Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
It’s hard to get the 1970s right on screen; capturing the unique, ostentatious style, groovy music scene, or sex appeal is often tricky. While there’s certainly been more failures than successes in these efforts, Paul Thomas Anderson‘s 70s porn epic Boogie Nights and HBO‘s new series The Deuce really seem to get it. Both the film and the show put the Golden Age of Porn of the 1970s front and center (though The Deuce includes more about the era’s organized crime and prostitution), with one big difference: Boogie Nights takes place in Los Angeles’ primary color-heavy, sunny San Fernando Valley, while The Deuce offers an intimate look at the grimy, grey underbelly of New York’s Times Square.
How exactly do these two depictions of debauchery match up? We took a look at both coasts’ tales of explicit entertainment and broke down just how different these scenes of steam really are.
The Time
The Deuce kicks things off in 1971, right as the Golden Age of Porn was finding its footing (this era lasted from around 1969 to 1984). While Andy Warhol’s Blue Movie (1969) arguably began this wave on the East Coast, New York’s porn industry had yet to really gain any traction. We’ve yet to see just how many years The Deuce is going to span, but the pilot definitely takes place during the industry’s early days and chronicles the birth of porn in the Big Apple.
Boogie Nights begins in 1977, perhaps at the peak of the Golden Age of Porn in Los Angeles. The film charts the ascension of Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) as he makes his way to the top of the industry and experiences its downfall when his star power dies out and the 1980s roll in. The film ends in 1984, right around the conclusion of this thriving era, but Dirk plans on continuing to work in the now-declining business.
The Scene
The Deuce takes place in varying locations around New York; Vinnie (James Franco) bartends in Brooklyn, Candy (Maggie Gyllenhaal) makes ends meet on 42nd street (also known as “The Deuce”, the namesake for the series) with the rest of the sex workers we’re gradually introduced to, and characters travel the city from Port Authority to Hell’s Kitchen and the Lower East Side. The city’s got a grubby, dangerous feeling to it; shabby motel rooms and trash-littered streets are frequented by these New Yorkers – there’s not much glamorous about what these people are doing. They’re assaulted, mugged, and made to feel uncomfortable in a number of ways. A large focus of the series lies in the prostitution and behavior of the pimps who seemingly own these women, as well as the role of the Mob in a wide array of dealings. To put it simply – The Deuce‘s New York is not the kind of place you’d want to time travel to at all.
Boogie Nights‘ beating heart lies in its location – the San Fernando Valley. While there might be some darkness beneath what these folks are doing, characters dance to disco and roller skate around a hip nightclub, host extravagant, drug-fueled pool parties, and enjoy celebrity status because of their work in pornographic films. They ride in nice cars, shoot in fancy houses, and attend awards ceremonies. There’s an air of seediness, but all the sunshine, excitement, and glamour makes it feel like the place to be.
The Players
The Deuce makes clear its ensemble-driven intentions from the first few minutes of the pilot. There’s the lowly bartender with a philandering wife, his messy twin brother who owes money to the Mob. We’ve got sex workers of all shapes, ages, and races, all just trying to make things work with their pimps (or lack thereof). Bright-eyed and deadbeat college students navigate their own New York, and others only dream of finding any kind of success, no matter how fleeting. It’s still unclear who the story will really belong to (though Candy seems to be a likely contender), but The Deuce‘s players mostly live pretty sad lives. Things might just pick up when the porn industry becomes an option for some of these folks, but risky sex work, broke bartending, and flaky friends all make for a group of bummers.
Boogie Nights belongs to Eddie Adams-turned-Dirk Diggler, our big, bright, shining star. Sure, we get glimpses of the lives of his peers and co-stars, but from the first moment we see him shuffling dishes in the back of the Reseda nightclub, we know this high school dropout is in for something special. There’s a lot of surface-level glitz and charm for all of Dirk’s peers; Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) is a seemingly esteemed filmmaker, Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) an industry bombshell who just seems to want to take Dirk under her wing, and Dirk’s competitors (and admirers) all seem thrilled to be part of these productions at all. Of course, there are the secrets that gradually reveal themselves – like children lost, drug problems, and mental health issues – but these Hollywood folks aren’t the types to give any of that away.
The Style
The Deuce‘s characters live largely unpretentious lives; most have seemingly turned to sex work or service industry jobs because they have no other option, and there’s something very DIY about their fashion. They do what they can to make themselves look their best, and the ensembles generally appear to be a combination of thrift store purchases and whatever they can get their hands on. The pimps may boast luxurious shoes and suits, but the majority of characters don’t seem to place a large amount of value on the quality of their attire – because they can’t think of those kinds of expenditures.
Boogie Nights‘ California cool offers a stark contrast to the nitty-gritty New York aesthetic of The Deuce. Characters go shopping together as a form of crew initiation, and try to out-dress one another. Warm tones, low-cut dresses, bell bottoms, and tight-fitting tees are all key players in these characters’ wardrobes. Because they strut around like they’re A-listers, they try to dress like it, too. Boogie Nights puts on display the kind of 1970s that feels fun and carefree. How can you say no to silk shirts and heart-shaped sunglasses?
