"Days of Our Lives" with better production values.
Magnolia (1999)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:136
Fresh:113
Rotten:23
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: Critics say Magnolia is an ambitious, lengthy work that ultimately succeeds due to the interesting stories and excellent ensemble performances.
Synopsis: In a single day in Los Angeles, a number of interconnected lives are changed forever. A lonely police officer (John C. Reilly) falls in love with a disturbed cocaine addict (Melora Walters). Her... In a single day in Los Angeles, a number of interconnected lives are changed forever. A lonely police officer (John C. Reilly) falls in love with a disturbed cocaine addict (Melora Walters). Her father (Philip Baker Hall), the host of the game show "What Do Kids Know?" has terminal cancer and tries to make amends for his past mistakes. A former champion of the show (William H. Macy) struggles to find love while the current champion (Jeremy Blackman) suffocates under the pressures of being a boy genius. An elderly man (Jason Robards) lies on his deathbed, tended by nurse Phil Parma (Philip Seymour Hoffman), while his trophy wife (Julianne Moore) wrestles with grief and guilt, and his estranged son (Tom Cruise), an infomercial host, teaches workshops on how to trick women into having sex. Throughout all of this, past deeds are lamented and strange forces loom in the air. Director Paul Thomas Anderson's follow-up to BOOGIE NIGHTS is an extravagant, emotional epic inspired by such films as Robert Altman's NASHVILLE and SHORT CUTS, with a sprawling cast of characters searching for love and meaning in a chaotic world. The cast delivers uniformly excellent performances, most notably Tom Cruise's Oscar-nominated role as the sleazy Frank T.J. Mackey. [More]
Starring: John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Starring: John C. Reilly, Julianne Moore, Philip Baker Hall, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Melora Walters, William H. Macy, Jeremy Blackman, Michael Bowen, Melinda Dillon, April Grace, Luis Guzmán, Alfred Molina, Michael Murphy, Felicity Huffman, Henry Gibson
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Screenwriter: Paul Thomas Anderson
Producer: Joanne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson
Composer: Jon Brion
Reviews for Magnolia
A powerful drama of intertwined stories that contemplates the co-existence of the past with our present and future.
What this film may have needed to get on its feet is some honest-to-goodness violence.
Anderson was better off dealing with what goes into the mouths of babes than what comes out of them.
Anderson is still a solid talent, but he should remember to explore his ideas in depth as well as breadth.
Anderson considers himself an actor's director, but he's something far less romantic: a star-struck enabler.
Proves the truth of the old Zen adage: those who try too hard usually miss the target.
I went into Magnolia like a kid running onto a beach with a pail and shovel ready to explore, only to find myself neck deep in quicksand three hours later, screaming for help.
Only see Magnolia if you have a lot of time (and patience) on your hands.
There's a lot of really neat, cool honestly imaginative stuff in Magnolia, but it's hardly the best movie I've seen in the past month.
Magnolia is a mess, but it's somehow encouraging: It takes a gifted director to make a movie this extravagantly foolish.
Latest News for Magnolia
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November 21, 2006:
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