The premise of this movie sounded, frankly dreadful. A movie about adult film stars in the 70s and 80s? It sounded less like a real movie and more like a Porky's style festival of breasts for teenagers (I have never seen Porky's so forgive me if I'm poorly characterizing it). But I had heard good reviews from several people I respect, it was on Netflix, and I had watched enough TV shows lately and was down for a good investment of 2 hours for a movie rather than 8 hours for a season of TV, so I watched it.
My general sense of the movie is that it is far better than the B movie for teenage boys I expected, but not quite the brilliant film that its proponents suggest. There is a lot to like about this movie, and perhaps the most impressive is the degree to which direct Paul Thomas Anderson and the cast are able to turn a peril filled story into a genuinely engaging character study with remarkable humanity. At any step along the way in terms of casting, performances, or directorial choices, this movie could have easily slid into the B movie category, but the dedication of cast, writing, and director keep this movie on the rail and remarkably entertaining.
Julianne Moore turns in an excellent performance as Amber Waves, an adult film starlet dealing with the ramifications of her career and the ghosts of her previous life. Her story arc is captivating and heartbreaking at the same time, and you find yourself ultimately rooting for her despite some of her questionable life choices. Burt Reynolds has a superb performance as the primary director/filmmaker of the fictional films produced in the story, and is genuinely hilarious and likeable in the role. While these previous two received many of the accolades for their performances (and rightly so) I think that the best performance comes from Phillip Seymour Hoffman in a supporting role, as he has one of the most tragic and memorable stories in the film, all while having precious little screentime or lines.
The directing was excellent, culminating in an intensely climatic (not in the adult film's sense of the word) scene which I won't spoil here, but will simply say that it involves firecrackers. It's one of those scenes during which you are positively horrified, yet can't turn away from the screen, much like the ending of Silence of the Lambs or The Shining.
I'll be candid and say that I know nothing about what it was like to be an adult film star in the 1970s and 80s, and have no idea whether or not the film presents an accurate picture of that life. Yet the film making, writing, and performances are so genuinely skilled that these characters clearly come to life in a world that seems completely real and believable, even with no exposure to what that world was like.
My primary complaint about the movie lies in its basic structure, in that it is the basic story arc of thousands of other movies, with a naturally gifted protagonist who gets too full of himself, suffers due to his hubris, is humbled, and finds reconciliation with those he's hurt along the way. While the basic structure makes sense, much more time in the film is spent in the suffering and giftedness portions of the story, and not enough time is given in the time between to develop the protagonist's believable turn. The middle of the movie, thus, feels a bit disjointed from the joyful beginning due to the relative lack of a progressive slide that you can follow on screen.
All in all, I thought Boogie Nights was a very good film that needed a bit more development in the middle act. I'll definitely give Paul Thomas Anderson's movies some more chances, as I've really enjoyed Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood. I'll give Boogie Nights a 8.8/10.
-TRO
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