Magnolia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Paul Thomas Anderson

Anderson is selective in his projects. In addition to "Magnolia", he displayed his talents before in "Boogie Nights" (1997) an equally remarkable endeavor. His "Hard Eight" is an undervalued gem.

Answer: Jason Robards

Jason Robards' first credited role in film was a very minor role in "Swingtime Johnny" (1943), wherein the Andrew Sisters go to work in a war plant. Slowly but surely he rose to be one of the great character actors in film.

Drifting in and out of his pain-killer induced lethargy, Earl Partridge regrets his decisions during life and in his last days seeks to repair what wrongs he may have committed.

Answer: Julianne Moore

Julianna Moore is a well regarded actress who has received several Academy Award nominations as well as nominations from other film societies. As Linda Partridge she admits that she married Earl for his money but has since fallen in love with him, even to the point of considering rejecting the funds that will come her way at Earl's death.

Answer: Giving sex advice to men

Frank T.J. Mackey, played by Tom Cruise, was the only actor in the film to earn an Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actor. Mackey gives seminars for men on how to seduce women. Franks's bitterness arises from his father's desertion of his mother when she was dying in order to marry Linda. Frank was left to care for his mother.

Of course, Tom Cruise is one of the most popular stars of his time. His award perhaps is based on his popularity, his body of work, and a symbol of the combined efforts of the ensemble cast.

Answer: Philip Baker Hall

Philip Baker Hall is Jimmy Gator. Ironically, he, too, is dying of cancer. And he, too, wants to clear his conscience. He wants to unburden himself of his affairs with other women to his wife and to confess an incestuous relationship with his daughter.

Hall has been seen in so many character roles in both films and television that his face may be more familiar than his name. A former English teacher, his switch to acting has lead to great success. His break-through role was in Anderson's "Hard Eight" and he appeared in both "Boogie Nights" (1997) and "Magnolia" (1999).

Answer: Philip Seymour Hoffman

Philip Seymour Hoffman shows great compassion and insight in caring for the dying Earl Partridge as well an appreciation for soft core porn. His low key persistence finds Mackey at his father's bedside in his final moments; at first cursing him - then crying at his death.

Hoffman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Truman Capote in "Capote" (2005). He has been involved with several of Paul Thomas Anderson's projects. He has a long list of nominations and acting accolades. Perhaps an unappreciated role was of the double-dealing political campaign manager in "The Ides of March" (2011).

All three incorrect answers are actors in the film. Melora Walters is Claudia, Jimmie Gator's sex abused and cocaine addicted daughter. Melinda Dillon is Gator's wife. Felicity Huffman is an assistant producer of Gator's TV show.

Answer: William H. Macy

Another parallel in the film is the contrast between the present 'quiz kid' and the 'quiz kid' of the past. Jeremy Blackman plays Stanley Spector, a genius child dominated by his father to only focus on the quiz program and who has no normal life outside television. His final humiliation is urinating in his pants after a producer denies him access to a bathroom in order to keep the timing of the program on schedule.

Donnie Smith, a former child genius, is clumsy, eccentric, friendless, and adrift in life. He has survived by his childhood fame as a television star but that has worn thin on his employer who fires him. He blames his parents for cheating him out of the money he earned as a child, blames being struck by lightning as a cause for his failures as an adult, and believes that getting dental braces will solve all his problems. He turns to burglary as another solution but is again betrayed by his own ineptness.

William F. Macy is an established character actor who has appeared in such films as "Boogie Nights" (1997), Fargo (1996), and "The Cooler" (2003).

Answer: He loses his gun.

Jim Kurring (Reilly) pursues a criminal in a rainstorm and in the process loses his gun. He is so humiliated by this that he has to confess this on his first date with a new girl friend. Kurring mouths a lot of cliches about police work, duty, and morals, but is believable. Roger Ebert, the film critic, said (and I paraphrase) "a good movie always gives you someone to root for" and Reilly provides that element.

Answer: Aimee Mann

Near the end of the film there is a spine-chilling eerie fantasy scene. In it while Aimee Mann sings, the main characters all join in for the chorus. For instance, Jason Robards sings from his death bed and the others from their misery and locations. The song written and sang by Aimee Mann is "Wise Up".

"It's not
What you thought
When you first began it
You got
What you want
Now you can hardly stand it though,
By now you know
It's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
It's not going to stop
'Til you wise up"

Answer: A rain of frogs

When I first saw "Magnolia" in 1999 in a theater, it was an important experience to me as I felt it was an almost perfect film - acting, cinematography, pace, film editing and special effects - all the elements of a great movie. I met a co-worker on the way out who was laughing at what a waste of time and those goofy frogs. I wondered if we had seen the same film. Yes, the frogs did spoil the film for some fans and some critics but I thought it was creative and brought the film into a biblical framework.

In 1987 near Magnolia Station after a storm in Thomasville, AL, residents found fish, frogs, and other water creatures in ponds, swimming pools and ditches. Science explains such events as tornado-like winds over water creating water sprouts that move the things far from where they were.

In Exodus it says: "And the LORD spoke to Moses, Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, Thus said the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me. And if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all your borders with frogs: And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, and into your bedchamber, and on your bed, and into the house of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs."

A folk belief is that magnolia bark can cure cancer. Magnolia is also a street in the Los Angles area.

The frog storm brings to conclusion the agonies of the characters either in resolution or direction. They 'wise up'. It is symbolic and unifying.