Review #1,279: 'Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* But Were Afraid to Ask' (1972)

Few anticipated the success of Dr. David Reuben's book Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* But Were Afraid to Ask upon its publication in 1969. Nevertheless, it skyrocketed to the top of the book charts, arriving at a time when the sexual revolution was in full swing for the younger generation, and older couples were starting to feel more comfortable discussing the joys of sex and all the kinks that come with it. It seemed like a truly 'unadaptable' book, or at least one that never flirted with the idea of making it to the big screen. But that didn't stop Woody Allen, the young comedy writer and director still very much in his sillier, more slapstick stage of his career, who was fresh off the success of satirical spoof Bananas.

Structuring the film as a series of vignettes, each receiving its own opening title taken from the book's chapter headings, Allen gave himself free reign to toy with a variety of ideas and tones that were no doubt swimming around in his massive brain. As is the case with almost all portmanteau movies, some sections are great, others are forgettable, and the odd one is outright terrible. The final result is one staunchly defended by Allen die-hards, but for some of us this is one the comedy giant's weakest early movies. It opens promisingly enough with "Do Aphrodisiacs Work?", a sex farce set in medieval times with Allen as a court jester trying in earnest to get into the knickers of Lynn Redgrave's Queen. Fearing both the wrath of the King (Anthony Quayle) and having his advances spurned, he employs a potion that will make the Queen desire the first man she sees.

Not all the jokes land, but it's amusing enough, highlighting Allen's unique talent for playing the motor-mouthed neurotic and firing off double entendres. Other highlights include Gene Wilder as a doctor who falls in love a sheep belonging to an Albanian farmer, and a Fellini-inspired section in which Allen's character becomes obsessed with pleasing his wife. The worst involves John Carradine as a wacky researcher conducting a variety of outrageous sexual experiments, before he accidentally unleashes a giant milk-squirting breast into the countryside. The main problem, 45 years after its release, lies within the title. It could be down to the lasting effects of the sexual revolution or the abundance of hardcore porn now available to stream at any time, but people are no longer afraid to ask. Many of the topics covered in Everything You Always Wanted to Know... are now openly discussed on daytime TV, so the film feels more like a time capsule of a more innocent time than the boundary-pushing experiment it once was.


Directed by: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, John Carradine, Lou Jacobi, Louise Lasser, Anthony Quayle, Tony Randall, Lynn Redgrave, Burt Reynolds, Gene Wilder
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #981: 'Boogie Nights' (1997)

I must have watched writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights over thirty times in my life. Around 1999, it represented cinematic perfection to me and I would view it repeatedly. Now almost 20 years old - although I no longer consider it as the pinnacle of cinema - I still consider it great and to be one of the best movies of the 90's. This is mainly down to how fresh is still feels, with its show-off yet breathtaking long-takes, moments of off-the-wall humour, and dead-on depictions of the decadent 70's through to the over-indulgent 80's, which all assist the film in sweeping you into its hidden world of glamour, sex and drugs.

That world is the world of pornography, though through Anderson's lens it doesn't feel too dissimilar to Hollywood itself, just on a smaller scale. The young, handsome and unnervingly well-endowed Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) is working in the kitchen of a Hollywood nightclub when he is talent spotted by porno auteur Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds). Jack knows that "there is something special behind those jeans just waiting to get out," and soon enough Eddie has renamed himself Dirk Diggler and is the hottest porn star in the country. With success comes the big house, the designer clothes and the fancy sports car, but also lots of cocaine.

Clearly inspired by the work of Robert Altman, Boogie Nights boasts a fantastic ensemble of interesting characters, all hugely endearing despite their obvious flaws. Jack lives with porn star Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), who doesn't get to see her son due to her lavish lifestyle, and Rollergirl (Heather Graham), another actress fresh out of school who never takes her skates off. Dirk buddies up with Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), an aspiring magician who idolises his enigmatic co-star. Behind the camera are Little Bill (William H. Macy), the timid scriptwriter whose wife (played by real-life porn star Nina Hartley) openly sleeps with other men, and Scottie (Philip Seymour Hoffman), who becomes smitten with Dirk. There's also Buck (Don Cheadle), a stereo-system obsessive going through an image crisis.

Anderson was only 26 when the film was released, hot off the disappointingly pedestrian Hard Eight (1996), and yet despite his youth he pulled of something remarkably complex with Boogie Nights. Not only is it a peek behind the curtain of a business normally portrayed as sleazy and distasteful, seen through the eyes of those who operate it, but also a summary of the shift in social attitudes and values at the time, from feelings of optimism and sexual expression of the 70's, to the greed and paranoia of the 80's. As Dirk's drug consumption spirals out of control, he struggles to perform and falls out with Jack. One standout scene near the final act sees Dirk, Reid and moustachioed sleazeball Todd Parker (Thomas Jane) attempt to pull off a drug deal with a friendly but unhinged Alfred Molina.

It's during this scene that Anderson lingers on Dirk's face for a considerable amount of time. Although it probably only lasts about 25 seconds, it manages to pin-point his moment of realisation while allowing the audience time to some up their feelings towards him. And most probably, despite his horrible and selfish actions, you'll still hope it turns out well for him. The camera plays like a character sometimes, whether it be swooping in and out of a pool in one of the many homages to Martin Scorsese, or lingering on producer Colonel James's (Robert Ridgely) startled face as he sees Dirk's prize asset for the first time. Anderson would go on to prove himself one of the finest of his generation with Magnolia (1999), There Will Be Blood (2007) and The Master (2012), but Boogie Nights is still one of his best - dazzling, funny, and uniquely absorbing.


Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Heather Graham, Don Cheadle, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ricky Jay
Country: USA

Rating: *****

Tom Gillespie