Boogie Nights

After the disappointment that was The Master, I decided to take a look at Paul Thomas Anderson's first major success, Boogie Nights, which I hadn't seen since it was first released in 1997. After viewing it again, I still find it my favorite of his films, perhaps because it is about a subject that I'm fascinated by--adult films.

A bildungsroman about a teenage boy who believes that everyone has "one special thing" they're good at, the film takes us into the world of adult films during the era in which video was introduced. Mark Wahlberg is Eddie Adams, a busboy at a nightclub in the San Fernando Valley frequented by the x-rated industry. Director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) discovers Eddie, even before knowing that the kid has a giant cock. Eddie gets into the movies, and after changing his name to Dirk Diggler, becomes a big star.

The first half of the movie is all rainbows and lollipops for this crowd. Also featured are Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), a star and Reynolds' partner; Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), who becomes Wahlberg's best friend; Buck Swope (Don Cheadle), a black guy who's partial to cowboy culture; Rollergirl (Heather Graham), a high school dropout who never takes off her skates; and some of the crew, like William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Ricky Jay.

This crowd lives in an insular world, and are guileless and naive as children. There is no soul-searching about their business. They have pool parties and snort coke and fuck like rabbits. They take their work seriously--there's a great moment when Jay, the camera man, turns to Reynolds and says, "this is a real film." I remember reading, after the film came out, that veteran porn actor and director Paul Thomas saw the film and said, "Were we really like that?" I imagine they were.

The second half of the film, naturally, takes these characters to the dark side. It all hinges on the last night of the '70s, when video and the '80s are presented as the evil force that invades their lives. Reynolds maintains he will never shoot on video, but he does, and things take a bad turn. In reality, this did change the porn business--films with stories were on their way out, back to the old days when it was just a collection of scenes (this acquired the name "gonzo" in the parlance). In the porn biz, life expectancy is not long, and as these characters age and try to break free of their world closing in on them, they face hardship. Moore loses a custody battle for her child. Cheadle can't get a loan to start a stereo business. Reynolds tries gonzo films with Graham, and they have a humiliating experience. Wahlberg and Reilly try making it in the music business, with disastrous results.

The film climaxes with a metaphoric trip to hell for Reilly and Wahlberg when they agree to try to rip off a rich guy (Alfred Molina) in a terrifying scene. Anderson uses the simple tactic of another character lighting firecrackers, keeping our heroes and ourselves off balance every time one goes off. It is here that Anderson's use of period music seems so brilliant, using two cheesy hits--Night Ranger's "Sister Christian" and Rick Springfield's "Jessie's Girl" to offset the diabolic atmosphere.

Anderson's direction is nervy but successful. He makes great use of long tracking shots, and tips his derby to Martin Scorcese in the opening, which is the entrance to the club that gives the film its title, a nod to the Copacabana scene in Goodfellas. The ending is either an homage or a rip-off, depending on your point of view, of the last scene in Raging Bull. But as I watched this film again I marveled at how dynamic the camera work was--the cinematographer is by Robert Elswit, who colors the first half of the film with hues of the disco world, while the second half gets muddier and muddier. The production design, by Bob Ziembecki, and costumes by Mark Bridges contribute to the authentic world that Anderson has created.

I initially became aware of adult films at about this time, when you had to go to theaters to see them. The big stars were John Holmes, Constance Money, Marilyn Chambers, Georgina Spelvin, and Kay Parker. They were a different breed--not as attractive as today's performers, but embodied by a certain integrity of spirit that is lacking in much of today's porn. They really did think they were making real films, and thought of themselves as actors and directors. Whether Boogie Nights accurately captures that world or not, Anderson made a great achievement by tapping into that ethos and expressing it on film.