Goofs for
Magnolia (1999) More at IMDbPro »

• Continuity: Two lights on the back of the ambulance are on and off in consecutive shots.
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: Shadow moving on the wall behind Frank Mackey as he sits down beside Earl's deathbed.
  
  
• Continuity: As Officer Jim drives in his patrol car, he has the windshield wipers on full blast because he can't see through the downpour. As the camera angle changes and we view the oncoming traffic, the oncoming vehicle's windshield wipers are not moving and the downpour seems no more than a mist.
  
  

• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the beginning sequence involving the scuba diver in the tree, specifically when they are in the casino and the pilot says "All I need is a two." The dealer (scuba diver) lays down an eight of diamonds, but it is the only card in front of the pilot. In this style of blackjack, the player holds the first two cards in his hand.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Water seen through restaurant window behind Claudia, after rainstorm stops. Apparently a waterfall in the courtyard.
  
  
• Factual errors: When Linda Partridge is first placed in the ambulance, the EMT crew is not providing ventilations for her after stating that she has six respirations per minute (norm is 12-20). This would be priority and the crew should have been using an Ambu on scene. Such equipment is not seen until later.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: WDKK is not a (geographically misplaced) TV station, but the abbreviation of the program, "What Do Kids Know?"
  
  
• Crew or equipment visible: Approximately 13 minutes into the film, Officer Jim Kurring is wearing sunglasses while driving that reflect the camera mounted on the hood.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The movie takes place when it is cold outside (we can see this from the clothes that the characters wear and from the visible exhaust from cars), yet the Partridge's pool is uncovered when the frogs fall. Assuming the pool is heated, this wastes energy, but is not impossible in a climate where the temperature does not approach freezing.
  
  
• Revealing mistakes: The narrator tells us that Sydney Barringer was killed instantly when shot by his mother, but he braces for the impact with the safety net at the end of his fall.
  
  
• Continuity: When Linda Partridge is swallowing pills in her car, it's raining outside. A few minutes later, when she's passed out, the car is bone dry.
  
  
• Continuity: When Linda Partridge drives her car into the garage, the floor is already wet.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Much of the prolog, while appearing to be fact, is either fiction, urban legend, or severely altered fact. But then, the movie is fiction.
  
  
• Continuity: In the "Wise Up" sequence, Claudia is dressed for her date, she's wearing black and her hair is up. When she opens the door to Jim, she's wearing red, her hair is down. On the way to the car, she is again wearing black etc, and at the restaurant she is back wearing red.
  
  
• Continuity: As Jim Kurring is driving in his patrol car, it is raining heavily, but as he makes his U-turn, the road is not only dry, but there is no rain.
  
  
• Continuity: The view from the inside of the Barringer's apartment shows Sydney Barringer falling and being shot in the stomach as he passes by the window. However, the same incident viewed from the outside clearly shows Sydney falling with his feet oriented directly toward the apartment window as he passes it on the way down.
  
  
• Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): Neil Flynn is credited as Stanley Berry, but in the film, Flynn is seen when the narrator says, "Daniel Hill."
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: When Claudia brews a pot of coffee for herself and Officer Jim Kurring, she clearly holds the pot with two hands, one hand being on the glass and one hand on the handle. Since she is coked out and we can assume that she spends much of time under the influence, it can be assumed that she may not realize the pot is hot. Combine the effects of coke with the anxiety she is feeling for having a cop in her apartment and it is easy to believe.
  
  
• Continuity: When Officer Kurring is leaving the station and walking to his cruiser in the beginning, he is carrying a shotgun. In the next shot as he steps into the cruiser, in the same hand he is holding a night stick and a flashlight, and no shotgun.
  
  
• Miscellaneous: During the weather transition about 2 hours and 22 minutes into the movie where "Rain Clearing, Breezy Overnight" is shown, The stoplights change from red, to yellow, to green. You can tell that the film was reversed in this scene, because stoplights change from green to yellow, and then red, not the other way around.
  
  
• Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the scene where Donnie Smith is robbing the furniture store he previously worked at the poster on the door reads, "Keep Door Lock at all times!", instead of "Keep Door Locked at all times!" Due to the owner's accent, it can be assumed that this was just due to him being a non-native English speaker and writer.
  
  
• Continuity: The blood on Kurring's forehead changes at the end of the movie.
  
  
• Continuity: After Kurring listens to the little rapper, he drives off. The two cars parked in front of his cruiser change position.
  
  

Related Links