radishcake July 2, 2015 Share July 2, 2015 Hoping to attract new clients, Spencer and Joe hold a corporate event. In their fight over Vernon, Spencer and Reggie's rivalry hits the boiling point. Bored by retirement, Charles lets loose for a night. Ricky learns his beef with his teammate, Alonzo, may be due to an awkward connection. Link to comment
thuganomics85 July 6, 2015 Share July 6, 2015 Richard Schiff! It's certainly always great to see him. His scene with Spencer and Joe was probably my favorite of the series so far. Besides that, the rest, especially all the party scenes, really did just remind me of Entourage, with all the over-the-top guy talk, drugs, naked women, drinking, and so forth. I know that works for some, but that gets kind of boring after a while, even if it's realistic. But I'm starting to find that I have a big issue: as much as I love Dwayne Johnson, I really don't care for Spencer. He honestly doesn't seem like that smart of a guy. It feels like he's way over his head, lets everyone either has his number or get under his skin (Reggie), and barely gets any kind of victory. I don't need the leads to be perfect; not in the slightest; but I want to feel like they bring something to the table, but I honestly wonder how Spencer has lasted this long. Nostalgia? Fame? Charisma? So, basically, the reason Alonzo (Jersey 18) is a jerk to Ricky, is because Ricky is sleeping with him mother. Of course, Ricky seems to truly like her, so it doesn't sound like he will end, despite what everyone else is telling him to do. Charles continues to fall back under the fame spell. I'm guessing this reporter lady is being set-up as a love interest for Spencer. 1 Link to comment
radishcake July 6, 2015 Author Share July 6, 2015 I don't need the leads to be perfect; not in the slightest; but I want to feel like they bring something to the table, but I honestly wonder how Spencer has lasted this long. Nostalgia? Fame? Charisma?I am never surprised by how far charisma can get some people. They aren't smart necessarily or good at what they do but somehow no matter how hard they screw up or how much they sponge on people they get by. It's really amazing. I have known a few people in my personal life like that. It's pretty crazy. 1 Link to comment
Ottis July 6, 2015 Share July 6, 2015 (edited) I'll say it: The Rock, and his character, are the weakest links in this show. He is far too new and shiny to get any sympathy from the audience, and as others have mentioned, he doesn't seem particularly smart. We know nothing about his life away from the players (except the anvil of adoption, which seems to do a disservice to adoption). And Jeebus, how many times are we going to hear him, or another character, mention that his suits are tailored? Does this matter in some way? In contrast, the story of a recently retired player who is trying to convince himself he likes life after retirement (and who has a supportive wife!), a player getting one more chance with a new team (and the mildly funny fact he is banging the mother of a teammate), and the entourage around a star player and its effect on that player's life, are all far more interesting. Now they need a star player coming back from injury, and a story revolving around a QB somehow (and please, not the trope of an egomaniac QB). At some point, we need a brain damaged retired player. Take real life, interesting issues from the NFL and run with them. Edited July 6, 2015 by Ottis 4 Link to comment
radishcake July 6, 2015 Author Share July 6, 2015 I'm thinking that they hung this show on "The Rock" and didn't bother with trying character development for him. Everyone else needs some interesting parts to explore with their character because they aren't such a big personality. I hope they course correct and actually give him more complexity but knowing the producers maybe not. 1 Link to comment
benteen July 6, 2015 Share July 6, 2015 (edited) This episode bored the living hell out of me. Not even Rock could save it and I agree, Spencer doesn't seem like the sharpest knife in the drawer. Edited July 6, 2015 by benteen Link to comment
BigBlueMastiff July 6, 2015 Share July 6, 2015 Who gets their panties in a bunch because some idiot said you're adopted? Also, seemed like a lot of cameras around taking shots of the guys doing drugs. I watched this last night after True detective, because nothing else on, but it's not compelling. And I'm so sick of the white guy trying to act like he's down, so cliche and insulting, that alone makes me not want to watch anymore. Link to comment
marcee July 6, 2015 Share July 6, 2015 I WANT to love it, but I just don't. Same. *sigh* 1 Link to comment
Ottis July 6, 2015 Share July 6, 2015 I WANT to love it, but I just don't. And what's sad is, the ESPN show Playmakers did all this much better. Then the NFL killed it. 3 Link to comment
