my favorite movie of 1997:

Boogie Nights

(Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Heather Graham, Don Cheadle, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Baker Hall. Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.)

If you haven’t seen Boogie Nights and you just read the plot summary, it might not sound interesting enough to be worth spending almost two and a half hours watching. Some people will also be put off by the idea of a movie about making pornographic movies. But this ensemble dramedy isn’t particularly erotic, has very little nudity, and certainly isn’t boring. Paul Thomas Anderson’s breakthrough movie has a vibrant, electric quality that makes it feel more exciting than real life, while being intimate enough to allow you to feel like you’re really there, following the characters over the years.

Ebert said:

The sweep and variety of the characters have brought the movie comparisons to Robert Altman’s “Nashville” and “The Player.” [my favorite of 1992] There is also some of the same appeal as “Pulp Fiction,” [one of my favorites of 1994] in scenes that balance precariously between comedy and violence. … Through all the characters and all the action, Anderson’s screenplay centers on the human qualities of the players. They may live in a disreputable world, but they have the same ambitions and in a weird way similar values as mainstream Hollywood. …

In examining the business of catering to lust, “Boogie Nights” demystifies its sex. … Mainstream movies use sex like porno films do, to turn us on. “Boogie Nights” abandons the illusion that characters are enjoying sex; in a sense, it’s about manufacturing a consumer product.

What can you expect when you’re on top, you know? It’s like Napoleon, when he was the king … people were just constantly trying to conquer him, you know, in the Roman Empire. So it’s history repeating itself all over again.

Stream Boogie Nights on these sites.

Click here for the full list of my favorite movie(s) of each year from 1920 to 2020.