Eddie Adams (Mark Wahlberg) has a saying: “Every one is blessed with one special thing.” In Eddie’s case, his blessing is he is incredibly well-endowed.

The brilliant new movie “Boogie Nights” follows young Eddie’s transformation from a night club busboy into Dirk Diggler — adult film superstar. It is a forum where his special blessing comes in very handy.

Burt Reynolds gives a great performance as director Jack Horner, the man who discovers Eddie and recognizes his natural abilities. Soon Eddie is sucked into Horner’s world.

And speaking of great performances, I think Wahlberg can finally leave that whole Marky Mark/underwear model image behind him.

As Dirk, he gives a real genuineness to his role as we watch him go from naive kid to egotistical star. Wahlberg made every moment believable.

The rest of the cast is made up an oddball extended family of porn stars and technicians. The father of the group is Horner, who considers himself a serious film maker, not a pornographer. He is concerned with the story, not just the sex.

All the performances by the supporting cast are good. One standout is Julianne Moore as Amber Waves, who gives real depth to her role as the mother to the group.

Now, I should stress that “Boogie Nights” is about pornography; it is not itself pornography. The sex scenes are scarce, and nudity is almost nonexistent.

What’s great to watch is everybody in the film’s blase, matter-of-fact view of sex. For them, sex is not a sensual thing; it is just business.

The story of “Boogie Nights” is incredibly well written. Each member of the large cast is giving some depth, some development.

Dirk’s story arc in particular is the main focus, from his being on top to his fall. It’s all fascinating stuff and completely pulls you in.

The movie is also a technical masterpiece, to put it mildly. Everything from the camera work and shot set-up to the costume and set design were simply amazing.

The opening of the movie is one long shot. The camera focuses on a movie marquee, travels down the street and into a disco and then proceeds to follow various characters around the club.

It is all done in one single shot, without cutaways. I had to admire what must have gone into setting up that scene.

The sets and the costume design looked like something straight out of the ’70s. It was like they built a time machine and actually went back in time.

It was so genuine, I actually recognized a rather tacky bird painting on the wall in Horner’s home my aunt and uncle used to have hanging in their living room.

My favorite scene in the movie is near the end. We feel the tension build and fear the violence we know is coming as a deal in a drug dealer’s home goes bad. The best part of the scene? The fact that we are waiting for people to get blown away to the tune of “Sister Christian.”

Now a bit of a warning: “Boogie Nights” is definitely not a feel-good movie. At times it is difficult to watch, and it is not an uplifting story. But it is an epic tale worth seeing.

4 1/2 stars out of five.

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Mike Milik is a senior in advertising from West Des Moines.