Remember That Movie: Boogie Nights

Everyone is blessed with one special thing.

That’s the thesis of Paul Thomas Anderson’s 1997 breakout film Boogie Nights, a movie set within the porn film industry of the late seventies and early eighties. It features a giant-sized cast of character-driven actors that’s enough incentive to see this film: Philip Baker Hall, Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, Luis Guzmán, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Thomas Jane, Ricky Jay, William H. Macy, Alfred Molina, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Burt Reynolds, and Mark Wahlberg.

In case you don’t remember, Wahlberg stars as Eddie Adams, a martial arts-loving teenager who works at a club far from home and does sexual favors for extra money. Eddie catches the eye of Jack Horner (Reynolds), a porn director with dreams of making films that’ll grab men’s hearts and minds long after they’re done grabbing themselves. Jack asks Eddie to audition for him, which the wide-eyed and amiable young man is only too happy to do. Soon after, Eddie is leaving behind his unpleasant home life to glad-hand and shake hips with Jack’s motley crew and cast. Before you can say “shake your booty” Eddie, rechristened Dirk Diggler, is the biggest name in porn. Everybody’s riding high on disco, money, notoriety, and coke (oh, the coke…) - and then the decade ends with a bang and along with it the good times.

If there’s one thing I keep looking for in movies its good characters and writing. Boogie Nights has that and much, much more. It is also really funny and a lot of fun. Yes, I just used the ‘F’ words to describe a movie by the guy who brought you There Will Be Blood.

There are some greatly hilarious moments, as when Eddie and Reed Rothchild (Reilly) meet for the first time or when the cast first sees Diggler’s jiggler during the first take of his first shoot or even the Brock Landers scenes – really great stuff that is organic to the story and the characters.

But, yes, the characters are really great, each one is so well-defined. What’s even better is each character has more than one dimension. We see early on how, after the party’s over, each character returns home to their failed existences. Amber Waves (Moore) is a coke addict who is unable to see her little boy. Buck Swope (Cheadle) is a shoddy electronics salesman who suffers from a poor self-image. Rollergirl (Graham) is a high-schooler who fails to excel at anything other than her extra curricular activities. And, worst of all, Little Bill (Macy) is a man who has become such an emasculated doormat that his wife freely and openly cheats on him. Those situations of Little Bill and Amber Waves touch on the pitfalls inherent in the nature of the business: it can destroy the chance at meaningful and fulfilling relationships.

Boogie Nights was a break-out film for many of those involved. Heather Graham was best known beforehand as the girl in the red dress in Swingers. She then exploded with a series of modest-to-mega hits that ended with 2001’s From Hell. Her star has since faded, highlighted only by an appearance in last year’s The Hangover.

Cheadle, now one of the most respected actors of our time, was best known as Mouse in the little-seen and nearly forgotten mystery Devil in a Blue Dress. After Boogie Nights, Cheadle was everywhere, even landing the role of Sammy Davis, Jr. in the HBO movie The Rat Pack.

Julianne Moore starred in mostly small supporting roles until 1997. She starred in both Boogie Nights and Lost World, the Jurassic Park sequel. Though she’d shown dramatic chops in Vanya on 42nd Street two years before, these movies gave her greater exposure and, in the case of Boogie Nights, award nominations. Since then she’s slowly grown into the role of one of today’s finest dramatic actresses, consistently bringing credibility to her roles in even the worst films.

Burt Reynolds, whose career had cooled, gave us what seems to be a last hurrah as the crew’s patriarch. Unfortunately, Boogie Nights would not equal a career revival for Reynolds as he would go on to such films as Universal Soldier III, remakes of The Longest Yard and The Dukes of Hazzard, and the Toby Keith vehicle Broken Bridges.

Star Mark Wahlberg, however, broke out in his second leading role, proving himself to be much more than nice abs and white boy rap. He since went on to such ensemble films as Three Kings, The Perfect Storm, and The Departed and leading roles in the Planet of the Apes remake, Rock Star, and Invincible.

Boogie Nights was the second full-length feature by director Paul Thomas Anderson and may be his best. It introduced him to major audiences as an exciting new ensemble craftsman, the likes of which hadn’t been seen since Tarantino made his big splash five years before.

When I reviewed Magnolia, Anderson’s follow-up to Boogie Nights, seven months ago I praised the film for its direction. Boogie Nights is sure to please anyone who thought Anderson’s brilliance burned out too quickly in Magnolia. He remains much more consistent throughout Boogie Nights with his balancing acts between camera tricks and performance-centered static shots, drama and humor, and even the rise and fall of his story’s plotting.

I can’t fail to mention the opening shot. Boogie Nights opens with a long tracking shot that begins with a title marquee and then follows a car to a nearby club, which is where we meet each of our characters. But the camera doesn’t cut there! It goes from the street into the club, following Jack Horner and Amber Waves, shifting attention briefly to an exchange between Maurice “TT” Rodriguez (Guzmán) and Buck, and soon after landing on Eddie, who’s bussing a table while watching Horner and his crew. Magnolia took the same concept to the next level but in Boogie Nights it seems to intimate the smooth, naturalistic ride you’re about to take. It is the opening salvo of a brilliant talent.

Boogie Nights is remembered as an artsy film about porn stars. But it’s equally about the talents hidden in each of us. This is the heart of the movie that allows us to care about people we might otherwise judge or feel uncomfortable watching. When put in the context of a man’s large penis, it’s also a wink to the audience that talent can come from even the most ridiculous forms. This should indicate to the uninitiated that this film isn’t pretentious self-seriousness; it has heart and a sense of humor. Furthermore, Anderson keeps the soundtrack rolling scene after scene after scene, never letting the film drag during its two and a half hour run time.

Boogie Nights was overshadowed by the behemoth that was Titanic. That unsinkable beast was justly touted as one of its year’s best films, but when mentioned today is met largely with a series of groans rather than awes. Looking over the year’s Oscar nominees for Best Picture (which astoundingly excludes Boogie Nights), it’s tough to say which had a bigger impact on film. Surely, Anderson’s film should now be included in that conversation. It treats its subject matter with just as much humanity as Pulp Fiction, Brokeback Mountain, and Fargo and contains some of the decade’s best direction and performances.

Do yourself a favor and refresh your memory on this great film.


9/10

Should you see it? Rent


Boogie Nights is available on DVD and Blu-Ray.