Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

The Deuce: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 6, 2019

There’s a certain irony that The Deuce, a series at least tangentially (and, frankly, probably more than just tangentially) about the porn industry should also have such a focus on female empowerment, at least with regard to one of its focal characters, an ostensible “porn auteur” who takes the stage name of Candy (Maggie Gyllenhaal). As Gyllenhaal herself mentions in a brief supplement included on this Blu-ray set as a bonus feature, she felt the first season of The Deuce was filled with “introductions” of its glut of characters (an element I actually discussed in our The Deuce: The Complete First Season Blu-ray review), and that the second season was an opportunity to (no pun intended here, considering the series’ penchant for full frontal nudity) flesh things out. But one of the interesting things about the second season of The Deuce is how a number of characters, including the twin brothers Frankie and Vincent Martino essayed by James Franco, are kind of shunted off to the sidelines as Candy’s quest for “porn respect” assumes a central place in the story. The Deuce was evidently planned as a three season affair from the get go (and HBO has indeed renewed the series for a third year), with each season taking place in a different timeframe, supposedly to help delineate how the porn industry grew throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Therefore, this season has moved on a few years from the first season, and the resultant change in eras has brought with it a concomitant change in the fortunes of several characters, including Frankie and Vincent. But the show’s unabashedly novelistic approach means there is still a glut of supporting characters on tap, many of whom experience a number of traumas and tribulations along the way, suggesting all is not even relatively “happily ever after” in the wild and wooly neighborhood of The Deuce.

The opening moments of the second season of The Deuce suggest that Candy, Frankie and Vincent have all become substantially more successful, even if some simmering discontent still lingers with all three of them. Vincent is running a successful nightclub called Club 366, which seems to have more than a bit in common with another “numbered” facility in New York, 54 (those wanting a more “factual” account of this now infamous hangout may want to check out Studio 54: The Documentary). In some scenes that were kind of reminiscent of some elements in the film version of Bright Lights, Big City, a story which admittedly takes place a few years after the time setting for this season of The Deuce but which addresses the same sort of slightly manic attitude that defined nightlife in that general era, I can say that the “party hearty” atmosphere depicted in the show struck me as authentic and frankly more than a little chaotic. The subtext of mob rule over this “industry” continues this season, though at least a couple of characters are shown trying to break free from such enforcing tactics.

While Frankie has also ostensibly moved up, if perhaps arguably on a little, now running a “live girl” peep show, it’s Candy’s continuing attempts at success in the porn industry that take up a lot of this season’s focus. She’s trying for an “artier” approach toward the subject, something that puts her at odds with some of her collaborators. There is a through line of sorts as she tries to get a porn version of Little Red Riding Hood off the ground. But what might continue to hobble The Deuce for some viewers, and I’d say probably especially for those just joining the story in this second season, is the sheer number of stories and supporting characters the show tries to corral.

These characters involve various personal relationships, especially in the case of both Vincent and Candy, but also bring in a retinue of other folks somehow associated with the sex industry in general and the porn industry in particular. There are some great vignettes and even longer arcs offered here, including some occasionally ribald but hilarious stuff involving a very well endowed black actor new to this line of work, but quite often the series simply has too many sidebars it’s trying to keep track of simultaneously, leading to a certain diffusion of narrative momentum.

The series regularly excels in its performances, as well as a really finely wrought recreation of its late seventies time period. From the audacious checkered and floral patterned clothes to the now insanely large seeming muscle cars, the whole ambience of the late seventies is very evocatively captured in this season, and helps to give a gritty authenticity to a story that is already very definitely on the gritty side.

The Deuce: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Deuce: The Complete Second Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of HBO with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The Deuce continues to look very nice in high definition, and for me personally this second season had a somewhat more "filmic" appearance at times, with a somewhat "thick" looking texture at times, especially in some of the deeply burnished interior sequences. In fact, there is so much dark material that when there's a sudden brightly lit outdoor moment, as in the opening scene in Episode 3, things pop almost amazingly well by comparison, with really excellent detail levels and a nicely suffused palette (see screenshots 6 and 17 for two good examples of outdoor material). Much of the interior material, especially the club material, tends to be fairly dark and even murky at times, but even here fine detail like on the almost weirdly outré outfits that some characters wear, is still quite commendable. Contrast is occasionally just slightly wonky, with a somewhat milky haze slightly masking a few isolated scenes.

The Deuce: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Deuce: The Complete Second Season features another intermittently raucous sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix that provides really nice splaying of the ubiquitous source cues, as well as providing nice immersion with well placed surround activity in several of the crowded club sequences. Even some of the noisy set environments on various porn shoots offer at least moments of isolated channelization for things like background chatter or the sound of the crew setting things up. Dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.

The Deuce: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

I have to say, I was a bit underwhelmed with the dearth of special features on this release, at least when compared to the relatively fuller slate that was included on The Deuce: The Complete First Season,

Disc One

• Season 1 Recap (1080p; 2:02). If you've seen Season One, and then look at the timing of this featurette, calling even this brief overview a "recap" might be something of a stretch.

Disc Two

• Candy's Back (1080p; 1:02) is another very brief piece featuring Gyllenhaal discussing the character, along with snippets from the series.

Disc Three

• The Height of Porn (1080p; 2:01) focuses on the explosion of the porn industry during the 1970s and 1980s, mentioning Candy's supposed career in the process.

The Deuce: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Deuce: The Complete Second Season continues to offer some provocative content (this is not a show for those bothered by full frontal nudity of both males and females), but I personally found this second season a bit overstuffed. The main story featuring Candy is frequently compelling, but the continued trials faced by both Vinnie and Frankie started kind of wearing on my patience after a while. Some of the supporting characters provide considerable drama and occasional humor along the way. The series' production design is one of its strongest assets, and that element continues to look great in high definition. Technical merits are solid, and with caveats duly noted, The Deuce: The Complete Second Season comes Recommended.