86
Metascore
28 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100New York Daily NewsJami BernardNew York Daily NewsJami BernardWriter-director Paul Thomas Anderson has perfectly wedded form to function by filming Boogie Nights in a style suggesting the grainy texture of porn and the ambivalence of the era.
- 100SlateSarah KerrSlateSarah KerrAnderson is young enough to be post-hip and post-ironic, if such terms are possible.
- 100The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsThe A.V. ClubKeith PhippsWhile it's very funny, Boogie Nights taps into something much deeper with its on-target depiction of the shifting political and social tides of the '70s and '80s and thoughtful relationships between characters. It's a deeply satisfying movie.
- 90TNT RoughCutTNT RoughCutAs lensed brillantly by 26-year-old Anderson, the movie is at once tasteful and raunchy.
- 89Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenFrom the second it begins, Boogie Nights seizes your senses and pulls you right in: no turning back, no time for debate, no regrets.
- 88San Francisco ExaminerG. Allen JohnsonSan Francisco ExaminerG. Allen JohnsonI'm not sure all of this works out as convincingly as Anderson intends in the movie's somewhat unsatisfying ending, but getting there is a wickedly enjoyable journey.
- 80Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumNotwithstanding its occasional grotesque nods to postmodernist convention, this is highly entertaining Hollywood filmmaking, full of spark and vigor.
- 80TimeRichard CorlissTimeRichard CorlissSo here's a tip for those attending this handsomely acted, epic-length little film. Ease into the sleaze, stare at the party animals, look but don't touch, and, oh, boogie all night. [October 6, 1997]
- 70SalonCharles TaylorSalonCharles TaylorMoore, who may be the most unpredictably talented actress in movies right now, plays Amber with an inseparable mixture of maternal feeling and lust that's flabbergasting.
- 70Film.comTom KeoghFilm.comTom KeoghA film so driven by pure style that a script barely seems necessary in its first half, Boogie Nights becomes bogged down in a predictable aftermath of drug deals, post-stardom decay, cocaine-fueled nuttiness, and self-loathing.