“Hey, have you seen this movie? What did you think about THAT SCENE?!” We have all used that phrase at one point during our discussions of movies with the other person’s eyebrows raising, “Oh yea, THAT SCENE!” You go on to pick that memorable scene apart by listing what you loved or didn’t like, how it made you feel and the impression it left on you.
In this series, we will do just that. We will take a scene from a movie and discuss its impact on us. Some of these scenes may be frightening, weird, iconic, controversial, hilarious and everything in between. Let us know your impression of the scene and the impact it left on you the first time you watched it down below in the comments. Enjoy!
*Warning: May Contain Spoilers*
Movie: Boogie Nights (1997)
Scene: The Drug Deal
THE PLAYERS
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Characters: Dirk Diggler (Mark Wahlberg), Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), Todd Parker (Thomas Jane), Rahad Jackson (Alfred Molina), Bodyguard (B. Philly Johnson), Cosmo (Joe G.M. Chan)
THE SETUP
Boogie Nights is the story about the rise and fall of Eddie Adams in what is called the “Golden Age of Porn” during the 70s. Eddie was a dishwasher who is scouted by filmmaker Jack Horner because of, well, rumors. He auditions for Jack by having sex with Roller Girl. Oh, Roller Girl…And it’s off to the races for young Eddie who changes his name to Dirk Diggler. He reaches the highest of highs within the porn industry with everything going his way until he excessive living catches up to him and he begins to tumble which brings us to our scene.
THAT SCENE
THE EXECUTION
Even if there weren’t any words spoken, PTA created such an intense atmosphere that whether you cared for any of these characters or not, you were immersed in this situation. You know from the minute they show up with this ridiculous plan, things were going to go sideways. Once you add-in the little weird guy with fireworks (like honestly why?), the jovial pop music, and the unhinged and carefree Alfred Molina in a speedo and silk robe, the whole ordeal is like Molotov cocktail waiting to explode in your face. The nervous energy from John C. Reilly always sticks out to me. He is like the POV of the viewer of this scene in character form. Easily one of the tensest scenes in movie history.
What do you think of this scene? Did you find it intense and well done?
