BOOGIE NIGHTS (R)
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson Running Time: 152 minutes Originally Released: October 10, 1997
Reviewed by E. Benjamin Kelsey
* * * ½ (out of four)
Let's get one thing straight . . . BOOGIE NIGHTS is *not* a sensationalistic peak at the world of pornography, nor does it try to glamorize the porn star image. In fact, it does quite the opposite, showing us how dreamy-eyed youngsters can end up on a lonely, dark, dead-end street. We begin in 1977 with Eddie Adams (Mark Whalberg), a 17-year-old nightclub busboy who dreams of making a name for himself. With not a lot going for him, aside from a 13-inch reproductive organ (hey, who'd complain?), Eddie is quickly befriended by Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), a charming porn director who has taken notice of Eddie's "abundance". It seems Jack sees real potential in Eddie's "excessiveness", and plans to turn Eddie into the next big *adult* movie star.
Eddie is easily seduced into the adult film-making industry with a lot of help coming from Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), Jack's main starlet. Amber and Eddie's lives seem to parallel each other's, even if in a mirror-image way. Eddie's home-life was anything but desirable. His mother was distant, cold, harsh, and totally unsupportive. Amber, on the other hand, has a son whom she never sees due to her debauched lifestyle. The two, whether consciously or sub-consciously, use each other to fill these vacant roles.
Taking up residence in Jack's home, where Amber and a few others also live, we meet a bevy of characters: "Rollergirl" (Heather Graham), a high-school dropout who has turned to the porn industry as a means to "success", Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), who becomes Eddie's best friend, Little Bill (William H. Macy, most notably from FARGO), a behind-the-scenes man whose wife can't stop sleeping around, and Buck Swope (Don Cheadle), a porn star with a heart, whose only dream is to marry, have kids, and own his own stereo equipment store.
The first half of the movie shows the non-stop party lifestyle that soon envelopes young Eddie as he rises to pornographic fame. He has indeed made a name for himself - and the name is Dirk Diggler. Under the name Dirk Diggler, Eddie stars in a series of Jack Horner directed films while Horner tries endlessly to create the ultimate "artistic" adult flick. When the 1980's arrive, however, things take a drastic turn for the worse as we watch each and every character fall into a downward spiral of drugs, lost hope, and jealousy.
Many people have complained about the sudden dark turn that BOOGIE NIGHTS takes upon itself. I didn't find it as annoying or jarring as most people seemed to, and I thought it flowed quite smoothly. I'm a sucker for character studies, and BOOGIE NIGHTS is a captivating one. The acting, by absolutely everyone, is phenomenal! Who would have thought that Mark Whalberg, who we first came to know as rapping Marky Mark and by his Calvin Klein underwear ads, could be such a fantastic actor? I've said it before about other movies, but when a movie can use the words "um" and "like" in the dialogue without ever sounding staged, you know it's good acting!
Burt Reynolds is terrific, Julianne Moore is impeccable, and Graham, Reilly, Macy, and Cheadle all turn in such fine performances that it would be difficult knowing where to start the Oscar nominations. Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson handles this film with ease and substance, never once wavering into mediocre film-making. As we watch the characters' declining lifestyles, Anderson allows us to peak into each - a deep, heart-felt peak that makes you genuinely feel for each and every character.
BOOGIE NIGHTS is a prime example of excellent film-making. We laugh, and then we want to cry. We are smiling one moment, and the next, we are sadly contemplating life. One thing that character studies seem to enable us to do is simultaneously be intrigued, entertained, and inwardly philosophical, and BOOGIE NIGHTS stimulates all three senses quite well. Lavish and exquisite, BOOGIE NIGHTS is one to be seen . . . and don't let the subject matter frighten you away!
December 9, 1997
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