Boogie Nights
| Boogie Nights | |
|---|---|
| File:Movie VHS boogie nights VHS case | |
| Directed by | Paul Thomas Anderson |
| Written by | Paul Thomas Anderson |
| Produced by | Paul Thomas Anderson, Lawrence Gordon |
| Starring | Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Nicole Ari Parker, William H. Macy, Heather Graham, Ricky Jay, John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Melora Walters |
| Distributed by | New Line Cinema |
Running time | 156 min. |
| Budget | $15,000,000 (estimated) |
Boogie Nights is a 1997 film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The film's ensemble cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Nicole Ari Parker, William H. Macy, Heather Graham, Ricky Jay, John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Melora Walters. It follows a young porn star as he enters the pornographic film industry in the late 1970s and deals with the highs and lows of success.
Plot
Template:Spoilers The film depicts the pornographic film industry of the late 1970s and early 1980s as seen through the life of a young porn star, Dirk Diggler, played by Mark Wahlberg. It shows how he first enters the business, his rise to stardom, and his eventual downfall, partly due to cocaine-induced paranoia and having become an arrogant "star". It ends with his reconciliation with svengali Jack.
Eddie/Dirk's rise and fall serves as a way to explore a number of characters and the fashions and foibles of the late 1970's. All the characters experience a variety of highs and lows as the plot intertwines the stories of Jack, Amber, Buck, Rollergirl and Dirk.
Jack discovers a young Eddie Adams working in a nightclub and shortly after recruits him into the industry. Eddie adopts the moniker Dirk Diggler and quickly becomes a porn celebrity, winning several adult film awards and spending his earnings on clothes, shoes, a new apartment and his most prized possession, a red Corvette.
In a lengthy sequence, the film moves from one character to another showing the audience their attempts and failures to make lives for themselves after they have left Jack's adult film family. Jack himself has become a novelty after his main source of funding, the Colonel James, is imprisoned for pederasty. Jack is bored with the industry when it moves to an all-videotape format and the films can be produced without the effort of script, character development, or direction. Jack tries a new angle to revitalize his career, employing Rollergirl to ride around with him in a limosuine enticing random strangers to have sex with her on film. The ploy goes very badly when the man they choose at random knows Rollergirl from high school and insults her. She and Jack beat him severely and leave him bleeding on the street.
Amber finds herself in a nasty custody battle with her former husband over their child. The court determines that she is unfit to be a mother.
Buck Swope marries another porn star, Jessie St. James, and the two become pregnant. After being denied a loan to open a stereo store, Buck stops at a donut shop and is caught up in a robbery. The clerk, thief and a customer all wind up dead and Buck escapes with the money the thief would have otherwise stolen.
Dirk becomes addicted to cocaine and has a violent falling out with Jack during a shoot. He and Reed leave to pursue their dream of forming an early-80s rock band. However, due their mutual addiction to cocaine, they are unable to pay for their studio recording time. Dirk tries to prostitute himself but is assaulted by a gang of thugs.
Their mutual friend, Todd (Thomas Jane), takes them along on a cocaine deal. The incident turns out to be a scam and Todd, who is quite wired, is killed when he tries to rob his connection. Dirk and Reed barely escape the man's house alive.
The film is said to be very loosely based on the life of porn star John Holmes, even though the character of Dirk Diggler mentions Holmes and his porn alter ego Johnny Wad during a scene in the film.
Burt Reynolds was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a porn film director. Julianne Moore also received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as maternal porn star, Amber Waves.
Trivia
The title is taken from a disco song of the same name performed by Heatwave released in 1977.
The night club was filmed at The Country Club located in Reseda, California. When the character of Buck Swope talks about "the TK-421 special modification" while trying to sell a stereo, it is a reference to the name of the Imperial Stormtrooper with the bad transmitter in Star Wars.
Leonardo DiCaprio was Anderson's first choice to play Dirk Diggler but DiCaprio chose instead to star in James Cameron's Titanic. DiCaprio stated in 2004 that he wishes he'd chosen "Boogie Nights" instead. Samuel L. Jackson was Anderson's first choice to play the role of Buck Swope, but according to Anderson, Jackson said he "didn't get it." Don Cheadle was cast instead.
