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Magnolia

Date: Aug 24 2000

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Plot: On one random day in the San Fernando Valley (California), a dying father, a young wife, a male caretaker, a famous lost son, a police officer in love, a boy genius, an ex-boy genius, a game show host and an drug-addicted daughter will each become part of an interesting story. All of the characters affect each other’s lives on a day that builds to an unforgettable climax.
Clip: In this scene, a police officer named Jim (John C. Reilly) knocks on Claudia’s door because she is playing her music too loud. The police officer thinks Claudia is cute, so he tries to ask her out on a date.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Claudia

Jim

Claudia: Yeah, what is it? Did you forget something?

Jim: No, no, I, I was wondering…, man, I feel like a bit of a scumbucket doing this since I came here as an officer of the law, and the situation and everything, but I feel like I’d be a fool if I didn’t do something I really want to do, which is to ask you for a date.

Claudia: You want to go on a date with me?

Jim: Please, yes.

Claudia: Well, is that illegal?

Jim: Sort of.

Claudia: Then I’d like to go. What do you want to do?

Jim: I don’t know. I hadn’t thought about it. You know what? That’s not true. I have thought about it. I’ve been thinking about asking you for a date since you opened the door.

Claudia: Really?

Jim: Yeah.

Claudia: I thought you were flirting with me a little. You want to go tonight?

Jim: I don’t know, I’m, I’m off tonight. Yeah. What, what time?

Claudia: Eight o’clock.

Jim: I don’t, I don’t get off until ten.

Claudia: Ten o’clock!

Jim: K.

Claudia: Yeah.

Jim: Yeah, Bye.

Claudia: Yeah, bye.

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Discussion

This is a great conversation between two people who are very nervous. They both kind of like each other and want to go out, but they’re not sure about how to show their feelings. There is a lot of stuttering, but it is very natural. Magnolia is without a doubt one of the best movies of the year. I loved it. The characters are amazing and the acting is fantastic. However, it is also a very subtle movie. You have to work hard to understand and appreciate it. For me, that makes it more enjoyable, but for a non-native English speaker it may make the movie hard to understand. So, for an international audience I give it a 9 out of 10. Have you seen this movie and you want to share your opinion? Or maybe you have seen another movie recently you want to talk about? Well, come to the “Movie Madness” message board and tell us about it! From the front row, Migs