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I've heard several people describe "Magnolia" as a work of art, and I couldn't agree more.
One can categorize movies in any number of ways, and one category which is small indeed, is "Moving Pictures as Art".
Magnolia is definitely one of those films.
If you look at Magnolia as an artistic presentation, then matters such as plot, character development, etc., fall away. After all, what is the plot of da Vinci's Mona Lisa? There is no plot. All that you are given is what is presented. What you get out of that painting is entirely up to you; the colors, the brushstrokes, the background is there for all to see, yet you may focus on one facet whilst another focusses on another.
So it is with Magnolia.
It is not meant to be taken literally, as a piece of storytelling. It really doesn't work that well that way (as many have noted here). For instance, the game show host's mental meltdown on the quiz show, or the little boy's inability to take a much needed bathroom break. C'mon folks, what quiz shows are shown live? They are all filmed and broadcast later. The bathroom break and the mental breakdown could be edited out.
Tom Cruise's infomercial/seminar was so over the top as to be very comical. Wouldn't happen in this world. And it's not to be taken literally.
Look at the film not as a film per se, but as a moving work of art.
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