Often in the world of movies, a film is singled out by the press as the "next big" thing, and a collective daze fogs the minds of many critics who jump on the bandwagon and proclaim the movie as the year's best, and that other talented film makers will be green with envy after seeing it. Sometimes that's true. Sometimes it's not. This year, that film is "Boogie Nights." While it is a very well-made feature, this is still one step below the Scorsese ("Goodfellas") and Tarantino ("Pulp Fiction") films it's trying to emulate. It does lean more toward the Scorsese side, with long tracking shots, a heavy 1970's soundtrack, and occasional, but often brutal violence. And of course, lots of drug use. What it's missing, however, and what keeps it from being is as good as "Pulp Fiction" is the sharp, witty dialogue. This film looks good and has a vibrant feel to it, but we won't remember these characters for what they say. They'll be remembered for what they do, and that's make porno films. Others will say how this movie is an examination of that adult film industry, which is not entirely true. It's more about the people involved in that industry -- and while it does show some "behind the scenes" views, it's about the life and times of those in front of, and behind the camera.
The performances are good across the board, with actor Mark Wahlberg (a.k.a. Marky Mark, the former white-bread rap artist and Calvin Kline underwear model), creating a moderately sympathetic character who is one of few that the audience will feel for. Of course with fame, money and drugs his life changes and he becomes a different person, dropping him onto the same desperate playing field of those who've come before him. While all of the characters are interesting to watch, you'll never be drawn to them -- it's more like being voyeurs at an accident scene where we see the collision coming from a long way off. You don't really care what happens to these people. While Eddie/Dirk is written as an underachiever, he's not initially some innocent kid and thus his fame and then destructive slide into obscurity aren't that upsetting. Burt Reynolds is good as the usually calm, in control director and the role seems to fit him better than his wisecracking, gum chewing characters of yesteryear. One has to wonder, though, if he saw this project as a career resuscitator after watching Travolta's return to fame with "Pulp Fiction."
The details to the era's artifacts are excellent, from the wide collared clothing, to posters featuring popular pinups such as Farrah and Cheryl, to the music that everyone loved then, hated later, and now likes again. The soundtrack, while quite impressive and always entertaining, could easily be a commercial for a Time/Life "Music of the 1970's and early 80's" collection. For the first half of the film, the songs are constant. Much like a chain smoker, as soon as one song is finished the next one starts up. While it does establish the era of the movie, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson ("Hard Eight") occasionally uses it too much to generate the movie's mood. Of course that's been done in films since sound was first added in the 1920's, but here it's repetitive use feels a little too manipulative, as if Anderson's taking the easy way out. He obviously has a gift for shooting scenes -- his long, no-cut tracking shots are among the best visuals in a long time -- and I personally don't think he needed to rely on the music as much as he did.
The second half jettisons much of the music and a great deal of the stunning camera work as the characters' decline begins, perhaps to contrast with earlier scenes where their times were good. Whatever the case, the movie gets slightly disjointed in that second half, as time flashes by in spurts and the story's strong storyline gets fragmented. Scenes pop up out of nowhere and while impressive on their own, don't seem to fit in as part of the overall movie. Still, some of those of scenes and the earlier parts of the film are quite impressive. One can tell that Anderson studied Scorsese's film long and hard, and the result is one of the more visually entertaining films of the year. While a glance through the categories depicts a rather grim feature, there are several light, and often funny moments to break up the other material, including some hilarious clips from the "serious" adult action films these people tried to make. Additionally, a scene where off-key Dirk tries to start a music career is painfully funny, especially considering that Wahlberg had a music career before turning to film.
Despite the story's familiar plot of a young, naive boy turned wealthy star who then has his fall, it's done in an intriguing enough fashion to hold one's interest even though the film's length (around two and half hours) is, and begins to feel, a bit long. Whether audiences flock to this film, though, is questionable. In Scorsese's films, people watch because they are fascinated by organized crime -- a common theme in several of his movies. While people are also interested in sex (the adult film industry generates billions of dollars of revenue annually), it's not sure whether they're equally interested in knowing about the people who make such films. Obviously the critical claim this movie is receiving will draw some people, but the subject matter will repel just as many. Audiences should remember, though, that the film is more about the people than the industry they work in.
If you don't mind that subject matter, or the violence, drugs, profanity, etc... you might just find this film to be an interesting diversion from normal Hollywood fare. Though it's not a happy film by any means, it's the kind of picture that grows on you the more you retrospectively think about it. Certainly not for all audience members, "Boogie Nights" is a harsh, often brutal look at a seedy profession in the 1970's. Often visually stunning, it is one of the better films -- but not the best -- of the year, and thus we give it an 8 out of 10.