Welcome back to 42nd St. where things are about to get a whole lot messier. Roll with me into The Deuce S2:E05 All You’ll be Eating is Cannibals after the break!
We open with bare bum humping, C.C. (Gary Carr) reminding his bottom betch Lori (Emily Meade) why she sticks around (that and the knife). Then we getta complete eyeful when he rolls over to chitchat.
What’s the deal with all the male season regulars dropping their pants to even up with the female cast members? Well. The pimp regulars of colour. It’s probably not about that. And that was not complaining, I’m just surprised.
C.C.’s had a visit from agent Kiki Rains (Alysia Reiner), she wants to rep Lori on jobs she brings in, imagine that! Only thing is, that means C.C. can’t show up on those sets. I know everyone’s been raving about how good of an actor Lori is, but she sells it like week old fish.
And then he hits her.
C.C.’s been like a cocked gun this whole season, we knew he was going off, just not when.
We’re in the movie theatre watching Blue Collar with Richard Pryor, Harvey Keitel (I hate Harvey Keitel) and Yaphet Kotto. It’s anti-union, specifically anti-economic-oppression; i.e. the people in power keep factions arguing among themselves, new vs old, black vs white, what does that sound like? Nevermind, let’s talk about the pussybow again! Interesting that pimp Larry Brown (Gbenga Akinnagbe) is so fixated. Is he going to bring the union to sex work? Or does he now think that the racial inequities he’s observed up close lately are driven by economic factors rather than racial hatred?
Paul (Chris Coy) and his boyfriend Kenneth (Michael Stahl-David) are still squabbling about the new bar they’re building, Paul has a “VISION.” They’re watching a play featuring Paul’s great actor friend who has never had a name in IMDb but typically smiles too much and is topless occasionally. Oh wait! I think he’s Todd Lang (Aaron Dean Eisenburg), maybe I need to ease up on IMDb.
*”VISIONS” are super expensive.
Bobby (Chris Bauer) is also feeling the money squeeze, he grudgingly hands over the vig to Officer Haddix (Ralph Macchio) with a bad attitude. What happened to the raids Haddix warned them about? They shut down for days, Bobby would like some reliable information for all that dough, ya know?
Darlene (Dominique Fishback) is in school! And getting “Life Experience” credits, betcher bum. Cute guy in her class, hm.
Larry has been transformed by his movie experience, he’s either running lines or about to form a communist sleeper cell. Oh. Lines.
Shay (Kim Director) looks very different in rehab, I didn’t even know she had shirts that fit. Irene (Roberta Calindrez) has come to take her home. Well, not to her home with Rodney (Method Man) but rather Irene’s place.
Candy Merrell (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is using Kiki Rains for casting, they discuss a few actors but Candy needs names she can’t afford.
Over at the Hi-Hat, there’s awkwardness between Abby Parker (Margarita Levieva) and Vincent Martino (James Franco), partly because she’s getting more deeply involved in “causes” and also because he slept with a good friend. Strangers are fair game, but besties…ehhh.
Candy’s pissed at the script she commissioning from the male writer she met last week, he gave all the lines to the wolf and Red is like a post-script who sucks d**s. Candy is preaching to the choir with Jocelyn (Genevieve Hudson-Price – yay a name! This is who I’ve been calling “Harvey’s wife” because she looks nothing like her IMDb pic), who did that scriptwriting in college…Jocelyn gets the gig with her “an erotic Taxi Driver?” and “You were gonna pay me?”
C.C. doesn’t apologize exactly, but he brings chocolates, booze and a pee-soaked puppy.
Irene doesn’t wait long to make her move on Shay, who says she’s into it, mostly because Irene doesn’t have a dick. “Dicks are assholes.” She’s very tired of dicks. I had SUCH a similar conversation lately! Irene is making the same mistake Bobby made, though, these women are working. You’re presenting her with a transactional opportunity, Irene. They make out anyway because they can’t hear me.
*Shay has great hair, Irene has a face that’s impossible not to watch.
It’s not just a worried boyfriend and a lurking mob that Paul has to sweet-talk about for the opening of his “quiet glamour lounge,” there’s the board and residents protesting the zoning as well. An absolutely awesome gay councilor makes short work of the homophobes and we all cheer. Bill Mangold (Tom Titone) has no time today for veiled threats. NO.TIME.TODAY
Candy stops into the Hi-Hat to ask Abby where all her friends get their money for art installations, that’s family trust fund moola. She asks Vincent, who sends her at his twin brother Frankie (James Franco. Sigh) who sold that stupid dry cleaner business he won in a card game.
