Let me get this straight, one of your main criticisms of the show is that E and Drama are ugly? I can understand calling them lame douchebags, but resorting to calling them ugly makes you sound like an eleven year old girl.
Dude when you are a multiple time poster of how hawt you are it gives you a rock proof house to sling shit at people. Don't you know anything.
That's not me... E isn't ugly, I'm just calling that scene the ugliest scene in on cable in recent memory. Drama is lame, ugly, brash, unfunny, etc. But we deal with it because his hijinks were funny. When they're not funny, like he hasn't been for two seasons now, he's just a shitty, annoying character.
I've said it before: I wish I were back in college so I could write a 15-page essay comparing and contrasting my three most hated fictional characters on television: Eric Murphy, Kate Austen, and Tim McManus from "OZ". I would get an A++++++++++++++, just like Ralphie from A Christmas Story.
I liked it. Hot girls, lots of Ari, topless Sloan, a mildly interesting Turtle story, and Vince/Grenier's acting has been annoying me less and less. I was actually hoping he'd make a good impression in his second meeting. But my favourite parts of the episode and season, so far, have been Walsh's lines to Drama, and Drama's reaction. Dillon does such a good job of seeming sincere in NOT getting/being offended by Walsh's idea. Being the ugly, rude 'n crude character (simian, as Walsh put it) is so foreign to him, even though that's exactly what he is. It's a great insight into his mind/ego. After they pitch him the idea, and Drama walks out yelling, "what a waste of my day!". Hilarious -- like he had a bunch of other meetings with people who are tailoring a show to his personality. Also, while it obviously fucks up the NFL deal and that's huge, it still seems to me that Ari is too worked up over him calling employees names becoming public. Like his wife doesn't know the offensive things he says on a daily basis?
I actually like the new Walsh. The old Walsh was annoying because you knew his very presence was a sure sign of impending doom, as he'd fuck something up by making a bad decision. Thus far this season his decisions have been good, his temper subdued, and it seems he won't react irrationally to any little bump. The old Walsh would have grabbed the phone out of Eric's hands and yelled "I dun saw him doin coke!" whereas the new Walsh let's Eric know that Vince isn't as clean as he claims without causing a huge spectacle.
This hits it on the head. I think new Walsh has alot to add to the show. The scene with him and Vince, right before Vince gets on his bike and is clearly not right, was great to see Walsh calmly analyze him and get in Vince's head, in a good way. And Walsh with the guacamole around all the debauchery was hilarious as well. I was sick of Vince before, and now he is just becoming even more unlikeable. Did anyone else think Connelly's acting was pathetic during the scene where Walsh pitches the show to Drama? I was quite happy to get a little of Dana Gordon's hot ass and I thought Piven did an exceptional job of showing some extended range with Ari this week.
Yea, that whole forced laugh thing that Connelly was doing kind of got under my skin. Too bad we didn't get the view he got of Sloane though. Lucky bastard.
This is confusing me as well. So much so that I think there has to be something much deeper at play for Ari, like an extramarital affair. He's a loud mouth business shark that is known to be abrasive to EVERYONE. Firing off the C word and telling a female employee to grow some balls is extremely light for this guy. It's not like hundreds of his employees, clients, and wife haven't heard this stuff before. He walked through his newly acquired agency and shot paintballs at people he wanted fired. Now he thinks tapes of him calling people cunts is going to sink his family? I think he and Lizzi might have actually hooked up and he is freaked knowing that it will be made public. It would explain a lot of weird behavior on both their parts.
Interesting thought, but would they (the show) really do that? I mean, obviously they could, but I can't think of a precedent where we as the viewers don't know about something that major. The more I think about it, the more it seems like a poorly executed plotline in an otherwise solid (OK, at least) season, and if it is an affair, that's even shittier. I mean, 'fucking cunts'? That's all Lizzie/someone released to the press? What's the scandal? He's not misogynisitc, he's a dick to everyone who isn't higher up than him, which basically means...everyone.
I thought it was just he did not want hard proof of the awful things he says on the internet, for his wife and kids to read. To know it happens would be one thing, but to have his kids being able to go listen to him scream and degrade people would be another. It fits with what we've seen him do as a family man.
