Mark Wahlberg is begging audiences to put on their dancing shoes and cut up the floor with him for free, as the actor’s 1997 feature Boogie Nights is now streaming on Pluto TV. Paul Thomas Anderson’s cult-classic film blends truth with fiction and adds a top-tier roster to star alongside Wahlberg in the movin’ and groovin’ drama. Putting its focus on the rise of the adult film industry, the movie also bases its main character – Wahlberg’s Dirk Diggler – on notorious adult film star, John Holmes, who was involved with one of the biggest murder cases of the time, now known as the Wonderland Murders.
Joining Wahlberg in the second film to come from Anderson is a call sheet that includes Julianne Moore (May December), Don Cheadle (House of Lies), Burt Reynolds (Smokey and the Bandit), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Twister), John C. Reilly (Step Brothers), William H. Macy (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) and Heather Graham (The Hangover).
Set in the 1970s, the movie introduces audiences to Wahlberg’s Eddie Adams, a young man making his way through the world under the employment of a local nightclub in the San Fernando Valley. It’s here that his path crosses with adult film director, Jack Horner (Reynolds), who sees promise in Eddie and the possibility of a career in the industry. With Jack’s help, Eddie becomes one of the biggest names in the game, changing his name to Dirk Diggler – something much more memorable than Eddie Adams. After catapulting to stardom thanks to Jack and a helpful group of fellow entertainers, Dirk gets himself involved with the wrong crowd and things soon begin to go haywire after he discovers hard drugs.
‘Boogie Nights’ Danced Its Way To Critical Praise
With a 94% critics’ approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Boogie Nights is one of the best titles to come from both Anderson and Wahlberg’s careers. The production was also deemed a financial success, earning more than $43 million, nearly tripling its production cost. During the award circuit, Reynolds and Moore would earn Oscar nods for their work as Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, while Anderson received a nomination for Best Screenplay.
The plot itself is a more elaborated storyline that comes from Anderson’s mockumentary short, The Dirk Diggler Story. The writer and filmmaker got the idea for his fictional character from the 1989 documentary about Holmes titled, Exhausted: John C. Holmes, The Real Story. The larger-than-life tale of a small-town boy who would carry on a secretive life in the adult film industry, only to find himself caught up in one of the decade’s biggest murder trials, the true story of Holmes may be even more wild and entertaining than his fictional counterpart.
Head over to Pluto TV now to stream Boogie Nights.
Boogie Nights is a comedy/drama that follows a young high-school dropout named Eddie Adams in the ’70s who stumbles into the porn industry after a fortuitous meeting with a filmmaker. The film chronicles his career and life, illuminating the problematic stigmas and troubles facing the sector heading into the 1980s.
- Release Date
- October 7, 1997
- Director
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Runtime
- 155 minutes
- Writers
- Paul Thomas Anderson
- Budget
- $15 million
- Studio(s)
- New Line Cinema
- Distributor(s)
- New Line Cinema
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