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The 1997 film Boogie Nights opened to much critical acclaim. The buzz around Pulp Fiction is probably the best example of an opening of comparable attention. So, being minor-league critics ourselves, we thought it only appropriate that we weigh in as well.
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Based loosely on the life of legendary thespian John Holmes, Boogie Nights stars Marky Mark Wahlberg as Eddie Adams (a.k.a., Dirk Diggler) – a young southern California man with a “gift from God” that lands him in a career in movies. Burt Reynolds also stars inn what is possibly a career-best performance as Horner, the director who discovers Eddie. The excellent cast is rounded out by Julianne Moore as Reynolds’ wife, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman as a maladjusted hanger-on.
The writer and director, Paul Thomas Anderson, had only made one previous feature film when Boogie Nights was released – Hard Eight (Anderson has since directed Magnolia and Punch Drunk Love). Watching Boogie Nights, however, one would be hard-pressed to tell that he was a relative novice to the business at the time.
The works of Martin Scorsese and Roger Altman heavily influence this work, but it is far from a blatant copy or misguided re-telling. With Boogie Nights, Anderson manages to pull off a film that is both fresh and original while at the same time paying homage to earlier masters.
The story, however, is not wholly original. A young stargazer dreams of success in Hollywood, achieves the dizzying heights of fame, and then falls back to earth and hits rock bottom. What is unique about the subject matter is that this dreamer finds success not in the mainstream movie industry. Instead, endowed by his creator with more than just inalienable rights, he finds an opening in the world of adult entertainment.
From this perspective, Anderson beautifully parodies Hollywood. Instead of reading reviews in Variety, Horner sees how he made out in the skin trade magazines. Instead of winning the Oscar for Best Actor, Dirk wins awards for his portrayal of the physical achievements of his characters.
These people take their jobs very seriously, even though they are in an industry that almost no one else respects (but apparently a lot of people enjoy, as it is a billion-dollar industry). Horner is concerned about making a movie that “is true and right and dramatic,” for instance, despite the fact that it is pornographic. He does not see any contradiction in that goal, and many of the characters throughout the film echo his convictions.
Perhaps this is because Anderson seems to share this goal. He has made a move dealing with a subject many deplore, and turned it into a candidate for the year’s finest film. He shows that a person’s line of work does not negate their value as a person. Dirk has quite a successful movie career, but he never loses his basic humanity. Essentially, we all have a common bond (a theme explored further in Magnolia), and Anderson uses this as a tool to strip away our prejudices and let us examine the subject with an unbiased eye.
Boogie Nights is a truly fine film, and one that we recommend highly. Don’t let your misgivings about the subject matter deter you; watch with an open mind and enjoy a quality production by a talented director.
