I remember when Basketball Diary's came out. Good film with Leo DiCaprio, that had Mark E Mark in a supporting role. He actually did a good job, especially for being one of the worst rappers in history. A few years later my wife, then girlfriend at the time and I saw a commercial for the film Fear. I remember saying "Lets go see that, its Mark E Marks new film" She agreed and we were both pleasantly surprised. Once again I thought he did a great job. Then in 1997 I read about Boogie Nights, a film about the 70's porno industry with Mark E Mark playing the John Holmes role, and my man Burt Reynolds as a porn producer. I said "Lets go see Mark E Marks new film, its about porn." we went, my wife was board as the film is lengthy. I was not board, I was blown away.
I like 70's porn, as they have plots, yes I need a plot or I cannot watch anything. They have horrible acting, horrible dialog, but damn fine music. To see a film capture this was amazing. The soundtrack, the look, everything. Hell Mark E Mark's room even had the Bruce Lee, Farah Fawcett, and Corvette poster in it. I laughed, had a good time, and as the film went on, became emotionally attached to every character. 3 different couples walked out of the film, as they muttered things like "Disgusting", "Trash", among other things. My wife tried to stay awake. I was glued to the screen. Mark E Mark was fantastic in the lead role as Eddie Adams a young kid with a "Natural Talent" for porno. He obviously got off the roids for this part, as he looked like a thin 17 yr old kid, I remember the scene where his mentally abusive mom began calling his girlfriend a whore, and kept calling him stupid and he finally snapped, crying, yelling and screaming he would "Do something great." He was crying, with snot coming out of his nose, and spit flailing from his mouth as he yelled, and cried showing the emotions of a kid who just wanted his mom to love him, and in the same respect hated everything about her. I remember thinking "Holy shit, that's Mark E Mark, wow" That was the performance of a lifetime. He went from being a naive polite, almost simple kid to a big shot in porn, to a coke fiend who couldn't get it up. And he played every aspect of the character to perfection.
Not only was his performance a star turner. but this is the only film I can remember that made stars out of most of the cast. Sure they were all veteran actors, but after this film they blew up. John C. Reily, the comic foil of Will Farrel was Reed Rothchild, Mark E Marks sidekick. Heather Grahm was Roller Girl, a teenage porn queen, and yes we see her naked. Julian Moore was Amber Waves a Porn Star who was a mother figure to all the other characters. Don Cheadel was Cowboy a porn star who dreamed of opening his own stereo store. Thomas Jane was Tod Parker, the man who introduced Mark E Mark to coke. William H Macey as Little BIll the cameraman who's wife was banging everyone around him. And a nod to his captivating scene where he shoots her, her lover, then himself just a the clock strikes midnight on new years ever to transcends the film into the 80's. Louis Guzman as Maurice Rodrigue a nightclub owner who wants to be in the business. Phillip Seemore Hoffman as Scotty J a man with a crush on Mark E Mark. And Final this film featured the comeback of one of the greatest actors in our time. Burt Reynolds.
This was Burts return to the silver screen after a string of failures. He was Jack Torrence, film producer, and he blew everyone away with his performance. He played his part to perfection. He was against video tape, he liked film, and he believed he was making art, or real films if you would. He won the Golden Glob, and was even nominated for an Oscar, unfortunately the academy gave it to Robin Williams for Good Will hunting, but lets see counselor who helps troubled kid vs guy who makes porn, No brain winner there.
If you have never seen this film, check it out. Its one of the best films ever made. I remember the next year I got a comercal for an action film called The Big Hit. I turned to my wife and said "Lets go see that, its the new Mark Wahlberg film" She said yes. It was a good film contrary to what everyone will say, but I noticed I didn't call him Mark E Mark. I never call him Mark E Mark. I call him Mark Wahlberg. Its a shame he didn't get an Oscar, or even a nod for Boogie Nights. It truly made him a star, and made the world forget he used to drop his pants and yell "Come on come on, swig it" on stage.
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