Great story telling, Franco rocks, keep it coming.

This HBO production really pushes the envelope with the explicit sex, but anyone familiar with cinema of that time, knows it is just keeping things authentic. Dark, gritty, sometimes even disgusting reenactment of the time in New York City history that will never be repeated, "The Deuce" follows the lives of the pimps and prostitutes who inhabited the Times Square scene of the Golden 1970's. If you were there, this is surely a nostalgia trip, and if you were too young, or too sheltered to have been there, you might find it to be merely seedy, and even horrifying. Whoever was in charge of art direction deserves high praise for recreating this look, in a city that has changed so much since then that it is barely recognizable. The filmmakers had to travel up to Washington Heights to find an area that still has this "old New York" look, and they really succeeded in bringing 42nd Street (the Deuce) back to life. Performances are all around very good, with Maggie Gyllynhal a particular standout as the independent hooker, living a double life, who refuses to take on a Pimp, and later finds out why having a man on the street can come in handy. James Franco admittedly hogs up more screen time than necessary, casting himself as identical twin brothers working in a seedy Midtown bar, but he is still good in the dual role. I must admit that it's a breath of fresh air to see how people interacted with each other before cellphones turned everyone into lobotomized zombies. People back then actually connected with each on a human, physical level back then, before phones and internet took that away. It shows that in certain ways, we have declined as a culture. "The Duece" is a good show, but really is intended for an adult audience. The clothes, the hairstyles, the cars, the music, and the lingo of the 70's will really bring you back to the era that is now just a memory..

This is one of those productions where the prop masters and producers really pulled off a big visual coup. I'm talking about how the 70's NYC is so accurately recreated. At first this makes such an impression as to actually compete with the story. Soon it does that which it should and makes you feel you are peeking back in time. A look into the new wild west only it's The Big Apple which is often as dangerous. The players feel just as real too with James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal playing two desperate and disparate characters who are struggling to get ahead in the minefields of the city. They're supported by a cast who brings colorful characters who are based on actual people of the time.. Colorful is a major understatement as the vice in Vegas would seem tame in comparison. This is a mad collision of street people: pimps, working girls, drug dealers, mafioso thugs, and crooked law enforcement. There's a certain hardness to these people purely rooted in the primal human survival instinct. It all revolves around making a buck and criminal activity…at least on street level in NYC as seen here. It brings the cliché' to mind: "only the strong survive". Yet it almost seems only the lucky will come through alive and unscathed. As boring as Minnesota might be it makes one wonder why a young woman would choose life on the street in the city over safe and warm at home? Peeking back in on a time gone is both fun and harrowing…this film is down, dirty, and real. Not for the squeamish because it actually makes you feel somewhat dirty watching. You can take this and process it with you own filter so you will know if you might want to watch or avoid. I got uncomfortable often but, I found such alien lives like a car wreck that for some reason one fails to turn away from.

if your reading this, do not watch this show, i tried, i mean i really tried to watch it. but after 5 episodes i am done, the story line is so bad and takes ages to actually go somewhere. the costumes and the set are so fake you can clearly tell its done in a studio. the only reason i watched this started to watch this is because James Franco is in it. and hes the only good actor in it as the rest are hopeless. i immediately gave up when i found out there was going to be a season 2- if you do not like the first 2 episodes, you wont like the rest because the first 2 episodes were the best, it just gets worse from there