SonyaMichelle

(2012-04-28 21:58:14)

Season II FO SHO!

The first few episodes started off kind of slow but still kept meinterested as I could relate to the grind of trying to make it in NYC.I just watched episodes 4-8 last night back to back and I must say, thecharacters grew on me & I want more episodes, bring on Season 2! Theresearch that goes into the details of this show is so great anddepicts NYC life so perfectly! I love seeing all the popularrestaurants and nightclubs that my friends and I frequent. The showaccurately captures the essence & importance of having connections inNYC in order to make it. I can see this show as truly inspiring formany up and coming artists in NYC who look up to these two characters:Ben & Cam that are headed for success through networking despite theirdaily struggles. I can't wait to hear news of when Season 2 willpremiere!! Best of luck to this amazing new show that doesn't portraythe glitz & glamour of LA life (Entourage) but rather captures the trueessence of every young person with a dream trying to make it in the BigApple with its trendy & grimy places alike.

denellington

(2012-04-28 04:54:02)

Fantastic

This series is fantastic and certainly realistic. I have lived thegame, and this is the closest to summing up the highs and lows,glamours and not so glamorous situations. The show is sexy and thecharacters keep you lusting for more - the young energy, the vibrancyof youth and relationships that don't speak, but struggle on any how.What a show, well done Mark Wahlberg for pushing this one through andimproving the quality of TV viewing. Will it be coming to the UK? Ihave been bragging about how good it is to my friends in the UK. Thecharacters are contrasting and there is a lot of humour throughout, Iwas addicted straight away. What a show.

louise-ericsater

(2012-04-27 16:54:21)

Intelligent feel-so-good

I want to watch this again and again, it is feel good at its best. Itis surprising because of what does NOT happen. It does not follow thestandard formula that most shows stick to, first you sit and wait forthe disaster that is showing on the horizon, then you realize this showis different and you sit back and relax. This is reality at its best! No constructed drama, they just floataround and send out good vibes! The only problem is that the episodesare too short and that there just aren't enough of them!I love the slick scenes, the music, the interesting terms and how realthe acting feels. They haven't crowded it with familiar faces, so itfeels fresh, crisp even!

d_dave-1

(2012-04-27 02:25:28)

Feeling lucky?

This isn't bad though it's not that good either. It kinda reminds me ofEntourage in that it's a couple of guys trying to make it or break itin a hip industry. Instead of Hollywood, it's the apparel industry,NYC. The show definitely looks good, from the shooting locations to thecast. Plenty of money was spent on the production. It's sharp. It'ship.BUT, and this is what I hate, in every episode Ben & Cam work their wayinto a problem that they have no control over, yet they end up comingout ahead in the end out of sheer luck. Just dumb luck. No it wasn'ttheir wits and street smarts that got them out of the hole. It was justluck. I hate that. It's cheap. It's lazy story telling.

bramb600

(2012-04-22 20:15:26)

Not very good, but it could have some potential.

This is the pilot for the new Mark Wahlberg produced HBO show. Thefollow-up to Entourage. It's obvious that they're trying to turn thisinto another Entourage. I don't know if it could ever reach that level.Maybe it's because of the lack of likable characters. I can't standsome of them. The concept itself just isn't as intriguing. On Entourageyou have successful actors in Hollywood being rich. How to Make It InAmerica has is about trying to get rich by illegally selling jackets onthe sidewalk. I don't know about anyone else, but when I see thosepeople I don't want to know about their lives. Also, there was oneunintentionally hilarious scene, where the two main characters were intheir SUV and the friend driving was having a full conversation. I'mnot exaggerating, this guy was looking at the road every 10 seconds.You can't do that in New York.Perhaps this is just a bad pilot, as I remember Entourage also had aweak start. I will say that the show utilizes it's New York settingvery well, possibly better than Entourage uses L.A.Check it out, especially if you enjoy Entourage because it shares asimilar style.

stookid

(2012-04-22 05:54:38)

Sign me up.

