I love that Rob Ridgley is laughing uncontrollably in the background when Philip Baker Hall says "butter in my ass and lollipops in my mouth". The editor decided to leave that take in and just make the background blurry. I also love how relevant this scene was to Hollywood when the films was made in 1997, since digital filmmaking was about to overtake making movies on film. Rip Rob Ridgley, Philip Baker Hall, Burt Reynolds, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. True legends that will always be immortalized by this great film and the other great films of their careers.
@T T T.T.. You described it better than anyone I've ever heard and what Jack did not realize is that with anyone able to buy a VCR Porn Theaters would slowly go out of business also
Actually home video weakened the entire film industry. By then people did not need to line up to the theaters to watch a single screening. They could now enjoy watching the movie at the privacy of their bed rooms over and over. This is why Hollywood had to produce films that would really give an audience to want to see the whole thing in the big screen. But for obvious reason, the porn industry would suffer way lot more. Why would you want to watch a sex film in a public theater, when you can enjoy it better getting off to it at the comfort and privacy of your own room?
@@joel8583 It was back then. Directors were creative and added artistry. But when it was not lucrative anymore, porno films did not even bother with stories anymore. Nowadays, it is just a clip long enough for you to get off to
This movie is underappreciated. The characters were so well played by the cast. This scene is one of the best in the film with three Hollywood veterans giving great performances and complementing each other so well.
Very well said. Boogie Nights is my personal favorite film and it is one of the best films ever made. Not that many people talk about it today which is shame. The directing, acting, writing, and casting are all top notch. you can hardly say a bad thing about the movie and only nit pick it.
This is the best scene in the film! Such a turning point, and historically correct for that industry. And yes, I love Colonel laughing in the back too!
Philip Baker Hall shows in this scene that there is no small parts only small actors. It was an excellent scene with the two veteran actors Baker Hall and Reynolds going toe to toe. Their careers couldn't have gone so different. Baker Hall the quiet respected TV actor, Reynolds was the former Big Box Office star. It was interesting seeing these two artists together. Great Scene.
@@laminage No I didn't mean that at all. And you obviously didn't understand the comment. While Philip Baker Hall only had one scene. He didn't need more then one scene to shine in the movie. Other actors may have griped only having one scene. And not given if it there best. Baker Hall a true craftsmen all the way no matter how big or small the part is. Hence the saying there is no small parts only small actors.
A metaphor for Cinema as a whole and, honestly, American Culture as the ‘70s gave way to the ‘80s. We never did get back to that level of artistic integrity, did we?
I don't know if it's dies so much as it's become redundant. Superfluous to the demands of an increasingly impatient , uncritical-thinking, dopamine-seeking audiences. The emergence of the internet, fester delivery services, AI, Wokeism and the Cancel-Culture have all been nails in the cinematic coffin. But I think we have also gained in some areas, although I can't say what it is right now. I worked in film and cinema and hate to see it die out, but when you look at how it first came about, it was marketed as a fairground attraction and likely wasn't expected to last anything like this long.
There's just no other way to say it, scenes like this show that Reynolds for all his kookiness is a darn good actor. And it doesn't hurt to have a true professional character actor....an artist, a master craftsmen if you will....like Mr. Philip Baker Hall in the scene.
Burt was always his own man. He even rejected roles that could have made him more money but he just didn't want to crater to someone else's vision. He never regretted it either. I liked that about him. Too many times men are criticized for being "stubborn", but it's not about that at all.
Burt Reynolds should have won the best supporting actor Oscar for this movie. You could see the anger and disappointment in his face when they called Robin Williams name
one of my all-time favorite films. wish you'd see more films released from hollywood that are actually driven by the story and characters instead of gimmicky effects and big names.
Jack mentions to Floyd that he wouldn't go to videotape or loan out his actors. He backs down on both by using videotape and loaning Rollergirl out to pick up some random dude on the street that recognized her from back home.
Pretty much because he had no choice though with The Colonel in prison for child pornography. And by the time of that between 1981-83, video was already massive in the porno industry like Floyd predicted and the theatres were pretty much dead.
The "war" between video and film was a very real one back on those days. Those who saw themselves as "serious" filmmakers avoided videotape like the plague because it could never give the "look" of film. Of course, improvements in technology changed all that. But in those days it was a real war.
This movie is great because it shows this group of people as a family and a family business. That's what makes Jack the better man, because he's found a family of people that he cares about.
Jack Horner is a very well written character, and open to interpretation. He takes a 17 year old runaway and ushers him into debauchery for the sake of his wallet, turning his back on him when he's made a bunch of money off of him and only takes him back when he apologizes and comes back to make more money for him. Jack never went to find Dirk, never asks Amber about her son or troubles, and in Amber's last scene when she really needs the surrogate father she's made him to be - he kisses her on the head and calls her "the foxiest bitch in the world." That's the power of the writing in this movie, that you can think of Jack's house as a family and that he cares about them. He never says that, never shows that, you just "expect" that since he's basically their surrogate father, and fathers love their family, right? You say he's "found" them while others would say he's scoped out the club scene for hot young talent to find teens, persuade them to sell their bodies, separate from their families and exploit them for money like wringing water from a towel. Jack is not a good man, Colonel is even worse, and Floyd Gondoli is pretty much just a businessman. We don't know enough about him other than the fact that he also has some drugged out teens in his wake that look just like dirty runaways. like Dirk in the end. Buck and Jessie, along with Reed and Scotty, are perhaps the only redeemable characters in the film. The deepest sadness comes from at the end when you can't tell if Dirk really DOES know that Jack is no good for him - but doesn't care - or if he sees him as his savior. And Jack just can't turn away this broken, sad, drugged-out golden goose - even though he knows he was the catalyst and a major contributor to his massive downfall. Eddie's life was ruined, Jack got richer. Then he held the illusion to the very end and welcomed him back like a son so he could start exploiting him again. Oh, yeah, and I like butter in my ass and lollipops in my mouth.