A deleted scene not found on either versions of the DVD includes a scene in which Dirk Diggler's nemesis, Johnny Doe, is high and drunk and while speeding down a street, runs into Dirk's parents' car, killing all three.
Characters
Eddie Adams/Dirk Diggler - A handsome but dimwitted high school dropout with a 13-inch long penis who is recruited into the porn industry by director Jack Horner. He changes his name to Dirk Diggler and becomes an instant success in the porn world. In the 1980s he gets hooked on cocaine and after a dispute with Jack leaves his studio. Dirk is the central character in the story and the one who has the greatest effect on all the other characters.
Jack Horner - A successful director of pornographic films. He meets Eddie Adams in a nightclub in Reseda, California, and convinces him to consider a career in adult cinema. He's a wise and kindly figure who knows a lot about his craft.
Amber Waves - Female actress in Jack Horner's stable of pornstars. She's a cocaine addict and also has serious emotional issues - these are the main reasons she's lost the custody of her son to her ex-husband. Amber's son is never seen in the movie and the closest he comes to her is an unsuccessful attempt to call her. She falls in love with Dirk soon after meeting him and essentially takes him on as a new son. Her care is not always beneficial, however, as she is responsible for Dirk's eventual addiction to cocaine.
Rollergirl - A very attractive high school dropout who never takes off her roller skates. Rollergirl, like Dirk, is not particularly intelligent but has found her place as a frequent costar in Jack's movies. She also becomes addicted to cocaine later in the film, and is 'adopted' by Amber as a daughter after Dirk leaves Jack's studio to pursue other interests.
Reed Rothchild - A veteran of the industry, Reed becomes Dirk's best friend in the industry. Reed is an egocentric who, like many others in the film, is not very bright. He and Dirk create and star in their own porno series in the late 70s, get hooked on cocaine at the same time, and leave Jack's studio at the same time.
Buck Swope - A black stereo salesman and pornstar. Buck spends most of the movie trying to find a fashion style that suits him, and ends up showcasing some of the wilder forms of dress of the 1970s and 1980s. He marries Jesse St. Vincent and she soon becomes pregnant. During the 80s, Buck tries to open his own stereo store, but his loan application is turned down by the bank because of his ties to pornography.
Scotty J. - A shy, fat, nerdy member of Jack's filming crew. Scotty J. works menial positions behind the camera, mostly as boom operator. He's gay and falls in love with Dirk the first time he sees him. Scotty idolizes and emulates Dirk and at one point during a drunken stupor, even tries to kiss him, but gets rejected.
Kurt Longjohn - Jack's sarcastic yet knowledgeable cameraman.
Little Bill - Jack's meek assistant director. Little Bill has no real self-esteem due to his shy nature and his cruel wife, who spends most of her time sleeping with other men. On New Year's Eve 1979, Little Bill shoots his wife and one of her boyfriends, and then kills himself.
Jesse St. Vincent - A female pornstar who joins Jack's crew after Dirk becomes famous. She attempts to start a relationship with Dirk but is unable to because of Amber's controlling influence. She instead sets her sights on Buck.
Becky Barnett - A black pornstar. She costars with Dirk in several movies, then quits the industry when she gets married.
The Colonel - The producer for all of Jack's movies. He's an old, fat, rich man, often seen in the company of young women. Halfway through the film, The Colonel is arrested on drug-related charges and for the possession of child pornography, effectively cutting off the flow of money for Jack's films.
Floyd Gondolli - Another producer. Prior to The Colonel's arrest he tries to convince Jack to start shooting his movies on videotape, but Jack refuses. After the arrest, Jack has nobody to go to for funding except Floyd, and Floyd will only fund video projects. As a result, Jack starts shooting his movies with video.
Todd Parker - A friend of Reed's. He's a stripper at a nightclub, but he also supplies cocaine for Reed and Dirk.
Rahad Jackson - An eccentric drug dealer who spends most of his time listening to mix tapes and smoking crack cocaine. He lives in an affluent part of town and will buy drugs from anyone. Todd, Reed, and Dirk try to sell him fake cocaine with disastrous results.