The Movie: Boogie Nights (1997)
What Is It?: Like
yesterday’s Spider Baby, Boogie Nights is another rather
unconventional story of family love. These folks aren’t actually related, which
makes their porno business less grotty. As much as I appreciate stuff like There Will Be Blood and The Master, Paul Thomas Anderson is at
his grooviest when he’s at his most playful, and despite all the scenes of
murder, suicide, drug abuse, and Julianne Moore weeping, Boogie Nights is one of his most playful pictures. Marky Mark’s
prosthetic penis is Hollywood’s greatest star.
Why Today?: Today
is Name Yourself Day, but keep in
mind that Dirk Diggler, Rollergirl, and Chest Rockwell have already been taken.
