‘Boogie Nights’ digs into adult video genre
By Gerry Beltz
Film Critic
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Wild. Incredible. Laughable.
Depressing. j
It’s difficult to find just one word (let
alone four or five) to describe “Boogie
Nights.”
Director-producer Paul Thomas
Anderson follows up his critically
acclaimed (and yet to play in Lincoln)
“Hard Eight” with this hard look at the
adult film industry in the 1970s and early
1980s.
Mark Wahlberg (“Fear”) plays Eddie
Adams, a young kid discovered by adult
film director Jack Homer (Burt Reynolds).
Horner sees a bankable innocence in
Eddie, and it turns out Eddie has a jumbo,
economy-sized “asset” of his own that
would only make his chances of success
bigger. He also can get it up, in, on and off
with the timing and precision of a Swiss
watch.
Eddie is drawn into the world of adult
films, populated by such characters as the
maternal Amber Waves (Julianne Moore),
fast-talking Buck Swope (Don Cheadle)
and fellow soft-spoken performer Reed
Rothchild (John C. Reilly). Eddie also;
changes his name to the more alliterative
--- ' _ - - "V*
Together, they’re not just a bunch of
film people. They’re a family.
Up to this point of “Boogie Nights,” the
laughs and giggles are aplenty: The adult
film dialogue that would make even Steven
Seagal look like a master thespian, the
fashions of the ’70s and reactions to Dirk’s
“purple-headed warrior” bring plenty of
giggles and snickers from the audience.
Then the giggles stop.
A harsh reality waits to slap this family
in the face, and it comes from all direc
tions. The switch from film to video is a
vicious blow to Homer, who has always
wanted to make a serious adult film;
Amber is trying to get visitation rights back
to see her son; and Dirk is quickly sliding
downhill from an overdose of fame and
cocaine.
The performances in this film are
above average straight across the board.
Unfortunately, too little time is spent on the
characters of Little Bill (Oscar winner
William H. Macy) and Buck Swope, who
have rather important tales to tell. The
entire character of Little Bill is wasted, and
Buck Swope needed much more develop
ment in the beginning of the film.
Cheadle adds an interesting charisma to
;.** v>. • - . • %'''■■
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The Facts
TWe: "Boogie Nights”
Start: Mark Wahberg, Burt Reynolds, John
C. Reilly, JuNanne Moore, Don Cheadle
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Rating: R (you name it: violence, nudity,
adult situations, subject matter, drug use,
the 70s, ecL)
Grade: B+
Five Words: Ins, outs of adult films
his performances (previously seen in
“Volcano” and “Rosewood”), but isn’t
given a chance to shine in this film.
^ Cinematically, this film is downright
fantastic. The camerawork and cinematog
raphy is hypnotic and is worth the price of
admission alone.
Now, boys apd girls, “Boogie Nights”
has not -1 repeat, NOT - been given an “R”
rating just for good looks. This movie is
very in-your-face with the adult film indus
try, leaving very little to the imagination,
even a girth-y gaze at Dirk Diggler’s
lengthy loins. To make a long story short,
LEAVE THE KIDS AT HOME!
“Boogie Nights.” An incredible film,
yes. A film to show Aunt Rose and her
bridge club, no.
K /
Porno flicks to slip into VCR
By W.T. McCoy
Film Critic
In the spirit of “Boogie Nights,” I’m
providing readers a “blow-by-blow” run-,
down of the top 10 adult films of all time
and their corresponding stars. It is only
fair play, by cause of turnabout, that I am
able to provide University of Nebraska
Lincoln’s singles and couples such a com
plete list of trash and smut to be enjoyed
through the long, cold winter months to
come.
The following films are judged by four
categories: importance in a historical con
text, number of positions performed* com
ical elements and, of course, sales.
■ “Behind the Green Door” (1977) -
Marilyn Chambers. One of the Mitchell
Brothers’ creations, “Behind the Green
Door” is not so much pgrtt as it is perfor
mance art with close-ups. Jhis intricate
look into the kinky and iitualistic has a
very playful, yet distinguished tone. The
film was created from the live sex-act
shows the brothers’ produced throughout
the late 1960s in lower Manhattan. “Green
Door” hits high on all the marks.*****
■ “Deep Throat” (1971) - Harry
Reams, Linda Lovelace. “Deep Throat” is
■the “mama jama” of porn movies, as it was
one of the first cult stag-films emerging
from the late ’60s/early 1970s to become
an independent commercial success.
