Boogie Nights Review
by Seth Bookey (sethbook AT panix DOT com)December 15th, 1997
Boogie Nights (1997)
Seen with Tony on 10 November 1997 for $8.75 at the Sony 19th Street
Believe it or not, in life and in the movies, a 13-inch penis will only go so far. If it happens to be attached to you, you ultimately might decide it's more trouble than it's worth. Just look at what happens to Eddie Adams in *Boogie Nights*.
The hoopla surrounding *Boogie Nights* is ill-deserved. You will spend a nonrefundable 152 minutes watching truly stupid people rise and fall (no pun intended) in the porno industry. This was my major beef with the movie. Nothing counters the complete stupidity of these characters. The few moments of pathos are worthless because none of these characters are drawn either sympathetically *or* demonically. There is no need for the audience to love or hate these people; it's like eavesdropping on the shop class kids who smoke near the bike rack at your high school. Would you want to do *that* for 152 minutes?
Like many movies set in the 1970s, there are lots of unintentional laughs in *Boogie Nights*, which spans 1977 through about 1985. One has to credit the actors in this movie; it takes a lot of talent to act this stupid. Eddie Adams (Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg) possesses the forementioned 13-inch penis. It is "his one special thing," and he uses it to his advantage, because he is not a bright boy. He catches the eye of the ridiculously named Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), a pornographer who thinks he is a "filmmaker." An overnight success, Eddie becomes "Dirk Diggler" and is able to fund his hapless American dream--a house featuring a lot of wood panelling, a closet full of hideous clothing, and a red Camaro. The movie touches on the notion that he comes from a broken home; his shrill mother (Joanna Gleason) inexplicably hates him, so he immediately becomes a porn star. Rollergirl (Heather Graham) isn't prepared for a test, so she runs off to become the porn star (who never removes her rollerskates). These are motivations? None of this is developed or makes sense!
There are other subplots too numerous and stupid to mention; in the end none of it means much of anything. There are consequences to the pornographer's actions, but instead of feeling for these people, all you can think is, "Well, what did they expect would happen." Many opportunities to make the characters more pitiful or more ironic or nastier are missed; they remain simply annoying. The idea that they form a "special kind of family" is would be okay if it were not so bizarre--like Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), who sees herself as a mother to Dirk and Rollergirl. Ahem! Mothers usually do not *have sexual intercourse* with their children!
Also, shame on director Paul Thomas Anderson for ripping off Quentin Tarantino, and numerous others.
BONUS: In the event rampant drug use and pornography simply was not enough for you, there is also senseless violence.
----------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) 1997 Seth J. Bookey, New York, NY 10021
More movie reviews by Seth Bookey, with graphics, can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2679/kino.html
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