I agree. To the very best of my knowledge, we've never seen Ari cheat on Mrs. Ari. He's only told Eric he fucks women on the side but that setup came in the pilot when it was clear the writers wanted us to see how much Ari resents and disrespects having to deal with Pizza Boy and even then it seemed unbelievable. I have no problem accepting as fact that Dana Gordon was his last piece of strange before Mrs. Ari, if for no other reason the both of them remember the event so well (was it a Red Roof Inn in Rosarita?). His wife and kids (well, his daughter) know that he's an asshole, though most of it can be written off as the harmless and mildly embarassing kind (sneaking a phone into temple) rather than the morally objectionable kind of rants Mel Gibson is dealing with right now. Still, it does point to a pretty thin plot thread that makes me think the writers are running out of string and this show might be better suited for it's upcoming ending after all. If there's one thing the show seems to struggle with, it's overarching story arcs: it's much better at anecdotal storytelling, such as having Turtle beg Marky Mark and Puff Daddy for their tequila back or having Matt Damon hound Vince for a donation. The larger narratives tend to run against the grain of what made the show appealing in the first place.
I have crushed this show for two seasons and I almost can't believe that I am saying this, I am interested in seeing what happens next! Fuckin crazy. I am really curious about three of the shows storylines, Druggie Vince, Johnny Bananas, and Ari's scandal. (Could care less about Turtles tequila)
You'd think a caring father would be able to explain to his children that his work life and family life are two different things and that to perform his job, thus providing a living, he's going to have to kick ass and take names in the business he's in. Tony Soprano had this same problem but Ari isn't even in the same league as Tony. "Listen kids, at work daddy has to degrade his employees to ensure the best results, but daddy has never, will never, do this to you and he will always love you." period. If it is only because he doesn't want his kids to know he calls people cunts and that is the only reason they sunk the entire football gig, then Id say it is a fucking weak ass story line. So far the story line have sunk back into the old routine of eventually going no where and ending up at square one. Ari's lost a huge chance to do something big, Vince is either consciously or subconciously screwing his career and going no where, Drama is Drama, and turtle seems to have the only storyline that right now seems like it could pan out but it seems to just be feeding more into Vinces downfall. Ive enjoyed 90% of the season so far I hope it can stay focused for the next half of the season.
I disagree with this. The inner battles the characters are having with themselves make the story interesting. We have seen Vince struggle with his career, not with himself. We have never seen him lie or betray his friends. The Drama aspect is cool because he is finally going to have to face that he is not a handsome actor anymore and he is past his prime, why not do Johnny Bananas if it keeps you in the industry? Everyone is speculating on the Ari plot but all we know is the story's headline. It may contain things that could be incredibly embarrassing to his family as well as firm. His daughter may get told his Dad is a racist bigot by her friends, he does constantly insult gays. Who knows? It still is showing him vulnerable, not worried about his job or Vince but worried about his ego. The show is actually exploring a darker side and I think it's working. Honestly this one episode really got me interested again.
Obviously as the viewer we know this is the best route for him, but as johnny Drama, brother of superstar Vinny Chase... it's a jagged pill to swallow.
That's what makes it so good, I think. Any other actor would love to have a "Simpsons, but darker" cartoon modeled after their personality, written by a guy they think is genius, at any point in their career. But not Drama. Even after all he's "been" through, his ego is that big. And Dillon does it so well. Ari is still my favorite character on this show, but this show has produced two of my favorite comedic characters in any TV show, in the last ten years at least.
Drama's irrational ego is kept in check by an amazing lack of shame. This is a guy, after all, that begged Brett Ratner to let him appear in Rush Hour 3 for free...not to mention the scores of other indignities he's subjected himself to in order to find work. I know I bag on Eric Murphy a lot in this thread, but as often as I've beaten that horse I think I may have spent more posts overall restating how much credit Kevin Dillon deserves for playing Johnny Drama, because let's face it: he doesn't have a whole lot to work with. The character of Johnny Chase seemed like a half-formed idea from the beginning; he was loosely based on Marky Mark's cousin, not his brother Donnie. Christ, from the beginning it wasn't clear how Drama and Vince were related (same mother? same father?) or even if they were close growing up (remember Turtle's remark about Vince thinking they were cousins?). Still, Kevin Dillon managed to turn that mess into a fully-formed (and fully-flawed) character without the benefit of the over-the-top set pieces that Ari Gold gets. I've lost count of the number of times Dillon has rescued mediocre one-liners by pulling out some part of of Drama's MegaMix of confused confidence, unsolicited wisdom, and heartfelt desperation.
Nice to see E and Turtle making some headway this episode. I still don't know how far they could take a Tequila business though. E standing up to the producer on Dramas show as well as Caan and Vince. Though he ultimately was backed down by Vince at the very end.
Who knew it would take seven seasons to finally found a role Adrian Grenier could play well? He does "asshole" Vince quite good. Also once upon a time before everyone loathed E, he had a line that went something like "I wanted to come back here and hang out with you but I banged a perfect 10 girl instead" I think I saw a little bit of that E shine through last night. I think we got an idea of the scandal as well, CEO's and racism do not work anywhere. Another good episode, I'm fuckin floored. They better not tease us with Johhny Bananas either I want to see at least one animated clip.