Scenes (Songs) We Love: 'Wise Up,' Magnolia

It has been my experience that there are two types of people in the world: those who love Magnolia, and those that don't (and the ones that don't, man, they really don't). I fall into the first category, and I'm still occasionally surprised by the people who will come out of the 'Magnolia closet' as either a fan or someone who just ''doesn't get what all the fuss was about". Now I'm not going to spend the next couple of paragraphs defending Anderson's flick, but it does feel like I'm forever trying to explain just what I think is so fascinating about a film centered on the intersecting lives of a group of damaged individuals living in the San Fernando Valley.

So it really doesn't matter what you tell me about how ridiculous you thought it was when the frogs fell from the sky, or that Anderson is an overindulgent director, or even that Cruise was just playing himself. Nothing will diminish my love for this movie that is in equal turns funny and heartbreaking, hopeful and cynical -- and, not to mention, it allowed me to say a phrase that I will (most) likely never say again: Tom Cruise really did deserve that Oscar.

After the jump: why I love Wise Up and one of my favorite movie openings of all time...

You've probably noticed that I am a big fan of music in the movies, so when a pairing of image and music comes along that is as heart-wrenching as Magnolia's, it instantly earns a spot on my list. Beyond being a sad and beautiful song (and it is), in that unexpected musical moment, Anderson was able to get me to look past the 'movie star' factor, and big names like Cruise and Julianne Moore with their tremulous and less than perfect voices just seemed to be their characters -- not superstars. Although, on a side note, Cruise isn't a half bad singer. But the real reason I love this moment is because we've all been there: singing along to a song that seems to say what we can't. So every time I watch this film, I am convinced that Wise Up is more than just a great song, it is the soundtrack to a truly great movie moment.

Magnolia Fun Facts (via IMDB):

• In the film, the main cast sings along to Aimee Mann's "Wise Up", which was used in the film Jerry Maguire.
• Musician Fiona Apple (who Anderson was dating at the time) is responsible for many of the paintings seen throughout.
• Claudia Wilson Gator snorts cocaine off of a CD jewel case. The CD is "I'm With%