Entourage

There are shades of "Swingers" -- that 1996 indie hit starring Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn -- all over this show, but it gives up much of what "Swingers" had in heart in exchange for heavier satire. Think "Swingers" if Vaughn finally did make it big and the other guys gave up their dreams and just went along for the ride. [18 July 2004, p.N01]

The scripts pander too much to the sensibility they should be mocking - that Hollywood is a playland for big boys with an eye for scrawny women. Entourage doesn't need to become moralistic or politically correct, just self-aware. If the writers took another step back from their immature characters, the show's satirical edge might be sharper. [16 July 2004, p.C1]

I suppose there are women in the world as empty as the instantly beddable Maxim babes the producers habitually drape around their boys, but it would help to give them even something stupid to say -- it strikes a wrong note, this neo-retro sexism, even if it accurately reflects the world view of the characters or, indeed, their actual world. It's a failing that even the presence of Debi Mazar (great, as always) as Vince's publicist and the intriguing Samaire Armstrong (from "The O.C.") as Eric's budding love interest does not redeem. [17 July 2004, p.E1]

Although it feigns to focus on Eric's struggle to rein in this herd of licentious Peter Pans, Entourage lacks a believably strong central character and fails to lay out any plot direction or coming tension. Connolly has potential, but the best you can say about his and every other Entourage character is that they're tolerable. [17 July 2004, p.E6]