Magnolia (1999) with Alex Kauffman - Tom Cruisin' USA

Explicit content warning

05/11/22 • 128 min

Paul Thomas Anderson's primal scream about coincidence, fate, frogs, and Hollywood is on the table today thanks to our friend, Alex Kauffman. She reveals that at 18-years-old she got a Magnolia-inspired tattoo that she maaaaybe regrets getting back then as she, Rocco, and Alex Logan try to get to the bottom of what the hell this movie actually means, and if it is a masterpiece, a mess, or perhaps, both?
The trio discuss how they first found the film over a shared infatuation with Julianne Moore, how Tom Cruise almost overshadows the entire project (and maybe kinda deserves to), how John C. Reilly's hilarious role was inspired by the show "Cops," how Philip Seymour Hoffman's Phil Parma character is like human sage, and how it all connects to the great NeverEnding Movie Marathon that has taken the next few weeks to go Tom Cruisin' the USA!
The NeverEnding Movie Marathon is a weekly podcastic celebration of cinema. Dive deep into fan-favorite films (#NoStinkers!), thematically curated to enhance your movie viewing by hosts Matt Detisch, Alex Logan, and Michael Rocco.
Find us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or at neverendingmoviemarathon.com

Previous Episode

MINI: Tom Cruise Almost Made...

Today, Rocco and Alex kick off our May Double Feature... Tom Cruisin’ USA! We begin with a handful of films that you’ve NEVER seen as these are all near-misses for the Cruise Missile. This is Tom Cruise Almost Made!

We begin with his near-miss launching the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Tony Stark, a.k.a. Iron Man in an adaptation that never quite found its footing in the mid-2000s. Cruise says that he didn't think the project was going to work at the time, but his tune may have changed with his cameo as a multiverse version of Iron Man in Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
We follow up with another would-be Raimi adaptation based on Ed Brubaker's Sleeper. We also discuss what happened with Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of HP Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, a would-be $150 million monsterpiece shot in 3D and produced by James Cameron. And, we end by going deep on Cruise's relationship with Steven Spielberg that almost led to another World War II film, but resulted in War of the Worlds instead.
Which adaptation would you have loved to see?
The NeverEnding Movie Marathon is a weekly podcastic celebration of cinema. Dive deep into fan-favorite films (#NoStinkers!), thematically curated to enhance your movie viewing by hosts Matt Detisch, Alex Logan, and Michael Rocco.
Find us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or at neverendingmoviemarathon.com

Next Episode

MINI: The Battle of the Great Scotts

This week on the NeverEnding Movie Marathon, Alex and Rocco are pitting brother against brother in the Battle of the Great Scotts!
Tony versus Ridley in Three Rounds!
Two Scotts enter the ring, but only one Scott will be crowned King of Movies!
Rocco represents Ridley Scott with three films that he loves: ALIEN (1979), BLADE RUNNER (1982), and MATCHSTICK MEN (2003), while Alex toasts Tony Scott with a trio of absolute bangers: THE HUNGER (1983), ENEMY OF THE STATE (1998), and TRUE ROMANCE (1993), in three themed rounds of ridiculous debate!
The NeverEnding Movie Marathon is a weekly podcastic celebration of cinema. Dive deep into fan-favorite films (#NoStinkers!), thematically curated to enhance your movie viewing by hosts Matt Detisch, Alex Logan, and Michael Rocco.
Find us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook or at neverendingmoviemarathon.com