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Festivale online magazine, February, 1998 Boogie Nights Film review

Boogie Nights Anyone who knows me knows that I'd have to see a movie about the porno industry in the 1970s and early 1980s. It's a given. The fact that it is a mind-blowingly good film with sharp, savvy characterisations, extremely sexy scenes, moments that out-Tarantino Quentin and a last scene that alone makes Boogie Nights a cult classic, all came as a bonus. It's 1977. Eddie Adams is a 17 year old kid from Torrance, California who has one asset. A thirteen inch asset. He's working as a bus boy in a disco in Reseda when he meets an idealistic porno film-maker Jack Horner, his wife Amber Waves and Rollergirl, a porn actress who never takes off her roller skates under any circumstances.

movie poster, Boogie Nights, Festivale film review

	He's not bright, he's got no taste at all and he's full of himself. Soon, Eddie is transformed into Dirk Diggler, porno superstar/stud and the hubris sets in.
Search for: UK's largest videos store	Writer/Director Anderson has managed to get the 1970s/80s period feel perfectly. From the first scene in the Hot Traxx disco, we're drawn into the past. He uses long, perfectly executed tracking shots to give the audience the feeling that they're in the discos and parties. We feel like we're mingling with the crowd. Mark Wahlberg's Eddie/Dirk is great. He starts out as a hurt kid and goes through the cocaine junkie hustler decline and out the other side without a false note. Reynolds' Horner is fantastic. Ten minutes into the film I forgot that he was Burt Reynolds. For an actor with such a high profile, that's quite an accomplishment. (1997 was the year for actors to come back in from the wilderness. Reynolds, Peter Fonda and Robert Forster being the three that immediately come to mind.) Horner is genial, sensitive and although he has inflated ideas about the merit of his work, he genuinely believes that he's making quality films and he has the ability to pass that belief on to those he's working with. Julianne Moore is both sexy and maternal as Amber Waves. Her first sex scene with Dirk is as hot as anything I've seen in a mainstream movie in a long time. Not too much is shown, but it's in the faces of both actors and the sometimes amusing reaction shots of the film crew. Anderson does something interesting with this film. He doesn't judge his characters and he portrays the group as a family. Obviously, it's not a traditional family but these characters are unable to function as who they are and want to be within the constraints of mainstream society. Every interaction they have with the outside world leads them to a kick in the guts. But they look after one another and in the most important ways, form a family. I wouldn't recommend this film for everyone. People with a lot of concerns about erotica/porn and the recent history of both won't like this flick. But if you want to catch on to one of the best new directors in the business early in his career, check it out. Anderson's the man to watch at the moment.

	Terry Frost For credits and official site details, click here. Search Festivale for more
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Enter movie, TV show, or person   Provided by Internet Movie Database.	Just the facts: Title: Boogie Nights (1997) Written, produced and directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson Edited by: Director of Photography:
	The Players: Mark Wahlberg - Eddie/Dirk Diggler Burt Reynolds - Jack Horner Julianne Moore - Amber Waves Don Cheadle - Buck William G. Macy - Little Bill Heather Graham - Rollergirl John C. Reilly - Reed Rothchild
	Official website
	For session times of current films, use the cinema listings on the Movie links page. For scheduled release dates, see the coming attractions section.

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