As far as ensemble "a few days in the life of a bunch of people" movies go, Short Cuts is not only one of Robert Altman's best...it's one of the best anyone has ever made. He maintains a consistent tone and pace beautifully for over 3 hours. It's even pretty tense for a character study. Altman also ties all these Los Angelenos together brilliantly, even though Raymond Carver's short stories aren't inter-connected the way the film is. And that's the key word because this is a movie about people trying to make connections...and often failing miserably. The actors---Lemmon, Robbins, Moore, Tomlin, JJ and so many more---are mostly tremendous...with some notable exceptions (cough cough the baker). Just like Short Cuts itself, these characters are flawed, but they are oh so human and relatable. So get comfortable, but keep your clothes on as our 520th episode analyzes a truly excellent picture made by a master filmmaker.

Well, Actually: Madeleine Stowe is in fact fully naked when she's posing for Julianne Moore's painting...we just don't see bottom nudity like we do with Moore later on. Also, Tim Robbins was in Pret A Porter, so he DID work with Altman again. Also also, Jack Lemmon died in 2001, not 2000.

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