Wildly weird, shamelessly indulgent and intentionally vulgar, Boogie Nights is director Paul Thomas Anderson’s second major motion picture, the first of his films he was truly happy with, and much, much more.It seems as if it is a combination swan song and memoir for the “glory days” of pornographic films, while also being a dramatic, complex character study. Boogie Nights is first and foremost an ensemble film. Though his next film, Magnolia, would divvy up screen time more evenly among its cast, Boogie Nights remains largely focused on Eddie Adams (played by Mark Wahlberg) and his path in and out and back into the porno scene.
It’s the 70’s and Eddie wants desperately to become a porn star and he knows just the man to see. Burt Reynolds plays a deliciously shifty porn producer in what may be his best acting since Deliverance. In fact, the entire cast turns out tremendous performances. Each character really has depth to them (a testament to Anderson’s craft), experiencing joy, sorrow and anger. The only way to do this for all the major players in an ensemble film though is to make it long. Ticking in at just over 2 and a half hours, Boogie Nights may be more than some people can handle.
The film runs through Eddie’s foray into porn, the creation of his alter ego (Dirk Diggler) and his rise and fall through porn stardom in the 70’s and 80’s. The sleeze of the industry and the indulgence of the time period are expertly crafted and captured, leaving you feeling a little overwhelmed and unsure as to whether or not it’s okay to like the film.
But it is okay to like. A bit heavy handed and providing more detail than you would probably want, but it is certainly okay to like Boogie Nights.
(I will warn those who are on the prudish side that this film, being about porn, contains lots of sex and nudity and a healthy dose of language and violence- not for the faint at heart)
RATING: 3.5 out of 5
