‘How to Make It in America’ tackles what it means to be a man in the 21st century

Have you been watching HBO’s new guy show, “How to Make It in America“? It’s like “Entourage,” but way less cocky, and there’s a hell of a lot more denim. This time around, a young man who dreams of making a really good, quality pair of pants is the new Vinnie Chase, and the American dream has been reduced from becoming a global Hollywood superstar to being able to pay the rent. You’ve come a long way, dudes. A long way dowwwwn.

Don’t get me wrong. The show is good. Or, at least, pretty good. Heck, it’s good enough. Still, it feels like HBO hasn’t found its place, or pace, since losing “The Sopranos” and “Sex and the City.” (Didn’t anyone there get the memo? America watches HBO for the sex and the violence. Get to it.)

The series lead is Ben Epstein, the urban version of the high school football quarterback who got out of school and now is having a hard time applying himself. When he’s not moping around trying to raise money to make jeans that he thinks will make him millions, he’s hanging with his totally NYC homeboy, Cam. Other than that, he pines for his ex, Rachel, who is played by Lake Bell and the closest thing the show has to a walking money shot.

Because it takes at least three guys to keep things interesting in TV land, there’s also Kappo, one of those guys who makes a lot of money doing something you don’t understand with money and arguably the best thing the show has. Kappo’s braggadocio almost makes up for that which the other two lack. Almost.

“How to Make It in America” has its moments, but, in the end, it’s all so fucking polite. You know what Tony Soprano wasn’t? Polite. Sure, he was conflicted, or he wouldn’t have gone to see a shrink, but he countered his panic attacks with an every so often, good old fashioned drubbing and dismembering. The worst thing these boy-men do is hustle decks to school boys. On “Entourage,” Vinnie couldn’t keep it in his pants. Ben can’t figure out how to get in a girl’s pants. Carrie got laid more times in a season than these guys.

The problem is the recession has seeped its way into this fantasy, and who the hell wants reality when it reeks of foreclosures, half-baked hustles, and the across the board, endemic emasculation of men? Thankfully, Luis Guzmán as Rene steps in occasionally to show the boys how the men do it. He threatens, intimidates, and bullies his way through the world. There will be no half-stepping when it comes to his venture selling a Red Bull wanna be drink called Rasta Monsta to the kiddies looking to get high on energy.

Will “America”’s boys grow a pair before the season finale? Here’s hoping. Someone’s got to have the balls to save us.