BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1997 Ted Prigge
Writer/Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julliane Moore, John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, William H. Macy, Luis Guzman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Baker Hall, Alfred Molina, Robert Ridgley, Nina Hartley, Joanna Gleason
Everyone has something they can do better than anyone else. Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) is good at fucking. With a huge penis that is not shown until the perfect time (in a hilarious scene), Eddie is nothing but a good, dumb swinger. I mean, the guy has a little sideline to his manual labor job of showing his penis for 5 bucks, and stroking off for 10.
One night at his nightclub job, a man observes him. This man turns out to be none other than Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), adult filmmaker. He approaches him in the dishroom, saying "You got something wonderful in those pants just waiting to pop out," and after a little, uh, soul searching, Eddie has renamed himself Dirk Diggler, seems to be living with him, and two fellow porn stars - Amber Waves (Julliane Moore), a coke-snorting maternal woman who has a kid from another marriage who she wants to see more of; and Rollergirl ("Swingers"' Heather Graham), a drop-out who seems to be glued to her rollerskates; among others; and has soon become a rising porn star.
"Boogie Nights" takes place in the 70s, during a time when porn was still made for film presentation, and when the artists cared enough to include a story of sorts, or at least a couple hints of a plot (i.e. "Emmanuel" and its numerous incarnations, and "Deep Throat," and ITS numerous incarnations). Jack himself states that his dream is to make a porn that will keep the jack-offs in the seats even after they've jacked off. This is basically a parallel to fame: after the initial breakthrough, something or someone looses the interest, and the quality begins to wane. That is, unless you're Martin Scorsese.
The film brings all the together in a flashy, almost orgasmic style, luring us into their world, then watching as it tragically collapses. I mean, the story is set up a lot like Scorsese's "Goodfellas," that is, of course, without the voice-over narration. The film starts out introducing us to a wide variety of characters, then brings them together, then seperates them over the course of the film, as they all deal with fame and numerous other problems, mostly incarnations of the fame.
Among the several characters we meet in this ensemble cast are: Buck Swope (Don Cheadle), an actual actor and very kind person who takes the porn job to pay money, and who hopes to one day open a Hi-Fi shop of his own so he can sell stereos (and 8-tracks); Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), another porn star who becomes bosum buddies with Dirk, and ends up being his a kind of more intelligent side kick of sorts, even though he's only a hair smarter than Dirk; Scotty (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a gay and very neurotic boom mike operator and other mechanical things worker, who kinda has a thing for Dirk (nudge nudge); and Little Bill (William H. Macy), a behind-the-scenes worker who doesn't seem very comfortable with his job, especially since his nymphomaniac wife (porn star Nina Hartley) is always having sex (well, whenever we see her, which means that this is one of the only women whose name I know that I have never seen with clothes on).
We also have the management, including a man named The Colonel (Robert Ridgely), who has a little secret...; and Floyd Gandolli (Philip Baker Hall), as a man who shows up on the cusp of the decade, with the foreboding news of the death of porn "film" and the birth of porn "video," which would bring about the demise of the former.
The acting by all of them is incredible, with no one really sticking out, which is perfect since this is an ensemble film. But notable performances go to Jullianne Moore (big surprise here), the underrated John C. Reilly (who is a great scene-stealer), Don Cheadle (for giving one of the most sympathetic and human performances), Heather Graham, and of course, Burt Reynolds, who gives what may be the performance of his career. And Mark Wahlberg is awesome as the lead role. Who knew Marky Mark could act? Except for those of you who saw "The Basketball Diaries."
While all the actors give stunning performances, the real star of this film is without a doubt the Paul Thomas Anderson, writer and director extraordinaire. He brings us a hysterically funny, and incredibly dramatic story, which engulfs us into its story, and holds our undivided attention for the full two and a half hours. Like "Goodfellas," there is never a dull moment, and the story never fails to generate interest. I was shocked how this film didn't run out of steam for the full time. Not many directors can do that.
And the film is very funny, with several great scenes throughout that are laugh-out-loud hilarious. But, structured in the way it is, it's mostly funny in the beginning, and gradually what was funny becomes tragic and sad. Take the whole Little Bill subplot, for instance, as well as the whole Scotty spiel.
As far as direction, Anderson has an amazing flair for style, with lots of steadicams, great zooms, tricky camerawork, and close-ups at the perfect time. He also has a great knack for picking the perfect music or song to accompany a scene, with notable uses of "Mama Told Me Not To Come" (hee hee, I said "come") during an introductory steadicam shot, and the 80s classic "99 Luff Balloons" during a tense scene of violence. It's almost kinda like deja vu...that's because it's a lot like that of Scorsese! As I said, this is a lot like "Goodfellas" story, theme, and structure-wise. But also directing wise. Some could call him a "hack," but one has to realize that to pull it off so perfectly is pure genius. There's a reason Scorsese is so lauded by us film geeks: part of it is because he's so original; the other is because every frame and shot is choreographed to get the maximum effect for each scene. And Anderson knows damn well how to do this, so even if it originated with Scorsese, you still have to respect Anderson a lot.
Besides, this film starts out as a homage, but just when it seems to head into pure rip-off, it luckily steers towards parody (accentuated with a hilarious scene based on the final scene of "Raging Bull").
I want to make a litte side-note about a great scene towards the end during a little drug deal, which is one of the most tense scenes I've seen in awhile. With the potential of a bloodbath, bringing out the impending death of three of the characters in this film, Anderson gives the scene every kind of potential fear: loud, annoying music; a drugged-up buyer; a large bodyguard with a gun; and to top that off, a little boy in the house setting off those annoying-as-hell sounds that sound distinctly like shots. There are a couple things going on during this sequence too, each tense in its own way. I just wanted to point that out, since it's one of the film's strongpoints.
I was blown away by "Boogie Nights," and the world it brings out so garishly. The whole film is amazing in bringing out the world of the late 70s and early 80s, especially in such a mircrocosm. Of all the films I've seen so far this year, this is the best I have seen. And of all the new directors to arrive as of late, Paul Thomas Anderson will probably get my vote for the best.
MY RATING (out of 4): ****
Homepage at: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/8335/
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