Boogie Nights (1997)

The brilliance of this story delivers at least one skillfully crafted message to each viewer in the audience. This story is about success, it's about failure. It's about the choices you make in life and the choices others make for you. The story deals with self realization and determination on a scale so large, no camera angle could cover it. Within the grasp of each scene is resides an element marked for depiction within your imagination. Keep this in mind as you watch the movie; it's more than eye candy. The sexually suggestive, rarely explicit scenes serve only to distract and entertain you during the tedious process of character development.

Fmovies: It takes genius to make a believable film about the porn industry that makes us care about its characters, and for me, this movie accomplishes that nearly-impossible task. "Boogie Nights" is a film about the adult film industry in the 70's and early 80's, and even though the "sleaze" is there--it is done with style, humor, and taste. Eddie Adams aka Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg) is a charming but not-very-bright 17-year old dishwasher who is "discovered" by Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), a fatherly adult filmmaker in 1977. The movie tracks his career and life over the next 8 years, as well as the other members of Jack's "family." The camera follows its many characters from scene to scene with a certain joyfulness, and we come to care about all of them deeply, no matter how small their roles. There is a perfect balance of the hilarious and the tragic, and the fast pace never lets up. The end of the '70s' ends with a literal *bang*, which is totally appropriate and marks not only the end of a decade, but the shift in mood from a party-atmosphere to one of growing tension. The soundtrack is wonderful, with the songs not only appropriate for the time period, but also to underscore the feeling of each scene. There is a scene, late in the film, that must be seen to be believed. In it, Dirk Diggler and two of his druggie friends go to the home of a drug-dealer to try to rip him off. The interplay of hilarity and tension is almost unbearable. A little Chinese boy walks around the room setting off firecrackers as a crack-addled bathrobe-clad Alfred Molina (as the drug lord) rants and raves and sings along with "Sister Christian" and "Jesse's Girl" which blast on the stereo. We can feel the characters' uneasiness and sense of danger each time another firecracker goes off. Everyone should see this movie. There's never been another like it.

Being Saturday evening (comedy night in our house),my wife and I sat down to watch a supposedly funny movie called "Boogie Nights". The only thing I had heard about it was that my sister-in-law told us not to see it because it was bawdy and she walked out, so right away I knew it was worth watching. This movie was nothing like we thought it was going to be like--it was a fantastic and quite involving drama, which deserved a few Oscars. The time frames from the early 70's to the mid 80's were flawless, and the "glamor" of the porn industry was effectively dispelled by the portrayal of the stars. One of the most memorable scenes of all times, in my opinion was the drug deal gone bad, the firecrackers, the guy in the bathrobe and the utter uneasiness of the deposed porn stars as we listened to "Jessie's Girl" and "Sister Christian". Burt Reynolds was great as Jack Horner, the director who made money with young energy and the coming trends, but realized he had to be "father" to all those aging stars who had nowhere else to go once the bright lights began to flicker and the money was getting thin.

Boogie Nights fmovies. One of my absolute favorite movies. Relaxed by the opening circus theme and then blasted by "Best of My Love," no movie has ever grabbed my attention so fast as with Boogie Nights. The opening steady-cam shot is one of the best. The rest of the movie doesn't drop off a bit. The music, the costumes, the shots and the drama are all phenomenal. The humor is great, too, and what makes it truly funny is that most of the time the characters aren't even trying to be funny. Just when it seems like PTA won't be able to top himself, the next scene brings with it something even more brilliant. And of course the ending...

What else can I say, I love this movie. Paul Thomas Anderson, you got "the touch."

This is not so much of a review as it is a testament that it has been proven, yet again, that the Academy rewards money, not artistic accomplishment. And I must say I am saddened that this usually artistic and intelligent band of imbd members have left this off the top 250. Boogie Nights is powerful, raw, and gutsy through script, direction and acting. Very few movies can claim this triple crown.

Boogie Nights is full of surprises, nothing quite prepares one for it its soul. Yes, it does have soul, whilst tackling the tackiest of subject matter, with both a wry smile and respect. Brillantly cast and wonderful character development, the performances somehow combine the best of stage acting with improvisation within a cinema verite style.

The plot proved richer than I expected and the underlying themes are teased out quite profoundly as each "B grade" human being is brought, through crisis, into perspective.

A sociologist's dream case study, the film resonates the raw truth of what we all know about self-esteem, parental love and lack of it, attention/love deficit and its manifestation in adulthood, the desperate need to belong. Something for everyone here.. almost camouflaged as issues of untouchables and their separate milieu but of course they are universal.

The film works on a number of levels. The ironic loop is that the milieu portrayed exists only because of the voyeur, who happens to be watching the film...

Boogie Nights is non judgmental of its subject matter and characters, a rarity. It deserves every accolade it has achieved and more.