Randall Starr Fucking brilliant observations. I won't say analysis. I HATE analysis. To me, that means breaking things down and turning them into things they are not. You are just seeing the film for the masterful, and profound, work of art that it is. And helping me see new things in the process. Thank you!
Randall Starr Not to mention that Rollergirl was still in high school while she was making movies and sucking off strangers in bars for Jack's amusement. It also seems like she had been at it for a while. I agree with Buck being redeemable. In fact, we never see him in a sex scene, he is always referred to as simply an "actor" and he seems to be pretty naive when it comes to porn.
I always loved the "butter in my ass...lollipops in my mouth line" and I always wondered who wrote it, but I can definitely see it being improv. Greatest line ever in the history of film
This scene, although it comes at around the halfway mark, really delivers a powerful message to the porn industry. Like all other forms of entertainment, porn always needs to keep changing to keep up with the times. This scene was delivered beautifully!
Absolutely. Although I think it goes far beyond the porn industry and it makes a statement about cinema and the film industry. I don't think there was any prediction or the internet in this film, but it was the big change about to happen at the time of its release, and here you have three successful veteran actors who were all working through their 'Third Act' in life, and they each take a unique viewpoint. Maybe they're representing the Id/Ego/S-Ego. If my memory is correct this scene is actually at the end of what would be the second act in the movie, just before new year and the murder/suicide or the older generation porn star. It's just a perfect example of cinematic transitioning. Also I'm not sure if the Colonel is laughing or sneezing?
Thanks to IndieWire for posting this. I thought the exact same thing about how this scene predicts PTA's attitudes and battles with the onset of digital film.
There are a few dialog driven scenes that transcend the entire fucking movie. Alec Baldwins 'losers' speech in Glengarry, Glen Ross. "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore..." in Network. "Greed is good..." in Wall Street. Boogie Nights is literally my #1 favorite movie of all time, I love every single second of it but in my opinion, this scene, right here, was a fucking mountain. Philip Baker Hall has got to be one of the most underrated character actors in Hollywood.
Ape Wait Ape wait... I like simple pleasures. I like butter in my ass and lollipops in my mouth. Now that's just me. Call me crazy, call me a pervert but your comment is a great comment.
I just remember watching this scene and telling myself WTF is going on. I was watching it with a bunch of my friends and I wanted to laugh but I felt like I was being a moron. Luckily my friend said, "Wait... what did that guy just say? Butter in my ass." Everyone erupted in laughter and we couldn't stop for a couple of moments. Great film.
Unforgettable scene. "Hot fuck action to the max" is what does it for me. I remember when "to the max" was so commonly said. I can't remember any adults saying it. The 70's and 80's were the best.
@setpunk12 Adult theatres may have been. Keep in mind the theatre showing "Back to the Future" wasn't later showing "Ass Queens 6", it was two different buildings.
Rest in Peace to all in this scene: Philip Baker Hall (September 10, 1931-June 12, 2022) Burt Reynolds (February 11, 1936-September 6, 2018) Robert Ridgely (Born: December 24, 1931-February 8, 1997)
I just re-watched this great film last night and I noticed something that I hadn't before: If you show the film run time at the bottom of your screen, you see that the exact halfway point of the film takes place in this scene. Before that point, everyone's lives SEEM great. After that point, Scotty makes a fool of himself, Little Bills murder/suicide, the descent of several characters into drug addiction, Todds death, Ambers disastrous court hearing... This scene is the turning point of the film.
This scene shows that the difference between loving what you doing and just doing what you love. Profit and gain. Jack wanted to keep being an artist behind the camera. His fellow porn lovers and makers want to make 💰.
@@thoughtsurferzone5012 True... I was thinking about Don cheadle's character. Full of bright ideas and ambitions. Wanting to open his own business in electronic sales and raise a family. But his professional life as a porn star and struggles trying to find his identity kept getting in the way. Fortunately and accidental by chance have him a way out.
Jack is a purist, but he eventually does give in after his backer goes to prison. Having his works be put on videotape and loaning out rollergirl among others to gondolli's projects.
The guy that played the Colonel was Robert Ridgely. This "Guy" was a great imitator and a card. Best imitation of all time was the "walk and talk" of John Wayne. He died during the filming of Boogie Nights but a great Comedian.
"Wait a minute. You come into my house, my party...." I get the feeling that I'm watching the real Burt Reynolds. The soft-spoken anger of a man fighting for what he believes in and knowing that he is right. A filmmaker taking a stand for quality against the "fast buck" artists of the world. People who worked with Reynolds as a director commented on the "scene" he directs with Dirk and Amber, saying that it was exactly how he worked on set. Even the call for, "quiet sticks".
It has a Godfather Vibe to it when Tom Hagen (The Family Lawyer) explains how drugs are going to be a very big thing in the future and he was right. Then I remembered telling My Grandmother in 1982 that Computers are going to be the way of the future. She wasn`t interested. She died in 1987 she would have been stunned if she knew how much stuff we do thanks to computers.
