XFANZ continues its look back at the classic adult industry epic Boogie Nights. Bob Preston continues the discussion.
Roger Ebert called Paul Thomas Anderson a showoff for his constant cinematic allusions, including the famous opening shot in Luis Guzman's club, Mark Wahlberg's De Niro-esque mirror monologues, and one shot that Anderson ripped off from an old Soviet film called I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba).
Keeping in mind that I'm talking out of my ass here -- I had never even heard of Soy Cuba until today -- I dove into the depths of the Internet to find a clip from this 1964 movie. I couldn't find the exact shot Ebert mentioned, but I did find this excellent tracking shot that reminds me of another classic scene from Boogie Nights.
After you watch the sequence from Soy Cuba, scroll down and check out a three-minute tracking shot where we see a typical all-day party and porn shoot at Jack Horner's house. More great details fill this scene -- note Guzman's touching wish to be remembered as a lothario among his family -- but let's focus on Reed Rothchild's (John C. Relly) man-crush on Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg).
Earlier at the party, Rothchild quizzed Diggler on his bests at the gym, taking care to save his answers for last so he could score points against the industry newcomer. In response, Diggler insists they shout out their personal bests at the same time. You can see an echo of that childish behavior in this clip when Rothchild tries to out-do Diggler on the diving board but winds up doing a painful backflop.
This childish relationship reflects the childishness of virtually all of the adult performers. Throughout the movie, the porn stars speak in childish cadence, especially Diggler, and it's only when the movie takes a grim turn (fittingly on New Year's Eve for the beginning of the 80s) do any of the stars try to speak like adults, but even then it's only through bursts of violence (Rollergirl thrashing an abusive scene partner) or drug-addled hazes (we'll get to the famous drug-deal-gone-bad scene later).
In the meantime, I invite you to watch the first half of Boogie Nights and pay attention to how Mark Wahlberg plays his character like an eager-to-please 10-year-old. In his first sex scene, he politely asks where he should dump his load, and when he gives his friends a tour of his house, he peppers his speech with dorky details about his clothes and entertainment equipment like a kid gloating over a mountain of Christmas presents.
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