Posted by Rose of Sharons Dead Baby at cpia.jhu.edu on June 26, 2001 at 14:06:03:
In Reply to: Vincent, can you explain it to me? posted by Fucking Demon on June 26, 2001 at 13:49:41:
: Because I want to like Magnolia. I really do. I just don't get it. I don't understand the significance of the frogs or anything else that
: happens.
I tend to believe that Magnolia is a lot more straight-forward
than allegorical. Sometimes an old man dying of cancer is just an old man dying of cancer...and sometimes a frustrated gay man taking a frog in the face is just that.
Notice that there's no commentary on the dvd. It's not as if PTA has an aversion to them. If anything, I believe that he wanted Magnolia audiences to develop their own interpretations (much the same reason that Stanley Kubrick claimed that he never liked to talk about his films).
Whatever you do, don't beat yourself up 'cause you WANT to like Magnolia. Don't be afraid to admit that, hey, it doesn't work for you. Forget it, move on.
Maybe it'll grow on you with a few years. Forget about it now and come back to it later on if you're still curious.
: I mean, it seems to set you up for some amazing
: Tarantino-esque coincidences, but then there are none.
That may have a lot do with the fact that Magnolia is not a Quentin Tarantino film (nor was it intended to be mistaken for one).