The story is an age-old one - the bitter
tale of a woman born with her clitoris in
her throat. She must perform deep, pene
trating fellatio to achieve orgasm. The
comical parody songs and the cheesy dia
logue add to the overall feel of the film.
Also, “Deep Throat” uses seven positions
to give it a perfect five stars.*****
■“Hit the Road” (1923) - Many seem
to think the adult film industry is a very
young genre, the truth is people have been
shooting pictures of other people involved
in coitus for almost as long as there have
been film projectors. “Hit the Road” is one
of the few surviving films from the gentle
men’s clubs and speakeasys of the 1920s.
“Road” is the tale of a bawdy motorist
who stops.to pick up a couple of flappers
making their way home. Of course, they
stop for a little rustle in the weeds with the
help of good-old hooch liquor. High in all
marks, especially historical significance,
“Road” is an easy five stars.*****
■“Conquest” (1996) - Jenna Jameson,
Steve St. Croix. Conquest is the first adult
film to break the $1 million mark in pro
duction costs. With background music of
Gregorian chant slathered over a hip-hop
beat; a real pirate ship; Jaiqeson, porn’s
premier crossover star (als6 in Howard
Stern’s “Private Parts”); sword fights; and
really bad acting that is comical just in its
effort, “Conquest” deserves four
stars.**** :¥- '
■“The Devil in Miss Jones” (-1982) -
Georgina Spelvin, Judith Hamilton. Miss
Jones has been a bad, bad girl. Not in a
criminal sort of way, but in a tawdry, sinful
sort of way. “The Devil in Miss Jones” is
just plain naughty: low on the comedy end,
but high in everything else.****-^ .,4 ;
■“Taboo” (1982) - Traci Lords. There
are two “Taboos”: The version you are
allowed to buy in stores now and the ver
sion you should have purchased in 1982.
The difference, of course, is the latter fea
tures a 16-year-old Traci Lords.
The first film to make directors
check the birth certificates of their
starlets a little harder, it also result
ed in a Supreme Court ruling
said all directors must keep co
plete identification of their
on file at all times for FBI refer
ence, . . .
One of the more centrevci siiul
adult films with regard to ethics,
“Taboo” also ended the careers
of a few of the industry’s major
talents. The uncut version
gets four stars.****
■ “Chameleon”
(1991) - P.J.
Sparxx, Ashlyn
Gere. This flick
is one of the first
adult films aimed
at couples - and women. The film tries to
cast handsome men with equally attractive
mmen. The plot has all the mushy, bad
pqra dialogue and Harlequin
romance speech to appeal to a more femi
yet naughty crowd. While low on the
edy scale, this one’s innovative
theless.*** ^
■ “Debbie Does Dallas” (1979) -
Bambi Woods, Rikki O’Neal. One of
porn’s more easily referenced titles,
“DDD” was a progenitor in using the
group-sex theme in a commercially driven
plot. Although one of the most famous far
cical titles in history, “DDD” must come
eighth because it is seriously lacking in
both the cdmical and the gymnastic.***
■“I Am Curious Yellow” (1969) - A
serious dramatic piece that takes a look at
perversity in relationships. Noted for its
graphic rape scene, it is also a crossover
study
in many underground film classes. By his
toric significance alone, “Yellow” earns a
place on this list.***
■“Sex Asylum” (1984)- Harry Reams,
Ginger Lynn. Nineteen-eighty-four was
such a good year: The world didn’t end;
Van Halen was riding high; MTV went
from amateurish home-movie quality
videos to artistic montages within the
blink of a couple Eurythmics tunes; and
we came really close to ending
Reaganomics. Despite these triumphs, the
1980s generally were a bad decade for the
adult film industry. “Sex Asylum” is one
of few jewels to come out of the era’s
fog.***
What I have given you is a literal list of
infamy to be mocked and sneered at, but
please feel free to rip it out and explore
when your friends aren’t around.
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