Two words: Great pilot. Of course, I have to take pilots for what theyare (selling points) as should we all... but 'How to Make It' shows apromising amount of potential. I just hope that they don't break thatpromise... The show focuses on a couple of New Yorkers starting fromthe bottom (or somewhere near it) trying to "Make it in America". Theyhappen to be surrounded by a cast of entertaining characters whichgives it quite the 'Entourage" feel... Add that with a constantonslaught of witty dialogue set in the most modern of all 'modern dayNew Yorks'... and "Sheeeeiiitt"... Quoting Clay Davis only feelsappropriate. You can count me in for the whole season as long as theydon't go all 'Hung' on me and put me to sleep like a double shot ofcodeine in a styrofoam cup. Shout out to Kid Cudi taking a back seat ina supporting roll on a pay-cable show, something that most artists witha future like his wouldn't even consider as a career move. Dude istalented, and Luis Guzman is subtly working his way into being thefunniest dude on TV. I swear to God I can't drink anything while he'son the screen because I'll spit it out before he's done talking. Thefirst two episodes get an 'A' from me, and I literally watch everythingHBO puts on the screen. As long as it doesn't have anything to do withanybody who's 'Hung' or anybody that's named John from anywhere inOhio, let alone Cincinnati... God Bless and hope this show is 5 seasonssolid.

EddyOne

(2012-04-19 23:26:47)

It's NOT Entourage - But it IS a great show!

Yes, Mark Wahlberg is executive producer on this show and yes, the showruns on HBO. Yes it's about 30-something guys that happen to like toparty and try to make a living. Still this show is not like Entourage.It's as different as NYC and L.A. are. Entourage is about glamour,money and Hollywood. HMIA is about the big city life, it's about theBig Apple, about young people trying to achieve something. It's more"down to earth" than Entourage and not as spectacular at first. Thepacing is much slower and you have less sex, models and rock'n roll.But you DO have a great cast, authentic people in the most realisticcapture of young adults living in Manhattan. It's a love letter to thecity and the people who live there. It's a great show with likablecharacters, great dialogue, great cinematography and good and wittyhumor. This is like Sex and the City for guys. But less superficial. Ireally dig this show. Let's hope HBO does too!

ldavis-2

(2012-04-19 07:17:43)

Dumb and Dumber!

Never heard of this until I caught some episodes last night. A fewobservations:* "How to Make It in America" is too long of a title and, given thepremise, makes no sense.* These guys make The Real Housewives of New Jersey look like MENSAcandidates. Dumb shows some gumption by charming the fashion designerwith a toast, but when he and Dumber show up at the designer's place,what do they bring with them to this make-or-break meet-and-greet toprove that they're serious and got game? Nothing!* After I stopped yelling at my TV, I realized that Dumb and Dumber aresupposed to be stand-ins for every schmuck who's ever had a crazydream. Well, even schmucks know they have to work to make their crazydream come true. Dumb and Dumber seem to think that business models andprototypes and capital and material for their "visionary" jeans shouldfall from the sky and land on top of them because, well, heck, theyjust should, dang nab-it!* Oddly, Dumb and Dumber take their sketches with them when they seethe pattern maker. I have to assume the lone reason why they justhappen to have the sketchbook was because Dumber's mother put it intohis backpack!* When the psycho cousin and the ex-girlfriend's nutter boss are waymore interesting than your leads, you've got problems.

zhanna717

(2012-04-11 04:56:10)

Overly Pretentious

I started out watching the first season last year and forgot about theshow 3 episodes in. This year my attention was brought back to it bysome friends, so I decided maybe I'll give it another try. Being 2episodes in, the show seems to have become more pretentious. As someonewho is in the age range of the characters and having lived where theyare living while trying "to make it", this show gives NYC a very fakefeel. Yes NY is hard, but how many people are trying to make it in theclothes business???? Not many I know. And if they are, it is not soglamorous to be broke. (broke? are they really that broke to be able toafford trips to Japan, pop up store fashion showcase, to live inManhattan, etc)The characters are not deep at all, and Luis Guzman's character remindsof a less intelligent Tony Soprano wanna-be. I can't see a person likethat actually existing and thriving in NYC. Instead of creating thisshow, Wahlberg should have just kept Entourage on. I have a feeling"How to Make it in America" will not be making....

