Review of Boogie Nights (1997) by Arrivist — 27 Oct 2021
Like all PTA films Boogie Nights looks stunning. A clever analogy for the beauty, innocence and art of cinema and celluloid, being replaced by cheap and nasty mass-produced video, made solely for profit and entertainment.
What's interesting is how PTA is able the make such a sleazy and immoral environment seem so fun and innocent, within the first act. When the 80's arrive and everything takes a turn for the worst, the writing lost its way and Boogie Nights becomes a bit of a mess (I thought the same of Magnolia). We lose touch with the central characters and Wahlberg (who is great in the 1st half) doesn't have the chops to play the latter stages of his character's demise. The character/scene's which made the greatest impression were with Eric and his mother, based on PTA's own mother.
Bogie Nights is still a great achievement, especially considering PTA was only 27 when he made it.
This review of Boogie Nights (1997) was written by Arrivist on 27 Oct 2021.
Boogie Nights has generally received positive reviews.
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