I'm going to preface this review by sharing that I watched the original Entourage as it was airing on HBO almost 20 years ago. For those that don't know the show was loosely based off of Mark Wahlberg's life and experiences as an up and coming actor and the antics of him and the people surrounding him. Many of the main cast members represented actual people in real life. It was obnoxious, sometimes pointless, sexist and often rude... but honestly, I loved it. They were a bunch of idiot twenty-somethings with indulgent lifestyles, who constantly joked on each other and they were lots of fun.
The Korean version captures storylines from the first four (or so) seasons of the original following actor Cha Young Bin and his group of friends as they navigate the Korean entertainment industry. If you watched the OG, you'll see some familar themes... big super-hero movie, manager's girlfriend dumping him, Shauna the publicist -except as a stylist, ML's intense love affair, artsy gangster film, crazy director, Rolls Royce, changing agencies (but not the agent)... but each of these familiarities are generally told in slightly or completely different ways. It's enough to pay homage to the original, while having its very own story. Also, like the original, this version is jam packed with cameos. One thing I particularly liked about this remake were the strong female characters of the Agency CEO (this was a male character in the OG) and the female investor character. They weren't often nice, but it was nice to see potrayal of more ladies in power to balance out some of the female objectivity in other parts fof the show. ***SIDE NOTE: I have limited knowledge of the Korean entertainment industry as far as the goings on of film/drama production, casting, talent agencies, behavior behind the scenes, etc, so I will not comment on whether its portrayal was accurate or was made to reflect a more Hollywood atmosphere/way of doing business to more closely represent the themes of the original show. ***
Seo Kang Joon was excellent as Cha Young Bin (the Vincent Chase character). I felt like he channeled the sensitivity, stubbornness, loyalty and narcissism of the OG character. Young Bin is not a representation of the squeaky clean, forever single, glowing actor image that Korean publicity likes to promote... rather he is a flawed guy that often acts without thinking because once he sets his sights on something (be it girl or project) he goes all in and doesn't want to give up. He's selfish and childish, but extremely loyal. I believe, at his core, he's a good guy. The rest of the cast does a good job of representing the three members of his crew as well as his agent. I particularly loved Park Jung Min a s Lee Ho Jin (Yong Bin's best friend and manger) and Cho Jin Woong as Kim Eub Gab (Young Bin's over the top agent). Lee Kwang Soo and Lee Dong Hwi were funny as the dopey duo of Cha Joon (YB's struggling actor relative) and Turtle (sometimes driver, but not much else, of the group).
This is definitely not your typical Korean drama, there is some romance but all that is definitely side story and I felt like the cute relationship between Ho Jin and Jian was just a nod to the Eric/Sloan relationship of the OG. Its more the story of the friendship of four guys, one who happens to be a big star. It's definitely offensive (lots of sophomoric humor), but its also funny and a fun remake of the original with a bangin' OST.
***SIDE NOTE 2: if you are a Seo Kang Joon fan, his visuals in this series are some of his best, IMO, and its worth watching just for those if nothing else :D***