By Karen Woodward

The boys are in Cannes to sell Medellin; Drama finds love

Eric, Vince, Turtle, Drama, Ari and Billy Walsh have arrived in Cannes. (Note that this episode is actually shot at the Cannes film festival.) Their quest: sell Medellin. Billy and Vince still truly believe in this movie. Eric still doesn't but wants to be supportive. Ari wants to get the best deal possible. Turtle's turtle. Drama has a different quest - a Viking Quest. Apparently the show is a huge hit in France, and this "Viking God" plans to take advantage of that.

By Karen Woodward

The boys head to Cannes with Ari and Billy Walsh; Eric faces a conflict of interest with Anna Faris

The episode opens with Eric on the roof talking/flirting with Anna Faris. ("We've been on the phone for 97 minutes!" he giggles). When he gets off the phone the boys tease him about his "client crush." They head out to join Ari and Billy Walsh at a trendy bar for a last drink before heading to Cannes the next day (where Medellin is screening). Ari is bringing Mrs. Ari to Cannes, and the guys point out that he won't have any fun with her around. Ari explains himself by comparing a wife to herpes - she keeps showing up when you don't want her there. Nice. He then takes E aside and asks him if he really did like Billy's new script or if he was just lying so he isn't cut out of his producer role. Eric says he hated the script, but wants to remain positive and Ari congratulates him for finally figuring out the Hollywood Rules. He then goes home and agents his wife into not going to Cannes.

By Karen Woodward

Billy Walsh turns in his script; Eric clashes with Anna Faris's boyfriend; Drama and Turtle have no storyline.

The guys are at Urth Caffé (where they inexplicably always manage to get a table) and the guys are teasing Eric about Anna Faris. They're convinced he's only pretending he wants to work with her because he really wants to sleep with her. E tells Vince that managing Anna is good for "our business"...because he's offering Vince a 50-50 split on his management company. (What? Why?) Vince says that he doesn't have to do that as long as he, Vince, is E's top priority. Of course you can see where this episode will go...

By Karen Woodward

Eric accidentally finds a new client, Ari is jealous when Mrs. Ari wants to return to work, and Turtle picks up some provisions. Some things never change. A fun episode, despite the revisiting of the same tired story ideas.

The boys have finally moved into a new pad - a mansion in the Hollywood Hills that Vince can afford for at least sixteen months because of his Lost in the Clouds advance. Eric is driving there, and on the phone with Turtle, when he gets rear ended. "I think that's Anna Faris," he tells Turtle. Come on, as if E - or anyone - would recognize Anna Faris. (And that's pronounced "AH-nna" for those not properly schooled in actorly pretentiousness.) The starlet is in a towel, and she doesn't have her wallet or insurance information, but gee whiz, she'll give E her phone number and he can call her. When E arrives at the new pad, he tells the guys he thinks he and Anna have shared "a moment." They laugh. Drama wisely informs him that he's "not a member of the celeb club," and as if proving his point, E calls her number and discovers it's wrong.

By Karen Woodward

Why does the paparazzi not stalk Vincent Chase? He's a huge movie star and yet the only people who recognize him are hot chicks. No one ever approaches him on the street or at a basketball game to ask for an autograph. Photographers don't pop out of bushes unless he's dating Mandy Moore. One would think that the tabloids would be writing stories about him and his posse. Actually, we inch a little closer to that in this episode.

This week's episode begins with Vinnie, Eric, Turtle and Drama checking out E's new office. E has decided that he needs a space to call his own, where he can read scripts in peace and act like a real manager. To accomplish this, he has rented a pathetic closet of an office and furnished it with a card table, chair, plant, and a telephone. His first order of business, he tells the boys, is to call Peter Jackson to talk about Jackson's new video game company. Vince likes the plan, and he and Drama and Turtle leave E to conduct business.

By Karen Woodward

Eric and Turtle Make a Bet; Ari Humbles Himself for his Son

A fun episode reminiscent of season 1, where boys will be boys, and yet the plot still moves forward. It's Eric vs. Turtle: Who can get have sex first? They have one day to win and the rules are simple: 1. She has to be a complete stranger. 2. No calling her afterwards. 3. No paying or bartering. Vince sides with Eric, Drama sides with Turtle, and may the best man win. Meanwhile, Ari is still trying to get his son into a private school, and he'll go to extreme measures to accomplish that. Even if it means becoming human.

