Great Scene: “Boogie Nights”

A drug deal goes south to the strains of Jessie’s Girl.

Movie: Boogie Nights (1997), written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

IMDb plot summary: The story of a young man’s adventures in the Californian pornography industry of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Scene Setup: Dirk (Mark Wahlberg), Reed (John C. Reilly), and Todd (Thomas Jane) are attempting to pull a scam deal on Rahad (Alfred Molina), trying to sell a half-kilogram of baking soda disguised as cocaine for $5,000.

Check out this script excerpt:

Here’s the scene from the movie:

Generally shot as written with two big exceptions:

• The song is changed from REO Speedwagon “Can’t Fight This Feeling” to Rick Springfield’s “Jessie’s Girl”. Presumably a rights issue. I like “Jessie’s Girl” better, makes the scene even more inane.
• Check out the scene from 0:51–1:40. The camera stays on Dirk’s character and his face goes through a series of expression changes. That is not indicated in the script. Makes one wonder what PTA was thinking. My guess is he wanted to use this sequence to really drive home its impact on Dirk. Yes, Todd going crazy and the ensuing shootout certainly had an impact on Dirk. But this little moment of screen times suggests the decision Dirk makes the next day is already being set into motion, that he’s beginning to see with more clarity the absolute shitstorm he is getting himself into. The next day, he goes back to Jack and returns to work as a porn star.

What a crazy scene. Love the guy blowing up firecrackers, really adds to the cockeyed ambience. Any comments on the scene, click on RESPONSES and share your thoughts.

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