Boogie Nights Movie Review
Much of Boogie Nights makes the pornographic film industry look as wholesome as a Sunday school picnic. Burt Reynolds and his brood of sex stars are like family, only their home movies make money. Long but absorbing throughout its 155-minute running time, the plot follows sex stars Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, Heather Graham et al from the ‘70s into the ‘80s. If the entire movie were just one big set-up for the punchline (when Wahlberg unzips to reveal a rubber snake the length of ANACONDA), it'd be relegated to the cult movie bin. Instead, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson develops each and every member of his large cast in interesting and surprising ways. Unlike the filmmakers of Showgirls, Anderson doesn't judge anyone for his or her choice of profession. Reynolds won an Oscar nomination and revitalized his career as an idealized producer who exists only in fantasy land.
1997 (R) 155m/C Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, William H. Macy, Heather Graham, John C. Reilly, Luis Guzman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Alfred Molina, Philip Baker Hall, Robert Ridgely, Joanna Gleason, Thomas Jane, Ricky Jay, Nicole Parker, Melora Walters, Michael Jace, Jack Wallace, John Doe; Cameos: Robert Downey, Michael Penn; D: Paul Thomas Anderson; W: Paul Thomas Anderson; C: Robert Elswit; M: Michael Penn. Golden Globe Awards ‘98: Best Supporting Actor (Reynolds); Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards ‘97: Best Supporting Actor (Reynolds), Best Supporting Actress (Moore); MTV Movie Awards ‘98: Breakthrough Performance (Graham); New York Film Critics Awards ‘97: Best Supporting Actor (Reynolds); National Society of Film Critics Awards ‘97: Best Supporting Actor (Reynolds), Best Supporting Actress (Moore); Nominations: Academy Awards ‘97: Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Reynolds), Best Supporting Actress (Moore); British Academy Awards ‘97: Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Reynolds); Golden Globe Awards ‘98: Best Supporting Actor (Reynolds), Best Supporting Actress (Moore); MTV Movie Awards ‘98: Best Dance Sequence (Mark Wahlberg/cast); Screen Actors Guild Award ‘97: Best Supporting Actor (Reynolds), Best Supporting Actress (Moore), Cast; Writers Guild of America ‘97: Best Original Screenplay. VHS, LV, Closed Caption, DVD