Jadalla Khazaal

(2012-04-10 19:42:45)

Kinda inspiring

This is no Antoine Fisher or something that will heavily influence you.It ain't garbage either. In fact, from the first 10 minutes of thepilot it slowly started to grow on to me. The whole idea of havingcharacters that might reflect you or someone you know in real life iswhat makes this show so great. You have the successful friend with alot of money who has no friends, and tries to buy friendship. You havethe friend who insists all the time and has no real etiquette but isdamn street smart and knows how to make a living despite lack ofdegree. I guess what I love about this show is it really gives you apush of motivation and inspiration to do something with your life.Don't expect the world from 'HTMIINA', but please give it justice byenjoying what the actual point of this show is about. I see it startinga lot stronger than how entourage started its first season. Bottom lineis this show is great and Greenbergs half stressed half homie characteris perfect!

armyofme20

(2012-04-03 23:02:22)

Very Disappointing

As someone who lived in the same neighborhood that a lot of this showwas filmed in and hung out at similar establishments, I thought I wouldenjoy this latest HBO offering as they seem to have the best showsthese days.However after the opening credits, it's all downhill from their, Ienjoy the editing and soundtrack, but not much else.I know the show is done by the same people that do Entourage, but a lotof it seems like they just took unproduced Entourage scripts, changedthe characters and locations and shot those. Kid Cudi and MarthaPlimpton, the best characters on the show, are hardly in it. Eddie KayeThomas's skills as an actor are being horribly used as he has one ofthe worst conceived and written characters ever. Ben is simply notlikable. Finally is the character of Cam, who is probably the mostirritating character on the show (Damn near ruined one of my favoriteViolent Femmes songs for me). All in all, this show is let down, thereis much room for improvement, and hopefully said improvement will bemade.

Michael Bush

(2012-04-03 03:07:45)

Great Show

Check out the episode with special agent Michael Bush. The hype on thisguy is that he plays a retired football player now turned FBI agent. Hetakes down hipster, white collar crook, David Kaplan. Rumor has itKaplan, played by Eddie Thomas, almost suffered a concussion rehearsingthis very realistic scene. One of the criteria for being an FBI agentis to be a graduate of law school. In real life, Michael Bush is analumni of Washington College of Law at American University and is atrial lawyer in New York City. Where can we see more of this character?Stay Tuned. The cast and production crew of How to Make it America arealso among the coolest in the industry. Big things to come fromProducer Joe Zolfo and Ian Edelman.

Kiddo

(2012-03-25 14:55:40)

Very promising!

I saw a few adverts about the series and decided 'what the heck!'.After watching the 8 episodes from the 1st season I really have to sayI'm impressed. I'd say that the storyline is rather excellent for acomedy-drama series.Having most of the "Entourage" crew behind it, it might just be asuccess, and if they try hard enough, I can see a future for this show,no doubt about that! The story is great! Combining street thugs,ex-cons, high-life, 'not-so-high-life', hood-mentality, etc. showingthe struggle to get to the top in a country where there's enoughpossibilities for everyone, but also bringing some comedy into it.Unfortunately 8 episodes are too few to get a good idea about what'sabout to happen, but the characters and the action portray real-lifeclose enough just to make it believable. That's a good enough reason towant to watch the first season of the show, but it made me want to seethe 2nd season as well.You're never sure what's going to happen next. I'd say it was worth mytime watching it.

joekinplaya

(2012-03-25 07:20:08)

