which is to say rich, sugary, not very nutritious but tasty and addictive as hell. It's junk food, no doubt about it, but it's also so enjoyable it's pretty hard to begrudge.
Four friends live together and hang out around L.A.: Vince is a DiCaprio-level star on the rise (though he's reportedly loosely based on producer Mark Wahlberg); Eric is his best friend, a smart kid trying to help him manage his career; and Turtle and Johnny Drama (Vince's has-been older half-brother) are the comic relief. Adding shards of garlic to the mix is Jeremy Piven as Ari, Vince's razor-tongued agent who, were he played by anybody other than Piven, would probably be too much to digest in such an otherwise tangy environment.
In stark contrast to most HBO Sunday night shows ("Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," "Deadwood," all of which usually leave me feeling devastated and so much the better for it) this is bummer-free TV. The characters don't have to work, don't have to worry about money, have infinite free time and access to women and recreational misadventures. Even in those rare moments when they have an actual problem it's never really a pressing problem ("Eric, which movie should I do???"). And each episode seems to end with the main characters sharing a drink while watching the sun set from some beautiful vista.
And you know what? Why not? The show ain't exactly Tolstoy but it's a lot of shiny, colorful fun -- smart dialogue, sharp "inside baseball" industry jokes, attractive ladies, cool toys and an eclectic mix of hip-hop and classic rock. It's like HBO fused the Y chromosome of "Larry Sanders" with the X chromosome of "Sex and the City" and came up with a precocious but charming little tyke
Four friends live together and hang out around L.A.: Vince is a DiCaprio-level star on the rise (though he's reportedly loosely based on producer Mark Wahlberg); Eric is his best friend, a smart kid trying to help him manage his career; and Turtle and Johnny Drama (Vince's has-been older half-brother) are the comic relief. Adding shards of garlic to the mix is Jeremy Piven as Ari, Vince's razor-tongued agent who, were he played by anybody other than Piven, would probably be too much to digest in such an otherwise tangy environment.
In stark contrast to most HBO Sunday night shows ("Sopranos," "Six Feet Under," "Deadwood," all of which usually leave me feeling devastated and so much the better for it) this is bummer-free TV. The characters don't have to work, don't have to worry about money, have infinite free time and access to women and recreational misadventures. Even in those rare moments when they have an actual problem it's never really a pressing problem ("Eric, which movie should I do???"). And each episode seems to end with the main characters sharing a drink while watching the sun set from some beautiful vista.
And you know what? Why not? The show ain't exactly Tolstoy but it's a lot of shiny, colorful fun -- smart dialogue, sharp "inside baseball" industry jokes, attractive ladies, cool toys and an eclectic mix of hip-hop and classic rock. It's like HBO fused the Y chromosome of "Larry Sanders" with the X chromosome of "Sex and the City" and came up with a precocious but charming little tyke