Review of Boogie Nights (1997) by Shahmeer H — 07 Jul 2013

Boogie Nights is a 1997 drama indie film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It stars Mark Whalberg, Don Cheadle, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Julliane Moore, and other big time stars at the time. But not your everyday big time star. These actors also portray other big stars, but not the ones you'd normally find on the big screen in your local theater. This stars other stars, not as big as movie stars, but big enough to make the viewer "big". This film stars porn stars, celebrities with simple acting skills, but more of their style is put in their waste rather than their face. Boogie Nights is about the porn industry, a topic never touched by film directors or actors or producers, unless they do rather that: make porn. This film was the first of it's kind, the first to take the subject seriously and to make the viewer think, rather than to make the viewer "feel". But Jesus, this movie also makes you feel. It touches you (not where you think), and it makes you feel for these characters. It takes the subject of porn and makes it into a drama, one that doesn't show much nudity, and that's very surprising for a "porn" movie. But I understood why. The movie didn't want you jacking off too it, it wanted you to understand how these characters ended up jacking themselves off, into either douche bags or successful actors. Or both. It wasn't your ordinary generic film from the 90s, but rather something new and original. It brought style to the bore of the 90s films, and put you back, throwing you into the 70s. Paul Thomas Anderson wrote and directed this film, one that you would never guess would've come from the director of "There Will Be Blood". But he surprised me with There Will be Blood, so it shouldn't be to hard to comprehend he surprised me with Boogie Nights as well. But a film such as this one takes time, takes skill, and takes thought to make, and it also takes thought to watch, and it takes thought to review. And I can tell you for sure I'm thinking right now.

Boogie Nights is about Derk Diggler, an amateur porn actor who makes it big. There's much more to it, with a lot more characters than Dirk Diggler, but it's the film that will take care of the rest. The acting in this film is well-done. Mark Whalberg does an excellent job as the leading man in this movie, and the supporting cast also does well throughout. My favorite character being John C. Reilly's the way he brings originality and humor to the film is good, and his childlike innocent persona is all very fun to watch. Don Cheadle also does a good job, and Burt Reynolds is very memorable as an adult film director. No one gives a bad performance, but the problem is that we don't see enough of these great performances. We are supposed to follow Mark Whalberg's character throughout the film, but the problem is we see to much of the other great characters to get fully attached to him. All these characters are great to watch, but some are just to underdeveloped and you wish you could see more of them and see more of how their life turns out. But the characters that are already developed are a good joy to watch, but more needed to be done with them for my full appreciation.

Pual Thomas Anderson does a great job writing this film.I thought the plot line and story was one of the most original I've seen in recent memory, and the way Anderson dives into the adult film industry surprised me a lot. I hadn't seen much films like this recently, and I didn't know what I was getting into when I saw this and I enjoyed it a lot. Paul Thomas Anderson writes a film in the 1990s that has a strong 70s feel to it. The dialogue at times, though, is silly. I feel like it was to put you in the 70s feel, but it is very inconsistent and does not feel like the screenplay fully knows what it wants its actors to say. It's not bad dialogue, it's just very inconsistent as to whether it is supposed to be taken seriously or not. A lot of times I wasn't sure whether I liked the dialoge or not, I didn't know what to make of it. It should've been more solid, and should've let the viewer know what it was supposed to be. But I kind of liked that part of Boogie Nights, and PTA is really good at making a viewer think in the movie, and I definitely thought at these parts.

The direction is one of the best parts and the worst parts of the film. Paul Thomas Anderson really pulls you into the 70s with this movie, showing the viewer how it was like to live and work in such a time. It was enjoyable and very fun to watch the party life of that decade unfold, and the way he shoots some of the film also proves to be original and true to the 70s style. At times, though, as same as the script, it is all very inconsistent. Most of the time I'm just not quite sure what type of feel the movie is going for, whether it be dramatic or comedic. Both are very prevalent throughout, but I couldn't get a grasp of what PTA was trying to make you feel. The film was all very well directed, but it all depended on what it was trying to direct: a drama, a comedy, a soap opera or something else. Although it was inconsistent, I still thought it was very good and very well done. PTA also chooses a good score, and the cinematography is fantastic, with plenty of great and memorable single shots. Not many movies can make you want to be in such a time such as the 70s porn industry, but you are there in this film, whether you want to be or not.

In the end, Boogie Nights is a great film, a provocative and good one. It makes you feel for porn actors, and makes you feel pity for them and also happiness. PTA provides a very good story to go along with a vast variety of interesting characters, each unique in their own way. The acting is very good, very believable and very fun to watch, especially from John C. Reilly. Boogie Nights is the best porn film to watch, even though it has a severe lack of porn. PTA directs and writes a good film, with flaws such as underdevelopment of characters and inconsistency, but a film like this that's so original is not to be missed. It is strong and good, especially for a decade with unoriginal, predictable films. Boogie Nights is amazing in a lot of aspects, and proves to be one of the best films of the decade, whether you want to call it a porno or not. 8/10.