A Film by P. T. Anderson
"It is in the opinion of this narrator that strange things like this happen every day."
. The man who brought us Boogie Nights returns with his most ambitious movie yet. That ambition pays off, however, with one of the best, most original movies ever to hit the big screen.
. Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson assembled his usual gang of actors (including Phillip Seymore Hoffman, William H. Macy, Julianne Moore, Phillip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly) along with some fresh faces (with a notable stand-out performance by Tom Cruise), and given many of them the role of a lifetime.
. Anderson also used the music of Aimee Mann to score most of his film. The instrumental pieces were written by John Brion. In addition to scoring Boogie Nights, Brion produced Fiona Apple's 1999 album, When the Pawn... (Of note, Anderson and Apple are a couple. They met on the set of the music video for Apple's Across the Universe, which Anderson directed.)
My Personal Take
. This would have to be one of the best movies I've ever seen. It is absolutely incredible. It's a 3 hour and 20 minute ode to family dysfunction. We get involved in the lives of about 9 main characters, and several characters surrounding each of them. We learn about how messed up their lives are. Then we watch them try to work everything out on one climactic evening.
---plot spoilers ahead---
. After so much stress, the movie finally offers us a moment of catharsis near the end... it rains frogs. Frogs fall out of the sky. I can guarantee you that, though most people think it's stupid right now, this movie is a classic and the frog storm will be recognized as one of the greatest, most memorable screen moments of all-time.
. The frog storm is so fantastic for so many reasons. First of all, you can't deny that it is original. How many movies or TV shows or books have you encountered where it rains frogs? There's the Bible (which Anderson refernces in the movie), and that's about it. Second of all, look at everything it does for the movie. These people are so caught up in their personal dilemmas, and it seems like there's no chance of resolution. Well, when it rains frogs from the sky, and you're there to witness it, you tend of forget about everything else. The frog storm in the movie is basically saying, Yes, your lives are fun and dramatic and what-not, but the universe CAN go on without you if it wants. The frog storm offers perspective to the characters. It's absolutely amazing.
Bonus Material
. In the movie, the phone number 1-877-TAME-HER is said to be Frank "T.J." Mackey's sales line. People wishing to purchase his self-help program can call that number. Well, in order to use that number in the movie, the filmmakers had to purchase it... which means you, too, can call the number. Dial it up and listen to Tom Cruise, in the character of Mackey, make his sales pitch for Seduce and Destroy.