Darlene’s out with that handsome student now, Renton Lowry (Taylor Selé) wants to know what she’s in night school for. He tries to pull a Larry Brown (you and I are having supper tomorrow!) but she’s already got a man, thanks.
Now we getta see Big Mike (Mustafa Shakir) throw down while completely naked, he’s extremely rough with his transexual (I don’t know how this person identifies) partner who is just waiting to give him the skinny on a place Big Mike can knock over. Big Mike just wants to make sure these aren’t good people he’s ripping off.
Candy finds Frankie at the handball court, he’s in as co-producer of the movie! Does he have it on him? Candy is not messing around.
It was Inspector Deputy McDonagh (Ed Moran) who cancelled the raid planned for the parlours, based on Detective Chris Alston’s (Lawrence Gilliard Jr.) information about the policemen involved. He knew they were on the take and nothing would be found that wasn’t left for that purpose. Chris is going to be running the raids on the DL, so he makes up with Gene Goldman (Luke Kirby), who’s running the Midtown Enforcement Squad.
The mobile STD (now STI!) clinic is going great guns, the women can’t believe it’s for free. Not even payable in “trade.”
Big Mike doesn’t want to make any mistakes, so he makes sure the joint he wants to hit isn’t associated with Rudy Piplio (Michael Rispoli), Tommy Longo (Daniel Sauli) is along for the ride.
Bobby and Bernice (Andrea-Rachel Parker) are sitting quietly at the bar when the police roll in, the press is outside capturing everything on film. No way Bobby’s wife Fran (Diana Bologna) isn’t going to see that.
Lori’s at Candy’s for an audition, she heals really fast so don’t worry about the bruised eye. Lori covets what Candy has, everything she has, everything she is: all taken by C.C. She gives an impassioned speech, Candy sees is Little Red Riding Hood being chased through the woods by the Big Bad Wolf.
Darlene and Larry are back on the stroll, she’s getting tired of tricking too on top of the films. He motivates her in a completely different way, he’s almost begging. He’s definitely kind, except that he’s sending her off to sleep with someone else so he can make his “nut.” Darlene is pissssed that her regular has paid to have one of her movies playing in his hotel room, she charges him double.
I knew Frankie’s wife Christina Fuego (Katrina Cunningham) was gonna end up in Candy’s movie once Frankie was involved.
Big Mike, Black Frankie (Thaddeus Street) and Carlos (Gino Vento) make their move on the place his date mentioned, she’s inside to hand over a gun. The shakedown seems to go well (Big Mike’s girl checking his nails and saying “no, please, don’t hurt me” was fun) but Carlos is drunk and sideswipes another car on the getting-away part.
Big Mike and Black Frankie pulled off 40 grand from that club, Frankie pops in and floats the movie at them and Tommy Longo. Damnit, Frankie, Candy didn’t want any mob money in her film!
Abby and Ashley/Dorothy’s (Jamie Neumann) friend Dave (Sebastian Arcelus) approach the pimps, so they like getting swept off the streets by the police? We meet a new pimp!
Hey Al (Richard Prioleau)! Abby wants to help broker an agreement with the neighbourhood watch ladies, but Ashley/Dorothy is distracted by C.C. pulling up. They have the showdown we’ve been waiting for and just when we think he has her on the ropes, she knocks him down with a “the real me just wants to see you buried.” Then snort-laughs as she walks away.
Bobby and Fran have a married-person fight, she’s not mad at what he does but that he’s not Protected. What will her friends think? He’s stressed and taking it out on her and the kids, one of whom is Michael Gandolfini! Awww.
Darlene gets back to the crash pad to find Loretta (Sepiedeh Moafi) beaten to shite and smoking around the baby; Larry didn’t even do anything about it. He;s not taking care of his daily business.
Paul takes one look at his frustrated fella waiting at home to argue again and takes off into the wilderness, met at the gate by Cecil (Justin Sams). This is an underground club filled with random entire dicks and guys making out. He joins a threeway with an extremely pretty young man, I guess he just needed to blow off…some steam.
I really expected to see his entire babymaker, given all the full frontal we’ve been seeing, but maybe he’s making us wait a bit longer.
Bobby went to the Hi-Hat, where Abby refuses to serve him. She wants him banned, but Vincent laughs. Abby and Vincent fight; does she not know the Hi-Hat is mob-backed? How is that possible? Abby says it’s Bobby or her and walks out when Vincent refuses to throw out family. He does go ask Bobby to leave for a few days, Bobby’s going NOWHERE.
I can’t believe that Abby doesn’t understand that Vincent and Bobby are exactly the same, where does she think he got the money for the Hi-Hat? He doesn’t have rich parents like she does.
It’s the first day of shooting on Red Hot, go Candy Merell!!
And we’re oot. Until next time!
