Boogie Nights
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Movie Reviews of Boogie Nights
Movie Review: Got to keep on dancing, keep on dancing!
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie comes off the screen and blows up, just like the name Dirk Digler on a neon sign. lt gives new meaning to ''The Colonel's secret recipe''.Movie Review: greatest movie ever
Summary: 5 Stars
My husband loves this movie and he watches it all the time. I think it is a little corney but everyone should watch it atleast once.Movie Review: Boogie Nights
Summary: 5 Stars
this is a great movie. To me it is a classic. Burt Reynolds was great. And of course Mark Walhberg is wonderfulMovie Review: I never take my skates off.
Summary: 4 Stars
Boogie Nights is a very entertaining film--the very impressive sophomore effort for director Paul Thomas Anderson. It's a great showcase for the acting talents of Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Burt Reynolds, and the fabulous ensemble cast. Indeed, Burt and Julianne were both nominated for Oscars for BN, as was director Paul Thomas Anderson for the screenplay. Burt almost partially redeemed himself for portraying Congressman David Dilbeck in Striptease. BN is a cautionary tale about drug use and its effect on the individual as well as the culture, especially during the late 80's and early 90's. It is about the adult film industry as it went through a transition from film to video, and also a cautionary tale about the adverse effects of working in that industry on interpersonal relations. Finally, it seems to be a story of an alternative family, a group of misfits that cling together after hitting rock bottom, searching for a family-like connection when their own families may have failed them, or vice versa.
Here are just a few observations on Boogie Nights: Film maker Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) is serious about film and resists compromising by shooting on video. Yet, from the clips shown from his films, they are out of focus and very amateurish. It is mocking his artistic pretensions at every turn. All the characters are mocked, especially the main character,
Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) who though he may be getting awards from the adult film industry is no Mickey Spillane when it comes to a private eye character he conceives for his films; and when he later tries to launch a career as a rock and roll singer it is clear that he has no musical talent whatsoever--yet he thinks he'll be signed to a major label deal any second now.
Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly) is an even more pathetic wannabe, who recites one of the worst poems ever written (come to think of it, I wrote a similar poem--but I was 4 years old!!!!). He hitches his wagon to Dirk Diggler's star and follows that wagon right into the gutter.
Buck Swope (Don Cheadle) works at a hi fi store, but he clearly doesn't understand anything about the technical aspects of stereo systems. He is turned down for a small business loan when he wants to open his own store because of his adult film background, but one doubts that he could make a go of it even if he had gotten the loan. Miraculously, he does achieve his dream, but only due to a highly implausible deux et machina. Not only that, he affects a black cowboy look that is so wrong, though he looks even more ridiculous wearing a Rick James wig.
Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) wants custody of her son, but is clearly unfit. She is laughed at in court by the judge and jury when she tries to wrest custody from her ex husband, played by John Doe from LA punk band X. She does, however, make a great mother for her surrogate dysfunctional family of Dirk and Rollergirl.
Little Bill (William H. Macy) is certainly mocked, and his wife (Nina Hartley) doesn't even have a name. She is credited only as Little Bill's Wife, just like Lot's Wife. We don't know what she was named other than that she was turned into a pillar of salt. Little Bill and his wife's tragic deaths cause barely a ripple on the Boogie Nights stream.
Scotty J. (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is certainly mocked for his unrequited crush on Dirk Diggler, not that he doesn't deserve the mocking. Last laugh: Phillip Seymour Hoffman gets the best actor Oscar for Capote. Take that, Mark Wahlberg.
I will say that Paul Thomas Anderson is certainly a director to watch out for. He seems to have come out of nowhere, but actually was born in 1970, so he is from the video generation, and is from San Fernando Valley. He went from grip to auteur overnight, and his access to films on video has given him an almost encyclopedic knowledge of film. He quotes from the masters, yet no copycat he, he is very original. He has made several other films that I have heard a lot about, and I am looking forward to watching them. In spite of his contempt for all of the characters in Boogie Nights, and his seeming disdain for the adult film industry, he does temper that contempt with empathy, and after making them suffer and hit rock bottom for their myriad inadequacies, he allows for all of the happy ending that his dysfunctional family unit will allow. And I was entertained. Bravo.
Dirk: Aren't you gonna take your skates off?
Rollergirl: I never take my skates off.
Films Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
There Will Be Blood (2007) Daniel Day-Lewis won the Oscar for his tour de force performance as a driven oilman.
Punch-Drunk Love (Two Disc Special Edition) (Superbit Collection) (2002) The most radical thing about this was that Adam Sandler was cast in a dramatic role--and he could act! Who knew?
Magnolia (1999) A very complex film with numerous characters and intertwined stories. It garnered an Oscar nomination for Tom Cruise.
Coffee and Cigarettes (1993) Anderson got a refund from his film school tuition and made this instead.
Films of Mark Wahlberg
The Happening (2008) .... Elliot Moore
We Own the Night (2007) .... Capt. Joseph 'Joe' Grusinsky
Shooter (Widescreen Edition) (2007/I) .... Bob Lee Swagger
The Departed (Widescreen Edition) (2006) .... Dignam
Invincible (2006) .... Vince Papale
Four Brothers (2005) .... Bobby Mercer
I Heart Huckabees (2004) .... Tommy Corn
The Italian Job (2003) .... Charlie Croker
The Truth About Charlie (2002) .... Joshua Peters
Rock Star (2001) .... Chris 'Izzy' Cole
Planet of the Apes (2001) .... Captain Leo Davidson
The Perfect Storm (2000) .... Bobby Shatford
The Yards (2000) .... Leo Handler
Three Kings (1999) .... Troy Barlow
The Corruptor (1999) .... Danny Wallace
The Big Hit (1998) .... Melvin Smiley
Boogie Nights (1997) .... Eddie Adams - Dirk Diggler
Traveller (1997) .... Pat O'Hara
Fear (1996) .... David McCall
The Basketball Diaries (1995) .... Mickey
Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) quote from Boogie Nights:
Dirk: [in a documentary about him made by Amber Waves] What can you expect when you're on top? You know? It's like Napoleon. When he was the king, you know, people were just constantly trying to conquer him, you know, in the Roman Empire. So, it's history repeating itself all over again.