We begin with the guys having breakfast at Urth Caffé, and the conversation turns to relationships. (Yes, I know. Boys don't talk about relationships, but it was worked in organically). The guys tease Eric for being unable to have unemotional sex. Eric attempts to protest, but he's thwarted at every example. It's sweet and sort of pathetic.

By Karen Woodward

Relationships are complicated. Ari helps Lloyd mend his love life, but Eric and Vince are having some clear differences of opinion about Billy Walsh. Even Drama and Turtle hit a rough patch. Jeremy Piven proves why he was nominated for an Emmy, and Kevin Dillon proves that being Emmy-nominated doesn't get you better storylines. Memo to the writers: Give this guy something to do and prove why Entourage should win an Emmy for Best Comedy Series.

Last week we learned that Eric doesn't want Billy to direct Lost in the Clouds, because he doesn't like the guy and isn't happy with Medellin. This week, Ari's mission is to get Eric to approve Billy, because A.) If Billy is removed from the Clouds package, people will wonder what's wrong with Medellin, and B.) Ari wants to sign Billy as a client. So he arranges for Eric, Billy, and Vince (is it just me, or is he becoming a third wheel in his own life?) to meet at his office to kiss and make up. Billy apologizes for accusing Eric of leaking the Medellin trailer (turns out his editor's ex-girlfriend leaked it) and says he loved the Lost in the Clouds book. E nods. All better? Maybe not. The threesome meet with Dana Gordon and Billy is his usual obnoxious David O. Russell-esque self.

By Karen Woodward

"Woo woo!" (to quote Lloyd) - An episode fairly light on Medellin angst, and heavy on relationship problems. With Medellin in the pre-Cannes wait-and-see stages, the focus shifts back to Vince and Eric's friendship, Billy Walsh and Eric's mutual disgust, and Ari and Lloyd's co-dependency.

Someone leaked the Medellin trailer and it's all over the internet. Ari is using that momentum to get Vince his next job, and he ropes Lloyd into his Sabotage 101 plan. "Oh goody! We haven't had a stealth adventure in a while!" Oh goody indeed.

By Karen Woodward

Vince, Eric, Drama and Turtle are actually hanging out and acting like buddies again, instead of caricatures of themselves. For a while, all the actors seemed to be phoning it in, and I was getting a little concerned. But this time the plot was furthered by Drama finally growing a pair (although he wasn't the only one.)

A quick reminder of where we were last week: Eric hated Medellin and tried to sell it to Harvey Weingart. Harvey offered to buy it for $25 million, but then Vince told Eric that the film had gotten into Cannes. Big problem, right? Because now Eric has to tell Harvey that they don't want to sell the film to him after all.

By Karen Woodward

Eric tries to save Medellin, Drama and Turtle get some action, and Vince meets Dennis Hopper. Once again, our boys' storylines/lives are not overlapping...remember when these guys used to actually hang out together?

The good news is that Vince was kicked out of his hotel room after Anthony Michael Hall mistook his balcony for the toilet, and our boys are finally living together again. Nothing makes Drama happier than putting the boys up in his new condo, but he has another reason to be happy: God has sent him an old flame, and she's got a girl for Turtle! So Drama, Turtle, and Vince head to meet the girls, but Vince is picked up by a hottie in a convertible on PCH (Pacific Coast Highway). He opts to go with her. (Ok, sidebar. I live in LA, and I have never stopped at a light and seen a movie star in the next car. That kind of thing just doesn't happen to me. Perhaps I should blame it on my Volkswagen's inability to remove its top.)

By Karen Woodward

It's episode two of the fourth season, and the boys may be on a path to disaster. Ari's son (!?) can't get into a posh school; Drama worries that a party will ruin his new condo; and dum-dum- dum - Vince and Eric see a cut of Medellin.

First, a brief recap of last week - which was the entire Medellin shoot. (If only real movies could be shot in a half hour.) Billy Walsh was his typical insecure self: throwing tantrums, firing the DP, shutting down production for hours at a time so he could either flirt or sulk, and generally avoiding the fact that this movie had no ending. His eventual breakdown in front of Eric freed his writer's block and he wrote a fantastic ending.