Comments on: What’s Up With This Script? Are You Down With This?

By: Joe Valdez

Joe Valdez — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 00:56:20 +0000

J.D.: Thanks for discovering this site and sharing your thoughts with my 22 readers! It’s hard to believe that Boogie Nights is 12 years old, but you made a good point in that it has held up strong over the years. I have no real complaints about the film at all. Warren Beatty or Sydney Pollack might have been better choices for Jack, but Burt Reynolds gave an outstanding performance. The scene with Ridgely in the jail is beautiful.

Chuck: Thanks for commenting! I liked Pauline Kael’s writing a great deal. Unlike a lot of critics – even Roger Ebert – who I don’t think fully understand the medium they’re writing about, Kael knew how movies were made and what their potential was. Her comment about Anderson could be applied to virtually any filmmaker under the age of 40, but I think it’s relevant that the media not bestow “genius” certification on directors who only have two or three credits to their name. I think you need reflection as much as you do good taste and a clear eye when trying to be a critic.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:22:18 +0000

Chuck:

“I don’t think he’s anywhere near his best film.”

And that is a pretty exhilarating thought when you think about the films he’s already given us. But I agree… THERE WILL BE BLOOD, I think, hints at an evolution in PTA’s filmmaking abilities and that the best is only yet to come.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:17:09 +0000

In Afterglow, Pauline Kael said of Anderson, and I’m paraphrasing “I don’t know what he’s up to, and I don’t think he knows, he’s feeling his oats.” She meant this as a compliment, and, at that time, she was only judging from his first three pictures. I think, even after Punchdrunk Love and There Will Be Blood, that this view still holds.

We tend to convince ourselves of a filmmaker’s rank of master genius overnight, because filmmakers aren’t, due to the altered nature of the business, allowed to hone their skills cranking out anonymous pictures. I think PTA is supremely talented, and I called Blood the best picture of that year, and Boogie Nights is one of my favorite pictures. But something about Anderson is still unformed, he makes young man’s movies in both the best and not-so-best senses. The most exciting thing about Anderson is how much pleasure he’s already given us, and I don’t think he’s anywhere near his best film.

By: J.D.

J.D. — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:59:44 +0000

This is an excellent post! I love this film and I thought you did a great job delving into how it got made and how the critics responded to it. BOOGIE NIGHTS really holds up to repeated viewings and has aged very well. It also put PTA on the map and he hasn’t looked back since, cranking out one incredible film after another.