Boogie Nights
After the cinematic landmine that was Pulp Fiction in 1994, the American movie landscape became flooded with a slew of imitators who desperately tried to mimic the âstyleâ so to speak of Quentin Tarantino, leading to one film after another that tried to mix extreme violence with âquirkyâ yet lovable characters that embodied either unusual traits or allegedly snappy, sharp as a whip dialogue. Most of these efforts failed because these guys really didnât get what made Tarantino what he was, and it certainly wasnât violence, but rather his uncanny ability to take what usually was thought of as disreputable people (criminals in Pulp Fiction) and actually manage to HUMANIZE them to the point where they were more than just walking clichĂ©s being used to move the story along and help us relate to them as people with the same imperfections and insecurities that we all have, despite their misguided choices in life. It wasnât until 1997 that then rising director Paul Thomas Anderson decided to step up and get it right, and in some ways managed to convince certain people that he had outdone Tarantino himself with this sprawling yet fast moving epic set in the world of porno movies in the late 70s and early 80s. It certainly helped that he assembled a cast nearly as talent packed as Pulpâs, and that while he chose wisely not to pass too much judgment on his characters, he doesnât shy away from showing us the ugly consequences of their lifestyles as well as the fun and fancy free side of it as well (the pool parties look like a blast to be at). More importantly, he gave these characters something which even Tarantino didnât really give his swaggering badasses, which was large doses of pathos and humility, knowing full well that despite the party hearty life that they lead, most if not all of them were severely broken inside, which no doubt drew them together as a surrogate family all while doing drugs, lounging by the pool, and making porno movies where they all fuck each otherâs brains out like thereâs no tomorrow, friendships and even marriages be damned, the one aspect of their lives where theyâre all overly familiar with each other. The nominal lead here (person with the most screen time) is Mark Wahlberg as Eddie Adams, a very soft spoken kid with a VERY big secret, in that he walks around with a legit 13 inch penis, who works as a busboy at a nightclub that is very far from the home where he lives with his parents, and we soon know why: The club is literally like a playground for the big players in the pornographic film industry, and Eddie has cleverly (or maybe subconsciously) placed himself in amongst them hoping to get discovered, where he will become the next big industry sensation under the name Dirk Diggler. Wahlberg (not yet a respectable actor then but a very big name rapper) brings a slight sensitivity to the role that helps him carry it through, even if his Dirk can be self centered and egotistical to a tee, and yet the whiny, emotionally insecure little boy underneath can and does come to the surface, spurred on by what was obviously a very traumatic relationship with his own verbally abusive mother. As the big time writer and director who takes him under his wing, we get the living legend Burt Reynolds as Jack Horner, and while we get the requisite Reynolds swagger as always, we soon see that he is practically living in a dream world himself, imagining his fuck flicks as something that can be passed off as âartâ and hoping to make something so good that it can be thought of as being respectable, mainstream quality while still carrying that dreaded XXX rating. Even moreso reflecting his pathetic nature is the (never outright stated) fact that he himself is obviously impotent, as he sits there and watches his own wife (herself an actress) fuck other men on film right before his own eyes, as he flashes a wide smile and smokes a cigar, with the only real displays of passion they ever show being a quick peck on the lips. Reynoldsâ history on the film itself is an interesting one, as he fought with Anderson onset throughout the shoot and then publicly blasted and disowned the film in the media, thus displaying his own contempt for the real life adult film industry of which was the filmâs subject matter, but when he started getting serious Oscar talk for his performance (and won a Golden Globe), he shuttered that talk and rode the awards wave, only to lose the Supporting Actor Oscar to Robin Williams for Good Will Hunting, possibly because of the contemptuous words for the film that came out of his own mouth. As for his wife Amber Waves, played by Julianne Moore, she might possibly be one of the most frightening female characters in movie history, a psychotically parasitic woman with a twisted mother complex hidden underneath a kindly, understanding persona, whom having lost her own young son for good due to her sex and drugs lifestyle, latches onto Dirk and others and tells them to think of her in just that way, albeit by introducing them to hard drugs and having sex with them recreationally off camera. Another one she does this to is the aptly named Rollergirl played by Heather Graham, so named because of the roller skates she wears that she NEVER takes off, even during sex. But Graham at least succeeds in winning most male viewers over with her sweet and innocent little girl lost routine, living in Reynolds and Mooreâs house almost like their adopted daughter who does porno films with them, and rolling through the film like an existential wet dream who most of us guys would probably take into our own bed. But there are lots more great actors in the film mostly of the character variety, and they all contribute, such as John C. Reilly as the goofy, amicable fellow actor Reed Rothschild, Luis Guzman as the sniveling nightclub owner always kissing up to Reynolds for a part in his films, Don Cheadle as the token black porno actor (though oddly we never actually see him working on any films) who hooks up with a white girl and desperately tries to get a loan to open up his own business without crying racism, William H. Macy as the put upon production manager always dealing with the stress of his job as well as an openly cheating wife with tragic results, Robert Ridgely (who died during production) as The Colonel James, the moneyman of the films with his own twisted predilection for underage girls, Ricky Jay as the obvious asshole cameraman, Philip Seymour Hoffman as the bumbling closeted gay production assistant with a major crush on Diggler, Phillip Baker Hall as a new, powerful investor who persuades the film obsessed Reynolds to take everything to video, Thomas Jane as the dangerous (and stupid) male exotic dancer who hooks up with Diggler and Rothschild, and Alfred Molina in an insane and unforgettable cameo as the crazed drug dealer set up as the very wrong target in a robbery attempt late in the film. While many thought the film (and Diggler) was a direct representation of the life of the legendary John Holmes, the fact that Holmes is mentioned by name in the film as being a contemporary of Digglerâs disproves this, as actually a large number of real life porn stars of the era had events in their lives incorporated into the story, as we witness these charactersâ rise in the late 70s in the first half before the early 80s second half begins, and what a ride (downwards) it is, with the viewer getting so swept up in the events that itâs hard to take an even breath, all leading up to a sequence where three major acts of violence involving several characters all seemingly take place on the same night. We also witness Diggler feebly trying to start a music career, Reynolds take a liking to a new, but less charismatic male star, The Colonel go down hard once and for all for his perversions, Cheadle lucking into the chance of a lifetime, Rothschild starting a fleeting career as an X-rated nightclub magician, Moore doing more drugs while practically getting flogged during a custody hearing for her son, and Rollergirl just rolling on through life and being Rollergirl. It all wraps up in a somewhat nice ending (often mistaken for a âhappyâ ending) where most of the characters, having fallen flat on their faces in the real world, converge back together at Reynoldsâ estate and within the world of porn, a surrogate family once again as pathetic as that might seem, but it does show that Anderson has succeeded in getting us into the lives and heads of a large group of diverse individuals, and did it so effortlessly that we never found ourselves worn down by the length or the pacing due to some simply fantastic directing and editing, along with a killer soundtrack (deceptively arranged by using upbeat songs of the era, hiding the fact that the subject matter itself much of the time is pretty depressing) that makes the whole thing a fantastic experience for all fans of cinema, regardless if youâre also a fan of adult films or notâŠ
10/10