Entourage (2016)

Visiting this page seeing such a low overall score you'll probably gonna be put off by it from the very beginning. Then you'll look at the cast and think how bad can it actually be with such a talented cast. Well, let me assure you, it's not bad at all, it is just different and not for everyone.

Entourage isn't your average kdrama, it has none of the usual tropes, love triangles, crazy 2nd leads, misunderstandings, absurd coinsidences, scheming, melodrama ect. It actually feels a lot like a western tv show -which shouldn't come as a surprise since it is a remake of an american tv show, and i am happy they didn't try to korean-ize it too much. For all these reasons entourage is a breath of fresh air in the dramaland for me, but it is not a drama for everyone for the exact same reasons.

Story
Welcome to the entertainment industry. The main lead of the drama is an up and coming fictional actor who just had his first movie breakthrough, got mixed reviews but also got immensely popular and we watch him as he tries to find his next project, balancing his personal life and work life in the best (or worst) way he can. At the same time we see his 3 best friends as well as his agency's CEO. All of his friends have something to do with the entertainment industry; the drama's exploring different sides of it through them.

The show focuses on the hardships of the industry, putting it in the spotlight in a rather realistic and even negative -if i may say- way. It targets issues about the entertainment industry like: how difficult it is to find a potential hit movie/drama project, how actors are placed in the public eye and have little to no privacy, the way the agencies try to control them work-wise and personal life-wise, how difficult it is to actually get casted and breakthrough in this industry, the severe importance of appearance ect. Simultaneously, the relationships between actors, actor-manager, actor-agency, actor-significant other ect. Moreover, it puts the actors and agencies on the spot as well, showing both negative and positive aspects of their life and the way they act, as well as very realistic repercussions of their actions (this was probably the most interesting thing this drama had to offer for me).

All that being said, i think it is very obvious that this drama is not the average rom-com one would expect. There is no romance here. There is a love-line plot, but there is no actual romance, this plot line serves a purpose to explain how difficult it is to maintain a relationship being a celebrity and nothing else. The comedy is present, but i would safely dub it as elitist. It's not your usual slapstip kdrama comedy, it is heavily based on sexual comments, and a lot of the jokes involve other idols or actors and i am not sure if they can get across to an average kdrama watcher. What's more, there is no melodrama at all, or overdramatic situations evolving emotional conversations, stares ect.

Lastly, i would like to stress how i totally understand why someone would find this boring. If you're looking for a sweet romance story with comedy, you won't like this. If you're into heavy melodramatic situations this isn't your cup of it either. The drama is a light comedy about the entertainment industry, everything revolves around that. Concluding, the drama is told completely from a male perspective, so there will be a lot of pants dropping, creepy sex jokes, men desperate to have sex, clubs, silly, immature situations ect. If the drama lacked something was a proper female touch, but then again, this is why this drama was fresh and different.

Acting
The acting left a lot to be desired, but it wasn't a problem.
Seo Kang Joon was great, but not really memorable; Lee Dong Hwi, the same. Lee Kwang Soo was adorable and hilarious and performed impeccably as expected, however none of those 3 characters were well-enough written to leave a strong impression.

On the contrary, the most memorable actors were Jo Jin Woong, who portrayed a caring ceo -almost a father figure- with anger management and attitude issues immaculately and also my personal favourite Park Jung Min who might not have been the best acting wise, but the role was a perfect fit and was completely relateable and absolutely delightful!

I would like to emphasise how i wouldn't -not in any way- stick with this drama because of the good cast or because of the countless guests.

As for the supporting cast, amber had the most promiment role of the females, and i loved her. The role was a perfect fit. Ahn So hee needs to work on her acting more and i would like to see Kim Hye In more in the future. However, none of the supporting actresses had the time to build up as characters or show something of substance.

The guests were there for a split second, said a line, waved and that was it. Don't expect much.

Rewatch/Recommend
This drama is an elitist drama, but it's not bad; it's just different. If you are into classic kdramas, ignore this one, you aren't missing out. If you want to watch something different, and have an interest in the korean acting industry, then do try it. I also believe this drama is adressed to male viewers because of the nature of the comments and issues it depicts. I wouldn't rewatch this though.

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If you come into this drama WITHOUT BEING FAMILIAR WITH THE ORIGINAL HBO SHOW, you're probably not going to be in love with it. It's not the typical drama with the cheesy romance, the wistfulness of lost love, etc. This drama was based off of the HBO's Entourage show. If you haven't seen it or aren't even familiar with the themes for that, I suggest making yourself familiar before trying ????.

That said, this show is primarily about real life. Real life adults in a real life world of celebrities, how it is to be an actor, or a manager, someone with a family and friends to take care of. If you're looking for the romance-driven doe-eyed actress fighting to be in love with the main male protagonist, this isn't for you. This show is for the rest of us who know what being an adult life is like and enjoy a show based on that.

The soundtrack was quality, I enjoyed most of it and it captured the scenes' emotions well.
The cast is PERFECT for the transition of the original HBO cast - Ari Gold (the actors' main manager) is a solid man, very passionate and fiery. The actor for ??? captured his essence perfectly, as did the equivalents for Vince, Turtle and Drama.

This is different from the majority of kdramas out there. And for that, I think ???? fills a very important niche.

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