Review of Boogie Nights (1997) by Gavin M — 06 Oct 2015

This movie is one of the most daring and powerful movies of the 1990's. It's one of those pinch yourself movies because you literally can't believe what you are watching. Paul Thomas Anderson has literally created a landmark in cinema.

This is a dangerous movie to not be missed by all movie buffs. Mark Wahlberg literally shines in his star making performance as role as Dirk Diggler is definitely one of his all time best performances.

It's right up there with "Fear," "Three Kings," "The Departed," and "The Fighter." But I am gonna be so bold as too say that "Boogie Nights" is definitely his all time best movie, as you can literally feel the fumes coming off this film it's that powerful.

But we also cannot forget the other amazing performances in this film, especially from Burt Reynolds who plays the famous 70's porno director Jack Horner. It's one of those performances that isn't over the top, but you are so drawn to Burt Reynolds the way you are to Wahlberg and everyone in this movie for that matter.

But Reynolds looks and acts the part of a major porno director all the way through. It earned him a best supporting actor nomination for his work and he definitely deserved it as he really keeps the film in balance throughout the entire film.

The rest of the cast is like a directors dream come true, as literally everyone was starting out at this point or had already established themselves to a degree, but this movie made them all superstars as everyone gets their 15 minutes of screen time in this film.

You have Julianne Moore who is disturbingly really good and effective in this as the coke addict porn star, who has fallen into the dark side of the porno industry and has lost touch with her son and because of that, she feels the need to act as a mother to everyone around her including Wahlberg because he's the new hot star in the porno industry.

You also have Don Cheadle, William H. Macy, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Heather Graham, John C. Reilly and Thomas Jane who all equally give solid and very memorable performances. This movie for me really has depicted the porn industry in the 1970's like no other, and even though it goes into the 80's quite a bit, it's still a really fascinating movie on the 1970's as Paul Thomas Anderson really did a fascinating and flawless job at making this film feel like a true 70's movie.

I almost want to say that this is the best depiction of the 1970's, even though I know it does go into the early 1980's, but it's the music, the look, the style, the direction and the awesome performances from everyone in this film to make "Boogie Nights" for what is today in cinema, as it truly is a work of art and movie making at its total best!