Tuesday, November 4, 1997
By Paul Ford
Boogie Nights
Saw Boogie Nights tonight. Like Mark Wahlberg's character, Dirk Diggler, it was long and dumb. The lack of plot surprised me because the reviews
are great. Mark Walberg is serviceable, Julianne Moore underutilized. How could someone make a movie about sex so boring?
Weak character development, too, with only-slightly-better-than-porn-flick dialogue, and it managed to rip off a lot of better
films, from Reservoir Dogs to Raging Bull.
It played at a gorgeous theater in the East Village, on 12th and 2nd Avenue. I went with my friend Elizabeth. Our uncertain
friendship doesn't have a platform for a sex conversation, so until we could come up with another topic we didn't say much.
I did say, "I thought it was too long." Pause. "No pun intended." It really hadn't been. Pause. "Sorry."
"That's okay. Inexcusably stupid, but forgiveable." She frowned.
In other news, my bathroom hisses like a snake. I've placed my ear on every pipe and can only assume it's the heat coming
on through the building. The hiss is worse in the second floor hallway, which calms my fears. I was convinced my apartment
would explode. Now I'm convinced the building will explode, which is still bad but at least not my fault.
And now I realize I made tea three hours ago in my one-cup-single-guy-no-need-to-make-tea-for-two tea maker, and it's sitting
there cold as a stone.
PEEK
Ftrain.com is the website of Paul Ford and his pseudonyms. It is showing its age. I'm rewriting the code but it's taking some
time.
FACEBOOK
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TWITTER
You will regret following me on Twitter here.
EMAIL
About the author: I've been running this website from 1997. For a living I write stories and essays, program computers, edit
things, and help people launch online publications. (LinkedIn). I wrote a novel. I was an editor at Harper's Magazine for five years; then I was a Contributing Editor; now I am a free agent. I was also on NPR's All Things Considered for a while. I still write for The Morning News, and some other places.
If you have any questions for me, I am very accessible by email. You can email me at ford@ftrain.com and ask me things and I will try to answer. Especially if you want to clarify something or write something critical. I am
glad to clarify things so that you can disagree more effectively.
POKE
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Contact
© 1974-2011 Paul Ford
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@20, by Paul Ford.
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