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Author Topic: Boogie Nights (1997)  (Read 242 times)

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Chiprocks1

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Boogie Nights (1997)
« on: June 17, 2013, 12:35:47 am »
Boogie Nights
Two-Disc Special Edition





Trailer



I love movies that have flawed characters, but what makes Boogie Nights a great film is that every character in the movie is seriously flawed or f*cked up one way or another. Flawed characters make great stories because you want to see just how far they go before they either wise up and do something to fix themselves or they just keep going till they drop off a cliff. Whatever happens, you just don't know what turns they are going to make and that was exactly how it felt watching this when it first came out in the theater. I remember kinda feeling weird even being in a theater watching a movie about  p o r n.  I don't think I was the only one that felt that way either, I got the sense that everyone was a little apprehensive.

Okay, getting back on track here, with all these flawed characters, set in the  p o r n  industry in the 70's and 80's, it can at times feel kind of depressing with all of their problems and narrow view of who they think they are. Delusional people in real life is just a very sad thing to see and up on the screen you still get that feeling. But what's remarkable is that their problems in the Boogie Nights-universe is so over the top, that it becomes insanely funny. Come on, who here doesn't bust out laughing listening to Dirk Diggler, er...Brock Landers (Mark Walhberg) in his interview with Amber Waves (Julianne Moore) when he is talking about violence in films? He is taking his role as an "actor" to great extremes which makes him funnier....intentional or not. On the flip side you have Reed (John C. Riley) in the same interview with no clue about what he does that he can quit right now and go and do something else. Sadly, I don't believe him, even if he thinks he is a real magician.

Probably the biggest laugh I get from the movie is of course when Brock and Chest (sh*t man, I don't know when and where the fake names and second fake personae's begin and end), are in the Recording studio layin' down some tracks. Talk about some of the most cheesiest lyrics you will ever hear. So bad....and soooooooooo funny! If you have the Two-Disc Special Edition, be sure to listen to the audio commentary with Paul Thomas Anderson. He actually brings up the whole double identity that Eddie has adopted and why. The commentary is actually one of my favorites from any DVD I own. I've listened to it a few times and it's always fascinating to hear.

Okay. You're probably wondering if I was going to talk about my girl Heather Graham. Well, wonder no more. Yes, she gets naked on camera and yes, she wears roller-skates while she does the deed. A lot has been made about her role here....but for all the wrong reasons. They like to talk about how this was the movie that started her down the path of basically getting naked for anything now. But I actually think that she did a great job as Rollergirl and she doesn't get the credit that she deserves. I can't see any other actress in Hollywood doing a better job of portraying someone that acts like nothing is wrong, pushing her feelings deep downward until she finally just snaps at the end.
A slow burn tragedy just waiting to happen. Once again, listen to the commentary by Paul to get more info about the scene in particular and why.

Great cast all around that also includes Burt Reynolds, Ricky Jay, Don Cheadle, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Thomas Jane, Philip Baker Hall, Luis Guzmán and Alfred Molina just to name a few. Okay, a lot. Definitely a great movie to watch when you want to study how to write characters. Just a great film to see them work in their respective roles. Definitely worth a Rent, if not an out-right Buy. I will say that there is one negative and that's the run time. There's really no reason why this movie should clock in a 2.5 hours long, one that doesn't really give you a big payoff by the time you get to the end. Eddie, er....Dirk.....um. Brock never does have a character arc with a satisfying end. He's still the exact same as he was when the movie started. Actually....he is more delusional by the end. That's him falling off a cliff.

Bonus points for an awesoooooooooooooome soundtrack.
« Last Edit: September 05, 2013, 05:56:00 pm by Chiprocks1 »
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

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Chiprocks1

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Re: Boogie Nights (1997)
« Reply #1 on: June 17, 2013, 12:36:17 am »
Boogie Nights DVD Screencaps

Coming soon.....
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Neumatic

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Re: Boogie Nights (1997)
« Reply #2 on: June 17, 2013, 02:09:41 am »
I had no idea that Ricky Jay was in this... which is making me seriously wonder if he does any dirty magic or something (I will be fair and say I didn't realize he was a magician until seeing his X-Files episode).

I gotta watch this darn thing.  Does it make a good double feature with anything?  Either similar or different?

Chiprocks1

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Re: Boogie Nights (1997)
« Reply #3 on: June 17, 2013, 05:34:05 am »
Does it make a good double feature with anything?  Either similar or different?

Great question.

Event though I've never paired Boogie Nights with anything else, off the top of my head I would definitely go with Wonderland. Both movies are about John Holmes, even though in Boogie Nights, which was inspired by the man, his name was changed to 'Eddie Adams'. This is a very serious and dark subject matter and why I think it would make a great pairing. Val Kilmer is great in this. If you wanted to go light and keep things somewhat upbeat, Zack and Miri Make a  P o r n o  would be a great choice. And of course The Girl Next Door. But that isn't entirely about the industry.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Chiprocks1

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Re: Boogie Nights (1997)
« Reply #4 on: June 17, 2013, 05:42:39 am »
The Dirk Diggler Story - 1988



Of course this little short by Paul Thomas Anderson would go great with Boogie Nights as a Double-Feature. It's what BN is spawned from.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Neumatic

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Re: Boogie Nights (1997)
« Reply #5 on: June 17, 2013, 06:22:16 am »
I saw "Girl Next Door" not too long ago and have no desire to revisit it for quite some time.  I don't normally pair up movies either but I do watch things in succession so I like either a transition (with a similar actor or genre or subject) or a whiplash genre change where it's a complete 180.  Maybe another movie set in the 70s but all I can think of now is Starsky and Hutch, and boy this movie would change my perception of that one (which, I guess, is the point...)

Chiprocks1

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Re: Boogie Nights (1997)
« Reply #6 on: June 17, 2013, 06:29:01 am »
...all I can think of now is Starsky and Hutch...

Noooooooooo. Meh.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Chiprocks1

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Re: Boogie Nights (1997)
« Reply #7 on: June 17, 2013, 06:43:27 am »
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Neumatic

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Re: Boogie Nights (1997)
« Reply #8 on: June 17, 2013, 09:44:30 am »
My Starsky connection is two-fold: the 70s, obviously, and the other obviously is Carmen Electra and Amy Smart, who I can totally picture in the other business.  Which is fine, but I'm now curious to see the "other light" that I would view Stiller, Wilson, Vaughn, and Bateman in. 

Neumatic

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Re: Boogie Nights (1997)
« Reply #9 on: September 05, 2013, 05:49:52 pm »
Gotta know what Chip thinks of this casting:  Jason Reitman's "Boogie Nights" reading cast announced.

Chiprocks1

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Re: Boogie Nights (1997)
« Reply #10 on: September 05, 2013, 05:56:33 pm »
That link is broken. Doesn't load.
Chip's Rockin' Art
Michael Scott To Meredith: "You've slept with so many men, your starting to look like one. BOOM! Roasted! Go here.

Neumatic

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Re: Boogie Nights (1997)
« Reply #11 on: September 05, 2013, 08:47:02 pm »
Works for me.  Site must have been down for a while or something.

 

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