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Tuesday, September 8, 2020

Mesmerizing: The Deuce, a show about the rise of porn in NYC

Binging on The Deuce, a three-season HBO series focusing on the rise of the porn industry in New York City in '71-'72 (s1), '76-'77 (s2) and '84-'85 (s3) produced by James Franco (in a double role as a twin brothers Vincent and Frankie Martino) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (as sex-worker-cum-porn-director Eileen "Candy" Merrell). While The Deuce is not the most uplifting show, it is realistic, a fascinating and at many times mesmerizing fictionalization of pimps, hustlers, cops, club managers and the mob gangsters among the proliferating porn industry. Complex characters figures, and many queer ones, figure in the story, even if they are not always redeemable, and aging with each season. The show is quite historically accurate, as far as I can tell, and my knowledge of porn history is considerable. It's also a vicarious trip through Times Square at the height of its decadence and danger, so it's fascinating voyeuristic stuff. Franco and Gyllenhaal are astonishing, as is most of the cast.

Season one is a slow-burning lover, but transfixing.

Thanks, Pete, of Movies 'n Stuff for providing season 3.

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