotline (Difficult to work with! Can’t get a job!) is better for the interjection of old foil Billy Walsh to help solve it. Very disappointing is the lackluster events surrounding Eric, and the snore-worthy relationship with Sloan. Note to writers: people in a relationship don’t need to be boring. An encounter with Sloan’s father (Malcolm McDowell’s Terrance McQuewick) adds a ton of interesting tension…but in the very last episode of the season. It doesn’t feel like a cliffhanger; feels like the writers are kicking the can down the road.

Most lacking is the payoff. Entourage is characterized by those little and large moments of triumph that close a season with a cliffhanger or a vicarious rush of adrenaline. This season’s close—the prospect of Vince serving time—inspires dread, but not on behalf of the character. Rather, on the prospect of watching another season like this one, where instead of experiencing the trials and tribulations of a nonconventional group of pals in Hollywood, we’re treated to stories inspired by the typical, the tired, and the tabloid. Hopefully things will improve with season eight, which just started airing on HBO. (www.hbo.com/entourage)

Author rating: 5/10