A first film in Paul Thomas Anderson's California Suite (all taking place in California). It shows that the director has studied Scorsese carefully: long tracking shots, period disco music, but the characters seem to come with the laid-back California lifestyle. More than that if conveys the mentality of the era.
What could be more interesting than a film about the porn industry; but it's really about the film industry, with it's star behavior, drugs, bored, behind the camera people going through the motions and its share of misfits hoping for a bit of glamour. Its a comedy until toward the end it isn't, and the butchers bill comes for people who play meat on camera.
The film skillfully evokes an era and a time (starting with the mid-seventies) when making porn was almost a family affair, and those who came to Hollywood seeking their fortunes find that paying the bills leads them to the productions of Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds in his best role) a pornographer. It'd a transitional period in which the standard sex scene are still played, not the hard core stuff that goes nowadays.
One of the best scenes shows Jack Horner's girlfriend, a porn performer, gets it on with a boy she really wants to make love to, and does it on camera right before Horner, who thinks it's a wonderful 'performance'.
Boogie Nights also interweaves the lives of dozens of characters, who try to communicate things they can't articulate, so that even the most obvious double-entendre is taken seriously. They're way over their heads, playing with fire, and don't know it.
Unless your older, you won't remember eight-track tape, HI-FI systems, bell bottoms, disco, Corvettes as status symbols, coke on everyone's coffee tables, or a dozen other period artifacts.
I think the film is great if you've not seen it before. I tried watching it a second time and fount it a bit confining, as almost all the action takes place at Jack Horner's home or a disco named 'Boogie Nights'. The few scenes that don't seem shoehorned in, and don't work.
If the acting seems bad, remember that the film wants the characters to be stupid... like the characters in a porn movie. The length of the film (you won't be bored) promises larger ideas than the film finally delivers, and that is that. No big message, and maybe that's a good thing.
I recommend it highly if you haven't seen it. Just remember this is deeply ironic and humorous film - don't take anything seriously and you'll have a good time.
What could be more interesting than a film about the porn industry; but it's really about the film industry, with it's star behavior, drugs, bored, behind the camera people going through the motions and its share of misfits hoping for a bit of glamour. Its a comedy until toward the end it isn't, and the butchers bill comes for people who play meat on camera.
The film skillfully evokes an era and a time (starting with the mid-seventies) when making porn was almost a family affair, and those who came to Hollywood seeking their fortunes find that paying the bills leads them to the productions of Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds in his best role) a pornographer. It'd a transitional period in which the standard sex scene are still played, not the hard core stuff that goes nowadays.
One of the best scenes shows Jack Horner's girlfriend, a porn performer, gets it on with a boy she really wants to make love to, and does it on camera right before Horner, who thinks it's a wonderful 'performance'.
Boogie Nights also interweaves the lives of dozens of characters, who try to communicate things they can't articulate, so that even the most obvious double-entendre is taken seriously. They're way over their heads, playing with fire, and don't know it.
Unless your older, you won't remember eight-track tape, HI-FI systems, bell bottoms, disco, Corvettes as status symbols, coke on everyone's coffee tables, or a dozen other period artifacts.
I think the film is great if you've not seen it before. I tried watching it a second time and fount it a bit confining, as almost all the action takes place at Jack Horner's home or a disco named 'Boogie Nights'. The few scenes that don't seem shoehorned in, and don't work.
If the acting seems bad, remember that the film wants the characters to be stupid... like the characters in a porn movie. The length of the film (you won't be bored) promises larger ideas than the film finally delivers, and that is that. No big message, and maybe that's a good thing.
I recommend it highly if you haven't seen it. Just remember this is deeply ironic and humorous film - don't take anything seriously and you'll have a good time.