Two Views Of Sex In The '70S Turn Family Values Inside Out -- ''Boogie Nights'' The X-Rated Files

Movie review XXX 1/2 "Boogie Nights," with Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, William H. Macy, Alfred Molina. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Lewis & Clark, Neptune. 155 minutes. "R" - Restricted because of language, sexuality, violence.

Paul Thomas Anderson is just 27, yet he's written and directed two of the most distinctive American movies of 1997: the small-scale "Hard Eight," which is primarily a showcase for Philip Baker Hall's Oscar-worthy performance as an enigmatic Reno gambler, and the stunningly ambitious "Boogie Nights," which follows several characters through a transitional phase in the Southern California porn industry from 1977 to 1984.

Both pictures falter a bit during the final stretch - "Hard Eight" because the secret of Hall's character is finally revealed (it was best left to the imagination), "Boogie Nights" because it insists on telling us things we already know. The final image in "Boogie Nights" is supposed to be a shocker, but what it's saying about the central character, Dirk Diggler (the porn name for teenage busboy Eddie Adams), has been evident for some time.

Yet if Anderson relies too much on unrevealing revelations, it's the trip, not the destination, that matters here. He's an irrepressible entertainer, whether he's concentrating on the three-character story of his first film or the Altman-esque three-ring circus that is "Boogie Nights." He simply doesn't allow for dull moments, and his gifts for irony and showmanship are clearly appreciated by a collection of actors who have rarely been better.

No one could have expected Mark Wahlberg, on the basis of his previous film work ("Traveller," "Fear"), to be able to carry a picture on this scale. But he captures every aspect of Dirk Diggler: the sweet kid trying to lose his wretched parents, the nervous boy performing for his first porn film, the increasingly confident young man taking charge of his new career, the would-be artist who isn't satisfied doing the job he does so well, the scared loser who overestimates his talent.

As his mentor, Jack Horner, the creator of "exotic films" who hires him and introduces him to a more supportive family than he's known before, Burt Reynolds manages to be both cunning and comforting.

The matriarch of this brood, a porn star known as "Amber Waves," is played by the brilliant Julianne Moore. She uses cocaine to bond with Diggler and "Rollergirl" (Heather Graham), another lost kid who's just looking for respect.

From the outside, they look like a family-values joke, yet Anderson and his actors demonstrate what it feels like to live within this momentarily charmed circle.

Not all is well - particularly in the cases of a cuckolded husband (William H. Macy) and a porn actor who yearns to run a stereo store (Don Cheadle) - and the success of Horner's theater-based business is threatened by the coming video revolution. But when this family turns dysfunctional, the reasons come from within.

Anderson doesn't skimp on the trendy disasters of the 1970s (eight-track tapes, ghastly male hairdos and bell-bottom pants are given their due), or on his outsiders' sad attempts to enter mainstream pop culture. John C. Reilly plays a magician who wants to be Han Solo in "Star Wars," Diggler justifies himself by claiming that his movies have saved thousands of relationships, while Horner keeps trying to make movies with real stories.

As the conservative 1980s arrive, a banker provides a wakeup call by telling Cheadle why he's been turned down for a loan: "You are a pornographer." It's a measure of the film's success in getting beyond labels that we're almost as shocked by this bald description as he is.