Deeper than you'd think, funny, and the show has a "city" vibe

First let me start off by saying this show isn't perfect. There's a fewthings I would change to make it both more entertaining and meaningful.However, I'm no professional writer and I'm sure there is a more to itthan meets the eye.With that being said, this show is worthwhile to watch. It definitelyis better than the other 1000 popular shows titled "BEST" but inreality is just another same exact BS reality wannabe or somedrama-stirring show. This has a good level of every variety. There isdrama but not the one that would annoy you or pick sides. Each maincharacter has their own life and perspectives and they do well inportraying that. The collection of characters, however, is a littleunrealistic although I'm sure there's a group like this somewhere. Benis the main focus character along with Cam. Ben worries and stresses,but he's trying to do well and live his life best he can. Cam has facedthe many dark sides of American society along with his cousin Rene.This show begins with them trying to make their lives respectable andworthwhile by doing legitimate business. Rachel, I feel needs to figureout what she wants... but with that being said, we all have been in thesame situation where we really don't know what we want and we strugglewith the decision. Rachel is possibly a great example of that. She hasa great job, great life, great relationship. However, you see that shewill always think about things. Kaplan is a bit insecure but he doesn'tget fazed by it. He is a wealthy Wall St. corporate trying to live lifewith his good friends and find a girl. Kaplan is a bit of an open bookbut I'm sure they will delve deeper into his character. He's a lot likefew wealthy people who buy their friends... but in this show it's muchmore than that. As the series continues, you will see Kaplan slowlytruly become their friends but still hold that seed of doubt, thatinsecurity.Each of these characters are all good friends, with the exception ofRene. Rene is a good character in my mind. It really is true, mostpeople won't understand a man like him. However, having considerablemistakes in his past, he is trying to be an honest legitimatebusinessman. There are many people among us who drive you crazy andRene will show a glimpse of his past self each time he comes acrossthem characters. Rene is not afraid to admit to his mistakes. There aresome criticism as to why he is in this show. I think it is a good mixto have someone in the older generation from NY as well. Rene and hiscrew provides good comedy for the show. Rene is running Rasta Monster(energy drink) and Ben & Cam are running Crisp (clothing line). Itshows the cold hard world of starting your own business and just howdifficult it is...I've got few friends in the clothing line business and NYC is one ofthe cities in America that excel in trendiness and fashion. When I talkto my friends, it really is hard. My father is in a similar line ofbusiness working in NJ. If you WERE going to start off somewhere, Iwould not start off directly in NY as it would cause tremendousfinancial problems. My father also gets a lot of stress going tobusiness meets in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, etc (as he's not the partyguy, he's more of a stay-home-in-bed type a guy). This show doesn'taccurately project the burdens and obstacles you'd go through in thatindustry, but in the social aspect it can shed some light.

jfiore86

(2012-03-20 02:48:51)

Quit being overly critical at this point.

I'm going to make this as short and sweet as possible. Lets look at TheOffices' rocky first season. No one thought it was going to get pickedup and that Steve Carell was trying to hard with his character. Areview from The New York Daily News said it was ''so diluted there'slittle left but muddy water''. Now The Office is in it's 6th season and just recently got the OK fromNBC for a 7th and is consistently one of NBC's highest rated shows andit's my personal favorite.So, that said, we can't be too critical of a show that hasn't evenfinished it's first season. Plots are still evolving, as well ascharacters. I'm not saying it's going to be a great show but sometimesthese shows have to crawl before they can walk.

Daniel Woods

(2012-03-19 08:09:33)

It's time to make a good show in America

Since we are now 4 episodes in I think I've given this show enough timeto get on track.I really want this show to be good cause I really like the main storygoing on, but lets be clear this show has major issues and if it wantto get a second season they need to be fixed quick. So let's just diveright in and stop beating around the bush: You need to condense theshow down a lot, it is not an hour show no matter how much you think orwant it to be. Limit character appearances in the show and stick closerto the main characters. I understand you are leaving Bryan Greenberg exgirlfriend Lake Bell in the show only because they are going to getback together at sometime or you are going to create a time when theyboth want each other again and can't have each other do to some kind ofcircumstance.But I can't fathom why you keep showing Lake Bell's boss, as she mightplay a small roll in the development of Lake Bell's character but let'sleave it that way. Stop giving her valuable screen time when you haveKid Cudi in the show and he hasn't said more then 10 words. I canunderstand why you are showing Eddie Kaye Thomas because he is going toplay some part in helping get Bryan Greenberg denim line going and LuisGuzmГѓВЎn has his own making it in America story going on.So to break it down let's cut the show down to the half an hour it hasbeen given and focus on the main storyline, if you do that you willhave plenty of time to work on smaller character development later on.Other then the few mistakes I'm seeing above I think the show is goinggreat and can't wait to see the next episodes, but I pray that you dore-edit a little to focus more on the main storyline and not so much onthe little characters that play such a small roll in this show.

remraf55

(2012-03-19 18:55:25)

Still undecided after 4 episodes....

