Getting It On with 'Boogie Nights' by Homer Yen (c) 1997
In the late 1970s, disco was the all the rage, sex was safe, and pleasure was a growing industry. Indeed, during this period, one of America's darkest subcultures began to establish its prominence within the entertainment industry. This was the heyday of pornography, when films of this nature made it onto the big screen and wasn't relegated to the small confines of the living room television set. But, behind the scenes, it is a debilitating world that is marked by broken dreams, drugs, and lost souls.
Boogie Nights is an amazingly revealing look at this frenzied world. In the opening shot, the camera swoops through a nightclub frequented by adult film auteur Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds). It pans left and right, introducing us to the various characters whose lives we'll be following throughout the movie, including future porn star, Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg). Horner apparently has an eye for...um...gifted actors, and approaches Eddie, who works as a lowly dishwasher. "I got a feeling that behind those jeans," says Horner, " is something wonderful just waiting to get out."
Given Eddie's broken homelife, he eventually agrees to work for him. When all of the characters are introduced, we meet up with the cocaine-addicted, porno den mother Amber Waves (an inspiring Julianne Moore), fellow porn stars recruited by Horner (John C. Reilly as Reed Rotchild; Don Cheadle as Buck Swope; Heather Graham as Rollergirl), an obese financier and a bevy of other behind-the-scenes crew.
The primary focus is on Eddie and his ascension (or fall) into porn stardom. Parlaying his biggest 'asset', he captures adult film's highest awards, the matriarchal love of Amber and is the catalyst for the ongoing success of Jack Horner and his family of helping hands. But in a world as unpredictable and reckless as this, it is easy to crash and burn. Eddie soon falls victim to the dark side of stardom. But Eddie's precarious path is just one of many engrossing stories that explore the trials and tribulations of those who support the industry, but then ultimately become victim to it.
The supporting cast of characters is richly developed, and each one has a story to tell. Some generate poignance, such as Amber's, who desperately hopes to get custody of her child after divorcing her husband. Some generate a sickly feeling, such as the chubby male stagehand who displays more than a passing interest in Eddie. Some generate uneasy tension, such as the stagehand who is slowly being driven mad because his wife constantly has sex with any guy that she sees. There are many other interestingly inter-related tales.
Is this merely porn that tries to pass as art? No. This film is not about sex or the turn-ons that accompany it. The audience views the sex with a detached eye. To that effect, the real director films this movie more like a documentary. The look and feel is almost like that from a super 8mm. The mystique of sex is dispelled, and what we see are the lives of ordinary people in a not-so-ordinary environment.
Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson finds nifty ways of presenting different looks at a world that's seemingly styptic. Through all the characters and all the action, Anderson's screenplay centers on the human qualities of the players. They may live in a disreputable world, but they have the same goals, needs and values as anyone trying to make it in Hollywood. In an industry that offers little future, fates seem all too random, and each character will meet with their own happy or sad ending. Making it in life requires so much more than making it in this business. But as Eddie comments: "Everyone is blessed with one great gift, and you have to make the most of it."
This movie offers several gifts. Reynolds is well-cast as the sleazy director, giving his role an almost deadpan feel as he, for example, graphically explains how to perform the 'money shots.' Wahlberg also shows good depth as the dishwasher-turned-porn star who displays maturity and confidence. But, the real surprise is Moore, who is touchingly effective. I foresee an Oscar nomination for her, as well as one for Anderson's raw but absorbing screenplay.
Boogie Nights is not a film for everyone. With graphic sex scenes, raw dialogue, and a soundtrack featuring pop songs heavy on isolation and destruction, it is a sobering look at a world that simultaneously bonds people together while tearing individuals apart. Still, as shocking as it is original, this is a finely developed piece of film.
Grade: B+
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