A Great Expose of the Porn Industry With A Great Ensemble Cast
In 2011, this 1997 movie is great because its cast includes many actors who have gone on to bigger careers. The story itself is sad, but I believe that it is accurate about the beginnings of the porn inudustry in the 1970s and 1980s. The movie depicts mainly uneducated actors who were willing to make some money for producers, who made the big dollars out of it. And because they had a little money, most of them blew it on fancy cars, drugs, and clothes.
Mark Wahlberg in a great beginning role for him plays Eddie Adams, who becomes Dirk Diggler. He is discovered as a bus boy in a night club. And he gets discovered because of his large endowment. The story mainly concentrates on him as he goes from an unhappy home to an award winning porn star back to nothing and then to a new beginning. I'll leave it to the viewer to discover why this happens, as this is the real plot of the movie.
Burt Reynolds plays Jack Horner, the director and father of the group. He owns the house where they all live and makes the decisions about how the movies will be made. But in the end, he gets desperate and is even willing to produce a 1980s version of reality TV.
Julianne Moore plays Amber Waves, who becomes the girlfriend of Jack Horner and is the reigning female porn star. She is also a mother who has left her husband and child to live this life. She regrets it at times, but it doesn't stop her from becoming involved with Dirk.
Heather Graham plays Rollergirl, an up and coming female porn star, who never takes off her roller skates. This was a breakthrough role for her, and many see her as the star of this movie.
Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Scotty J, a wannabe porn star, who ends up working on the production crew and becomes infatuated with Dirk.
John C. Reilly (later in the movie Chicago) plays Reed Rothchild, another male porn star, who becomes Dirk's loyal friend and suffers along with him when Dirk has a downfall.
William H. Macy plays a producer of the porn movies and has a terrifically sad home life.
Don Cheadle plays Buck Swope, who handles the music for the porn movies, but all that he really wants to do is open a music store all his own.
This movie is replete with music from the disco era: You Got the Best of My Love, Boogie Shoes, Mama Told Me Not to Come, and more. You can enjoy the music on the Special Features DVD that comes with this lavish DVD set of 2 discs.
I was not impressed very much with the special features DVD, which shows some deleted scenes, the cast and crew, and the music listed above.
This movie was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (Burt Reynolds), Best Supporting Actress (Julianne Moore), and Best Writing (Paul T. Anderson).
If you are interested in how the porn industry got started and in the origins of these actors, you will enjoy this movie. It has a well-written plot of how some rich producers became richer through using ordinary people, who did not understand how to handle their fleeting fame.Read full review
