Details make difference in ĪBoogieā

By Tracy Rhines
The Metropolitan

Sex, drugs, and disco are the elements that drive the characters in Paul Thomas Andersonās new film, Boogie Nights.

This movie tells the story of a young man named Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) with a dysfunctional family life and a dream to be somebody. These dreams take shape when he is introduced to Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds) and Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), an infamous porn director and his star/girlfriend, who take him under their wing.

Young Eddie starts out as only one of the members of their makeshift pornography family but becomes the star attraction. Stardom is hard to handle for the impressionable Eddie, who has changed his name to Dirk Diggler, and started using drugs. Then the downward spiral begins as Dirk/Eddie begins to lose everything.

Boogie Nights takes on the large task of bringing Los Angeles, circa 1977 to 1984, to life on the screen. The attention to detail paid to the music, clothes, and even the stiff acting in the porno movie scenes, show the director really put his heart into the movie.

Paul Thomas Anderson wrote and directed Boogie Nights, his sophomore feature, and delivers a film with an incredible ensemble cast, including Heather Graham, Nicole Ari Parker, John C. Reilly, the late Robert Ridgley, and Academy Award nominee William H. Macy.
 

The performances were great along with the music and storyline, but Boogie Nights boogied just a bit too long at 2 hours and 30 minutes, especially near the end. If you decide to see this movie, go with an open mind and remember, it is not intended for children.