red12 July 6, 2015 Share July 6, 2015 This show just made me ask "Hey, when does Survivor's Remorse start again?". 1 Link to comment
Joimiaroxeu July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 This show just made me ask "Hey, when does Survivor's Remorse start again?". Yep, Ballers is basically the same show except it's about football instead of basketball and it's got charismatic eye-candy presence of The Rock. The writers seem to covering the same plot lines as Survivor's Remorse. Ballers looks like it has a bigger budget too but that's probably because Wahlberg's the producer. I think Rob Corddry more than makes up for Dwayne's lack of acting skills. That was hilarious when his character thought he had earned a pass to drop the n-word. Link to comment
damalanop July 7, 2015 Share July 7, 2015 And what's sad is, the ESPN show Playmakers did all this much better. Then the NFL killed it. I totally agree with this. Playmakers covered the spectrum of issues that tend to come up in the NFL, and the actors on that show really seemed to nail their respective roles. Shame that the NFL put the kibosh on it. As far as this show...I'm thinking that those pics that Reg took of Vernon snorting coke off of various womens' breasts and hind parts are going to come back to haunt Vernon. Yeah, this show isn't particularly well acted or written (thus far) but some of these story lines are very real, especially the party in this episode and the Reg/Vernon situation. Link to comment
Matt K July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 Yeah, this show isn't particularly well acted or written (thus far) but some of these story lines are very real, especially the party in this episode and the Reg/Vernon situation. I agree but currently I find the show compelling enough to keep watching. Plus it being 30 min really helps. In contrast, the story of a recently retired player who is trying to convince himself he likes life after retirement (and who has a supportive wife!), a player getting one more chance with a new team (and the mildly funny fact he is banging the mother of a teammate), and the entourage around a star player and its effect on that player's life, are all far more interesting. Now they need a star player coming back from injury, and a story revolving around a QB somehow (and please, not the trope of an egomaniac QB). At some point, we need a brain damaged retired player. Take real life, interesting issues from the NFL and run with them. I agree these other story lines are compelling enough to keep me watching. Especially the retired player. Link to comment
Constantinople July 8, 2015 Share July 8, 2015 I'm still watching this, but mainly because it's only 30 minutes long and because it's sandwiched between True Detective and The Brink. 1 Link to comment
Britty July 9, 2015 Share July 9, 2015 those pics that Reg took of Vernon snorting coke off of various womens' breasts and hind parts are going to come back to haunt Vernon. I'm sure they will come up in a future episode as leverage for Reg to get his percentage. I felt episode 3 was the weakest, but I'm interested enough in some of the stories to stick around. I'm glad this show isn't an hour because it would be 20 minutes of story and 40 minutes of boobs, drugs, and fancy cars/boats/clothes. Link to comment
Constantinople July 9, 2015 Share July 9, 2015 Another problem with Ballers is it's inevitably out of date. Booze & Boobs is so last year. Over the July 4th weekend, two different NFL players in two unrelated incidents managed to blow off their fingers: one player lost two fingers and the other lost one (or had it amputated). But Ballers won't be able to get to this until next season, if there is one, by which time it will seem old news. Link to comment
PiggyRod July 10, 2015 Share July 10, 2015 I'm sure they will come up in a future episode as leverage for Reg to get his percentage. One of the few things this show has managed to do is get me to hate that Reggie. But Ballers won't be able to get to this until next season, if there is one. Season 2 was confirmed today. Link to comment
ethalfrida July 27, 2015 Share July 27, 2015 Well, Crenshaw is an area in Los Angeles that is a bit above middle class and predominately African American. That is where Reggie is from, hence, Crenshaw Reggie. However, I am not feeling his "sagging" and bling because it does not represent a group of people who pride themselves on higher end clothing tags. But then, that may be just recent representation. I could be out of touch. However, I was just in the area at the beginning of the week and did not see much change.Anyway, Spencer is doing okay to me. His dynamics in acting have never been that energetic but he is always watchable. Yes, we can do with a whole lot less of the "N" word from everybody. Link to comment
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