Reader Feedback - by SgtPETERSON
(WARNING: potential spoilers below)
Though I am one of those people who will go on and on about Magnolia
being an actual work of Art, I'm not discrediting your review. Judging
by the eleven walk-outs during my sitting (my friend and I counted when
we were able to take our eyes off the screen) I understand this movie
is not for every theater goer. I've read other reviews both good and
bad and have realized either you wanted to leave so badly during this
film, or you didn't want it to end. One of the greatest exercises in
Supreme Irony, this movie has connections, subtle hints, ins and outs
that would send even Dickens back for a second or third viewing.
Luckily, one of my friends happen to know his way around the bible
and made the Exodus allusion with the frogs a scene that I happen to
think is one of the most powerful of all cinema.
Here's another ironic story: I'm buying my ticket for Magnolia,
and the ticket booth attendant hassles me telling me how much more I'd
enjoy a comedy about black suburban life (I'm a white 18 year-old male
from Indianapolis if that will give you more insight) than Magnolia.
"You're gonna be sorry man. Next Friday is da BOMB! Coolest movie
out right now."
You know what? I'll probably see Next Friday some day. I may
laugh at it; I might even say it's the funniest movie I've seen all
year. Yet, I doubt I'll enjoy an hour and a half Ice Cube romp more
than a mere collection of moving pictures that happened to cause me
to go home and take a look at what I'm doing and where I'm going in
LIFE.
Allow me to make a proposition. If you read Exodus 8:2 from the bible
and go see Magnolia again, realizing that little rapping scamp
at the beginning is actually a prophet of God who allows all the characters
the chance to redeem their sins (I figured this out after the credits
were done), I'll go see Next Friday and tell you what a silly
kid from Indiana thinks of it.
Deal?
[Bams' response: I remember responding to you, Sarge, but I don't
remember whatever happened to our deal. If you're out there reading
this, hon, let me know what you thought of "Next Friday".]
Reader Feedback - by Peter Belyea
(WARNING: potential spoilers below)
How anyone can even remotely endorse Magnolia is beyond me.
It flat out sucked!!
Let's see, it was way too long, after the 2 hours it takes to kinda
tie any of the movie together you realize all of the story lines are
dull and un interesting.
If the creator of this movie wanted to be hip and different and it
touch with the artsy crowd he should let the general public know this
before hand so they can bypass this mess of a film and spend their hard
earned money on something that might actually entertain them for a couple
of hours.
[Bams' response: I'll hit this paragraph-by-paragraph:
1) It had frogs.
2) A friend of mine explained it in an interesting way, noting the difference
between a "straight story" and a "parable". While I agree that the story,
when looked at like a "straight story", was dumb, if you looked at it
like a parable it was...marginally less dumb. But, it had frogs.
3) I totally agree with you on this point. It's fine to be "arty", but
the trailers didn't lead anyone in that direction; if you went into
it thinking you'd get a "straight story", you were sure to be disappointed.
Still, it had frogs.]
Reader Feedback - by Gary Yokie
(WARNING: potential spoilers below)
I'm not in the habit of writing fan letters, but having read your
site (referred by IMdb) to catch your spin on Magnolia, am quite
impressed. Your style is a wonderful combination of the cerebral and
the vernacular. You exquisitely convey the sense of the films you review...at
least, as far as I can tell, the ones we have both seen. I'm going to
use your reviews to help me decide whether or not to see movies in the
future.
I also appreciate the Black Factor analyses. Too many filmmakers seem
to throw in nonwhite characters when they need some "quick-and-dirty"
pathos--inner-city crime and poverty, drug abuse, parodies of social
activists, or a fleeting ethnic joke. The in-your-face BF in Warren
Beatty's Bulworth or the initial confrontations between John
C. Reilly and Cleo King in Magnolia do underscore the fact that,
in many significant ways, there are still two distinct Americas; the
dominant culture is still anglo-oriented, and the mass-media art forms
still tend to depict minority members in severely limited ways. If I
see another easy joke about how older white folks don't like or comprehend
rap music (which replaced 70s and 80s-era break dancing as a site gag),
I'm going to bust. A lot of us (on the Internet, no one knows you're
Scandinavian/Indo-European) need to walk more than a mile in someone
else's shoes. So let the "libertarian" complaints about the Black Factor
roll on by with little comment.
Again, my compliments to your site. I'll keep checking back--at least
until I get to the "spoiler" warning flag for a movie I'm planning to
attend.
Reader Feedback - by [name withheld by editor]
(WARNING: potential spoilers below)
Hi Rose... Just a little feedback from a crazy middle-aged white dude.
I like your reviews. I wanted to second the point you made about John
C. Reilly -- he did steal the show in Magnolia, at least from
my perspective.
I'm a lonely clueless single guy like Officer Curring (except he's
divorced, I'm widowed). I'm also a drug addict like his girlfriend.
(Eleven months since my last shot of smack.)
Watching the two characters come together brought tears to my eyes,
and I don't cry easy. Boy, I could relate to both sides. I was so damn
happy that the movie ended on a positive note for them.
Redemption... I read somewhere that men like stories about redemption.
Funny, the way we all act like shits some times, you'd think we weren't
carrying around all that guilt.
Anyway, thanks for giving Magnolia, a green light. You're right,
it does drag on. Somehow, though, I think even viewers who don't like
it will get something out of seeing it. Now I'm off to see Cider
House Rules. Thanks.
P.S.: I wonder why no uproar from the animal-rights people? How could
they have made that flick without hurting a bunch of frogs? Well, I'd
still recommend it, even though I am an amphibian-lover.
Reader Feedback - by Timothy Dugdale
(WARNING: potential spoilers below)
A yellow light film if ever there was one. Unhappy white kiddie from
the suburbs wants to do Altman via Douglas Coupland (Generation X).
Children are angels until the devilish adults fuck them up? Yawn.
A good review, but personally, if I were that sista, I'd have no problem
resisting the "charms" of Tom Cruise and his codpiece.
[Bams' response: Ya gotta love a straight-shooter. Thanks for the
feedback, Timothy; I appreciate it.]
