If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Candy shoots her opus guerilla-style on the streets of New York. Vincent makes a confession to Abby, along with a promise to change. Ashley and Abby help a prostitute escape the Deuce, with a little help from Vincent. Larry Brown gets a promotion. Paul celebrates the opening of his new upscale club. Bobby turns to Vincent to find work for his wayward eldest son, Joey. (HBO)
Writers: Megan Abbott and Stephani DeLuca
Director: Susanna White
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 59mins
Airs: Sundays at 9pm on HBO Canada (Canada)/HBO (United States)
This week’s episode of The Deuce was a sub 60 minute episode that felt like a 45 minute episode because it was just one of those episodes that could have ended several times with several different scenes but instead continued on.
This episode started where the last ended with Candy shooting her movie guerilla-style on the streets of New York. This choice proved to be difficult for some as her big name star who she had cast as the wolf got fired because he couldn’t handle his environment. Instead, she gave the role to Larry which would be a controversial choice as he continued to improvise. Being a producer, Frankie cast his new floozie wife who objected to playing the grandma. However, Candy was more interested in having Frankie solve problems instead of creating them.
One the biggest problems with the film was the fact that Frankie’s wife couldn’t act. As a result, Candy wanted him to fire her and it did not go well. Next, the production needed more money. Meanwhile in an unexpected turn of events, Larry payed Darlene to help him with his lines. When pitching to Vincent and others, he was adamant that he was a changed man though Vincent was still rightfully skeptical. Candy later found an outdoor location for a scene but they were interrupted by the police who only wanted to watch.
To try and solve their money issues, Frankie joined Big Mike and Black Frankie on another robbery of a truck full of left shoes. Rudy visited them unexpectedly afterwards so Frankie took the opportunity to pitch him on the movie. The movie production eventually got to the spot where Candy and Lori first met but Lori didn’t remember or didn’t want to remember. Meanwhile, Frankie brought Rudy to the shoot where the police mistakenly (but not really) arrested Larry for chasing Lori down the street. Watching this was enough for Rudy to want to invest. To try and solve their problems, Candy decided to play the grandma while finding the right way to do her scene. Frankie also showed up with a bag of money and a pair of left shoes.
Bobby is still in a bad mood and his day got worse when his son Joey (Michael Gandolfini) got in trouble. Trying to find him a job, Bobby dropped him off at Vincent’s. Later, Vincent watched Abby speak in front of a community meeting. She was getting frustrated with everything. Meanwhile, this episode dove deeper into Goldman (who may or may not be gay) so he was listening in as well, asking Vincent about her. Vincent finally decided to tell Abby the truth about everything. He wanted to get out but he didn’t know how though everything would just continue without him. As a sign of good faith, Vincent offered her his latest cut of the parlors which she reluctantly took.
Because everything else wasn’t enough, there’s still the opening of Paul’s club and Abby and Ashley needed to help a sex worker leave The Deuce. In the case of the latter, Abby had the cut from the parlors that she took from Vincent. Vincent and Abby attended Paul’s opening and had a dance while Ashley helped a sex worker whom she met earlier in her van.
The episode ended with what appeared to be the final scene of Candy’s movie with Candy, Lori, and Larry. After Candy and Wasserman watched the film back, he admitted that she may have something.
Overall, this was a great episode that could have ended with several scenes. The movie production and Frankie’s behind-the-scenes producing was fun to watch. The scene where Vincent opened up to Abby was a powerful one thanks to some great performances from James Franco and Margarita Levieva. Other than that scene, everything else not involving the movie was kind of unnecessary and would have been more appropriate in later episodes. However, it was interesting to see Goldman and Abby sort of come together at least ideologically. Can Vincent get out of the game? Only time will tell but it won’t be easy, however, it will be exciting to watch.
Score: 9/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.