Parents' Guide to

Magnolia

By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Drugs, sex, language in '90s drama about child abuse.

Movie R 1999 188 minutes
Magnolia Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 16+

Based on 6 parent reviews

doctora
doctora Parent of 6-year-old
February 3, 2023
age 17+

A bit self-important

It's long. It's engaging. And I think you want to know how it ends. Enjoyable? Eh. Interesting, yes. I think you want all of the pieces to add up to something a bit more compelling, but still, it's beautifully shot.
Paul M.
Paul M. Parent of 12-year-old
March 25, 2022
age 12+

nothing too bad

i love the film, i watched it with my 12 year old son and it wasnt half bad, there was some brief sex but the way the talented director paul thomas anderson does camera work is quick zooms in a scorsese like style, these sex scenes are only included in the montages where there are those 3 or 4 second long zooms but if there is going to be some sex it will be only be brief and your son has probably seen worse or will see worse in the coming years, now there is quite a bit of bad language in this film (over 90 f bombs) but the films runtime is 3hrs and 8 minutes, when you're researching how much bad language a film has always consider the runtime as for example a film like whiplash has quite alot of profanity's but since its under 100 minutes you would think it dosent have as much bad language in it as this 3 hour long movie called magnolia, but maybe if magnolia was 1 hour 40 mins you would let your kid watch it since it has less cursing, anyways lets face it your child already knows these words so hearing them a couple more times wont hurt. there is barely any violence in this movie but there is a chunk of suicide, also a man has a bloody face after falling off of a ladder, nothing much really. there is quite a bit of drugs as there is a character called claudia who is a drug addict and snorts lines of cocaine often but i know my child isn't gonna do drugs and my family is pretty insensitive to the subject as we watch border control together and shows which involve people drug raiding so we don't protect our children from that material at least me and my wife dont. overall this is an all time classic starring, tom cruise, philip seymour hoffman, julianne moore, john c reilly and more, it is a 3 hour epic and is definetely worth your time and kids over the age of 12s' time, it also has a lesson that you should never do anything you think you will regret in the future (child abuse and drugs are examples of that shown in the movie) thanks for reading i hope this review found you well.

This title has:

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What's the Story?

MAGNOLIA is a braid of twisted and intertwined mini-plots that generally address the lasting effects on individuals and society of the abuse of children. A boy (Jeremy Blackman) has a run on a kid TV quiz show; he is treated like a commodity by both his self-absorbed actor-wannabe father and by the producers of the show. A man in his 40s who drinks too much (William H. Macy) is fired from his job, a position he only got because he is a former children's quiz show star. He complains his parents stole all the money he won on the show and he's bitter for the rest of his life because of that unfairness. A self-aggrandizing, crude, and boastful author and celebrity lecturer (Tom Cruise) instructs hotel ballrooms full of frustrated men on how to seduce women, whether the women want to be seduced or not. It turns out that while his mother was dying of cancer, he was abandoned by his insensitive father, the quiz show's producer (Jason Robards), who is now himself dying painfully of cancer. His empathetic nurse (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) struggles to get in touch with the estranged son before the dad dies, which leads to a volcanic expression of pent-up hatred. Also dying is the 30-year host of the quiz show (Phillip Baker Hall), who is trying vainly to make amends with his unforgiving, estranged, drug-abusing daughter (Malora Walters), whom he may or may not have sexually abused. References to Exodus 8:2 (remember the 10 plagues?) abound, and representations of magnolias are also noteworthy.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (2):

Given the complexity and ambition of this film, the 28-year-old Paul Thomas Anderson certainly displayed brilliance and talent in the writing and direction of it. That said, Magnolia remains a highly flawed yet intense piece that contains over-long, nearly unwatchable sequences of great actors doing their best with forced and often ridiculous plotting. Anderson himself admitted 16 years after the release that it was too long, and that bagginess may chase away viewers who could otherwise enjoy good performances and benefit from the film's general warning that cruelty to and neglect of children is an ongoing problem with far-reaching consequences that we all must deal with.

Especially trying, and unbelievable, are the ravings of a drug-addled wife who married her husband for money but has fallen in love with him now that he's dying. The tribulations of a sweet, humiliated kid on a live game show are also wrenching. And it's far-fetched to think a man of high intelligence with normal teeth would believe his love life would improve if he could only afford braces. The tribulations of an overbearing but kindly cop feel completely dispensable. If Anderson one day cuts this down by a good hour, it will probably allow what is best in the film to be far more affecting and accessible.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about different kinds of child abuse. Do you think the ultimate psychological damage done by neglect is different from that caused by emotional abuse? Is constant belittling abuse? How do all these differ from physical or sexual abuse? Do you think children can recover from these forms of abuse?

  • Magnolia asks viewers to see some drug abuse and alcoholism as the result of pain inflicted during childhood, and thus for all of us to view those with substance problems less harshly. Do you think all substance abuse can be traced to parental errors? Do some substance abusers come from loving and supportive homes?

  • Do you think that putting kids on TV shows that make money for adults is a form of child abuse? Why or why not? How do you think such shows could be monitored to ensure the safety of children who are featured?

Movie Details

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