Movie Review: A slightly overrated masterpiece
Summary: 4 Stars
Boogie Nights tells the story of Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) and his life in the adult film industry of the 1970s and the 1980s. Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) discovers Eddie Adams working as a waiter at a club. After partying with Jack Horner and his many friends and associates, including Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly) whom he befriends and strikes a close relationship with, Eddie Adams decides to go by and stick with the title Dirk Diggler. Dirk Diggler becomes a hit due to his size and charm, and the notoriety and money comes along with it. Not everything is perfect, however, in this colorful and lively landscape, and when things go from bad to worse the story continues to follow everyone from their rise and fall, from their attempts at their ambitions to their dangerous habits. Horner and company find themselves in a world of chaos and confusion, and Dirk Diggler along with Reed Rothchild end up doing no better.
Boogie Nights is brilliant and bizarre, frightening and funny, creative and compelling. It's one of the greatest films of the 90s and Paul Thomas Anderson is as talented and as ambitious a filmmaker as Stanley Kubrick. Part of what makes Boogie Nights so brilliant is the cast. There isn't a single performance here that is weak. Everyone is given enough screen time to really digest and express their characters that they play. There is a lot of character development here as the cast is huge. It's simply astounding how much we learn about so many characters. There's a lot going on throughout the film, but we never feel distracted by anything else. Every character has so much depth, so much personality, and so much truth that you almost never really want to leave them. This is the kind of film that could go on for multiple hours and it would never get any less entertaining. From the opening shot of the film we are in this world. We meet nearly all of the main characters in the opening shot of the film, and there isn't a single mannerism that comes across as false.
Boogie Nights is one of the most ambitious and confidently made screen epics that I have ever seen. It's probably the most flawlessly made epic since The Godfather or Fanny and Alexander. I am very confident when I say that at least two-thirds of the movie-going public would agree. I mean, when have you ever seen a film full of so much of everything? It's the kind of film where you feel like you live through it. I see it as operatic in scope. The cinematography is simply breathtaking. The feeling of the times of the 70s and the 80s comes off so strongly here, and yet it's not overwhelming. It never, for one minute, feels like a stylistic touch. It works and interweaves itself in with the storyline in such a powerful way. There isn't a single unnecessary scene here. There isn't a single scene that hits a wrong note or comes across as pretentious or pandering or cheap or accidental. So much care was clearly taken in depicting these characters in the strongest and most humanly way possible. Anderson isn't afraid to surprise us, but he also isn't afraid to try too many new things. The film is emotional and beautiful. It is creative, very dark, very gory, but also very funny. Few films are littered with so much energy, both visually and emotionally, nor filled with so many memorable lines and hilarious truth. It's the kind of film where you don't have to feel uncomfortable about laughing at, whether due to it's ironic situations or it's incidents, because you feel invited to.
Paul Thomas Anderson isn't trying to strike any sort of personal truth with this film It is simply about a large family who have ambitions and have dreams, but because they have gotten involved in this world and have become a part of this world they have alienated themselves for greater things. We realize these things almost immediately, and the film is about these characters coming to realize these things as well. It's a coming-of-age film that just so happens to take place in the porno film industry. Along the way we get several references to the life and times of porn actor John Holmes. There's a hilarious scene in which Dirk Diggler has a documentary made about his life and we see Dirk say the same words that John Holmes said in an infamous interview that hinted at the fact that Holmes embellished the truth about a lot of aspects of his career. It is absolutely hilarious, and Mark Wahlberg does an outstanding job in the role. We see a lot of these kinds of mannerisms throughout the film from Dirk, and it all rings so true and so sad. Burt Reynolds does an equally brilliant job. I dislike him as an actor, but his work here is full of depth and subtlety. I like how Anderson doesn't judge his characters. If anyone is going to make a film about the porno industry, THIS is the way to do it!
If there is anything wrong with the film, it is that Anderson doesn't quite go far enough. I liked this film a lot, but I wanted to LOVE it. Anderson keeps his camera at a distance from all of his characters and all of the events, and while it is an effective technique and it is a strong and effective technique, it also keeps the viewers from being able to get really involved with the world of this film. We, as the audience, are not invited to REALLY sink our teeth into this subject matter. As a result, by the end of the film, you are left feeling a little cold. These aren't the kinds of characters you really want to re-visit. I have the same problem with The Godfather. I think Paul Thomas Anderson was still trying to get used to the technique of filming a large cast. He did eventually perfect the technique with Magnolia, but it's something you have to really get used to if you're going to ENJOY this film. I think it's a great film. I think it's a little overrated. I think that it is, at times, very disturbing and I am baffled that this got away with an R rating while Peter Greenaway's The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, & Her Lover got an NC-17, but nevertheless, it's a great film. It really showcases Anderson's skills and confidence as a director, and, while you may not actually like the film, you will certainly admire it to death.