• Starring: Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, Mark Wahlberg
  • Summary: A multifaceted look at the porn industry in Los Angeles in the 70's and 80's, focusing on the journey of a young man (Wahlberg) from restaurant dishwasher to porn star and beyond.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 28
  2. Negative: 0 out of 28
  1. 100
    Has the quality of many great films, in that it always seems alive.
  2. A hard-core movie with a soft, light-hearted center and an edge like a knife.
  3. Reviewed by: Sarah Kerr
    60
    These late scenes are over the top, as mean and reductive as editorials in a tabloid, and they nearly extinguish the moral subtlety of what's gone before.

See all 28 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 18
  2. Negative: 3 out of 18
  1. OLuc
    10
    Sometimes, I come back to this movie and I think about it, and I wonder, "Why isn't this movie being praised as well as othe movies of it's era, like Fargo, or Titanic?" More and more I wonder why people look more towards Quentin Tarantino then P.T. Anderson when it comes to directing, because this movie is just one of those movies that really is brought togethor by the film's atomesphere and screenplay, which were both done by Anderson. This movie is better than what many grade it to be, so if you like Robert Altman, than see Boogie Nights, the modern-day Nashville! Expand
    • 2 of 2 users said yes
  2. 10
    The moment you start watching "Boogie Nights", written and directed by the artist Paul Thomas Anderson, it is quite visible that the movie isn't just very bold and distinct from all the other films of the 90's but that it represents a matter that hasn't been approached almost at all. It is in the 70's and the 80's that the film is set, around the pornography-film-industry. Filled with astonishing performances (from practically every supporting actor and Mark Wahlberg in the leading role) and a great script, "Boogie Nights" is one of the year's must-see. Expand
    • 1 of 1 users said yes
  3. Set against the backdrop of late 1970’s L.A., Boogie Nights tells the rise and fall of Eddie Adams, played by the young Mark Wahlberg, as he enters the business of adult film. Discovered one night as he is busing tables by film maker Jack Warner, played in a comeback role by Burt Reynolds, Eddie is whisked off and thrown into the world of adult films. The film features a number of supporting players, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Don Cheadle, Julianne Moore, William H. Macy, Heather Graham, John C. Reilly, and Thomas Jane, all have a role in the industry and many have a side story that we get involved in. But it’s Wahlberg, in his first of what I like to call his “coming of age films” with films like Rock Star, Invincible, and the Fighter, and Reynolds who rule the film here. Wahlberg’s character, who changes his name to Dirk Diggler, to better fit the industries tradition of unusual names, shines as the young man caught up in the excitement, but then who sinks so low so fast. And Reynolds does fine as he follows a similar path. He makes great films, but as soon as the VHS is introduced, he is reduced to selling girls almost on the street. Now since this is a film about adult films, you have to expect a fair amount of nudity, even a surprise final scene of male nudity. There’s also drug use and even a few murders. Now I think that’s it is interesting to note how everything turns sour once the film goes into the 1980’s. New Year’s night even, a very dark occurrence happens and you just know that everyone is just gonna turn ugly, and ugly it turns. And since the film tries to parallel the life of real life 1970’s adult film star John Holmes, you can tell that the film may not end so nicely for Diggler, he is even involved in a drug deal gone back much like Holmes. My only problem with the film is that is that it may end to abruptly for some. It’s a good film, but everything is turned around and wrapped up within the last five minutes, but that really is my only complaint. 3.5/5 B+ Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 18 User Reviews

Trailers

Related Articles

  1. Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg: All Films Considered

    Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg: All Films Considered Image
    Published: August 3, 2010
    The co-stars of this week's "The Other Guys" are hoping that the new action-comedy breaks them out of a slump. We look at the best and worst films of their careers to date.