Upon learning about this new series and the fact that it is from thecreative behind Entourage I had high hopes for How To Make It InAmerica, and after watching the first four episodes I am stillundecided on whether I really enjoy the show or if its just the ideaand not the execution of the show that I enjoy. The overall premise ispromising with the Main character of Ben and his friend Cam trying tohustle their way through a life in New York City while dealing withrelationships and life in general, while the backdrop of NY is theperfect setting and if done similar to Entourage's style of usingsignificant LA landmarks it could lead to some fun and interestingstuff on the show. Even the shows opening montage really captures thespirit of NY and sets up for something that could be great but thatsabout where it starts to go downhill. The overall performances are donewell and I really like Greenberg as the main character but there reallyis little to no depth to any of the characters in the show and byepisode four there are really no real likable characters to root forother than Ben. Cam to me comes across as annoying to an extent and theothers are not featured enough to warrant any real audience judgment orreactions. I think one of the main flaws is the fact that it is a halfhour long show and could benefit from being longer to better developstory lines and character. It is early in the show though and comparingit to Entourage is not fair in that Entourage has 6 seasons ofbackstory it can build on for character and story advancement. Rightnow it just seems like the show is lacking any real direction andmotivation and the characters interacting with each other seemsunnatural to some extent. Thats oe thing Entourage did have immediatelyis that chemistry between the main characters that really seems to belacking at some points in this show. Overall though I have high hopesthat it will grow to be a success and go on with further moreinteresting stories and character developments. As i said before, thepremise is promising and if they were to showcase New York and itsdiversity, mix in some nightlife and fashion world/celeb cameos, morecharacter development and direction it could be really good. I do haveto say though that the opening credits has me hooked though...

itbmac

(2012-03-19 00:34:46)

Excellent show. Hope is renewed for a second season.

Love the show. The acting may not seem the best to some people, butafter you watch a few episodes. The actors really grow on you. I feltthe same way when I started watching Entourage. Love the story andbackground. Great Music. Love the fact that Cudi is in it. I havevisited NYC multiple times and it really cool seeing the show happeningin places I have actually been. Hope that they sell merchandise, wouldfit the show. People from Entourage did a great job with the show,seems to be the next Entourage. Love the free mix tape download andPilot, very generous of HBO. Disappointed about the first season onlybeing 8 episodes long, but a renewal for a second season would mostcertain make up for it.

vdeo_junkie

(2012-03-07 13:32:12)

Don't waste your time, because this show won't make it!

I have been seeing commercials for this show for several weeks now.However, I could not tell by the commercials if it was a comedy, adrama, or even what the show was about. I have seen 2 and a halfepisodes without an answer to these questions. The plot involves twoguys trying to get successful by selling jeans. However, in the midstof their struggle they chase girls, party, and talk about how to makeit. It almost seems like the writers were trying to decide what themost important element of the show was as they were writing it.Everywhere describes this as a comedy, but it really isn't funny. LuisGuzmГѓВЎn is someone that I enjoy watching a great deal and the onlyredeemable factor of this show. The rest of it doesn't really goanywhere. I did not like the pilot, but caught the next two episodestonight just to see if I was missing something. I was, it's called agood show. The ratings for the pilot were bad and I only expect theshow to continue to do poorly as long as it continues to get badreviews. The show doesn't have a clear direction. You can check thisshow out if you want, but I would not get too attached. Just like "Johnfrom Cincinatti" it is too slow and unengaged to make it worth yourtime. This show will die just as fast.

politically_incorrect204

(2012-03-07 10:13:19)

Too Bad It Was Cancelled

This will join the likes of Freaks and Geeks and Arrested Developmentas shows that should have never been cancelled. I actually went backand watched this show after I heard it was cancelled and had beennominated for some awards.I agree with others. This show is brilliant! I love the realism of theshow and its characters. There are good and bad moments and theinteractions are very genuine. Most people, young or old, can relate tothe struggle for success. Trying to seek your own path but still paythe bills. This show also makes me miss NYC and Brooklyn desperately.This show lives and breaths NYC. I think that is one of the greatthings about this show is not only the genuine stories and charactersbut it really feels like you're in NYC. All and all I love this show. Ilove the humor, the drama, the people, all of it.My only criticism is that sometimes there are some overly dramatic plotturns. And sometimes the characters make decisions that areinexplicable or dumber than how their character is presented. I knowpeople make mistakes but this show makes the occasional mistake (mostshows make it a lot) of making something happen just for the sake ofcreating a plot point or drama or what not. I didn't feel like thisoften but occasionally something was just too unbelievable or stupid.Otherwise the shows ie excellent. Worth going back and checking forthose who haven't.