The Deuce: Season 1, Episode 2 “Show and Prove” (C+)
Well, a second shot at this show didn’t turn out to be enlightening at all, with more of a foray into the porn industry proving to be less than engaging. Sure, this show has its moments, like Candy’s naïve guess that the movie they were filming would be nine hours long instead of eight minutes, and Darlene’s realization that a movie she thought she filmed for a private audience of one was actually being sold in a store, which was promptly raided by some amused policemen looking to give the owner a really hard time. Overall, however, this show is still hopelessly dense, and its access points aren’t appealing. James Franco is an undeniably charismatic actor, who handed in a career-best performance in “127 Hours,” but he’s just too casual here in his dual roles, which are becoming much more clearly intertwined with the mob, especially as Vincent got an offer he couldn’t refuse to own his own business with only a minor monthly debt to his investor-realtors. I knew I recognized Rudy from somewhere, and I mistakenly thought he might be Adam Ferrara from “Rescue Me.” It turns out that he’s one of the more influential if infrequently-seen figures from “The Sopranos,” Jackie Aprile portrayer Michael Rispoli. This show isn’t afraid to be violent, as evidenced by the stabbing of the fake cop by one quick-thinking pimp. I don’t think there’s much more to be gleaned from watching this show, which has already been renewed for a second season, and while I’m sure I’ll regret it if it ends up being an awards juggernaut, something tells me this show will go the way of his predecessors “Treme” and “The Wire” and earn precious little Emmy attention.
Showing posts with label The Deuce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Deuce. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Pilot Review: The Deuce
The Deuce (HBO)
Premiered September 10 at 9pm
As you can probably tell if you’re even an occasional reader of this blog, I like to go into shows without knowing anything if I can. In some cases, that’s a detriment since I don’t know what’s supposed to be going on. In the opening half hour of this extended episode, I looked back to see what other HBO shows had been set in the recent past, and concluded that it doesn’t usually work out for the likes of “Vinyl” or other similar shows on other networks like “Good Girls Revolt” and “Magic City,” with the major exception being of course “Mad Men.” What I missed completely and had to discover online afterwards is that this show is meant to focus on the rise of the porn industry in New York City. While there were a handful of mob-related activities and plenty of prostitutes in this opening hour and a half, there wasn’t any mention of pornography, which I count as a demerit since I wouldn’t have had any interest in coming back at all based on this sampling. Most of the characters feel overly familiar and unoriginal, save for Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Candy, who did one hell of a job defending what she had to do in her job. I don’t know how much more we’ll see of Zoe Kazan as Vincent’s (ex?) wife Andrea, who was the other standout here. Like many HBO pilots, this felt very crowded and not very clear, and the way it ended didn’t make me want to revisit it at all.
How will it work as a series? I’d sort of like to know. Not really, but the premise does sound more appealing than whatever this was, which didn’t feel very focused or aware of where it wants to go. I’d be willing to give it another shot just to see if it’s all expository or if it actually takes these characters on an interesting collision course.
How long will it last? The reviews seem to be more positive that what I’ve written above, and therefore I’d put this squarely in the win column for the network, which also values creator David Simon’s creative vision. I don’t think ratings will need to factor in all that much since this one is likely to benefit from a renewal very soon.
Pilot grade: C+
Premiered September 10 at 9pm
As you can probably tell if you’re even an occasional reader of this blog, I like to go into shows without knowing anything if I can. In some cases, that’s a detriment since I don’t know what’s supposed to be going on. In the opening half hour of this extended episode, I looked back to see what other HBO shows had been set in the recent past, and concluded that it doesn’t usually work out for the likes of “Vinyl” or other similar shows on other networks like “Good Girls Revolt” and “Magic City,” with the major exception being of course “Mad Men.” What I missed completely and had to discover online afterwards is that this show is meant to focus on the rise of the porn industry in New York City. While there were a handful of mob-related activities and plenty of prostitutes in this opening hour and a half, there wasn’t any mention of pornography, which I count as a demerit since I wouldn’t have had any interest in coming back at all based on this sampling. Most of the characters feel overly familiar and unoriginal, save for Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Candy, who did one hell of a job defending what she had to do in her job. I don’t know how much more we’ll see of Zoe Kazan as Vincent’s (ex?) wife Andrea, who was the other standout here. Like many HBO pilots, this felt very crowded and not very clear, and the way it ended didn’t make me want to revisit it at all.
How will it work as a series? I’d sort of like to know. Not really, but the premise does sound more appealing than whatever this was, which didn’t feel very focused or aware of where it wants to go. I’d be willing to give it another shot just to see if it’s all expository or if it actually takes these characters on an interesting collision course.
How long will it last? The reviews seem to be more positive that what I’ve written above, and therefore I’d put this squarely in the win column for the network, which also values creator David Simon’s creative vision. I don’t think ratings will need to factor in all that much since this one is likely to benefit from a renewal very soon.
Pilot grade: C+
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