Laurel Canyon is froth, but fun.
Laurel Canyon (2003)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:107
Fresh:72
Rotten:35
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: Though the movie itself is flawed, McDormand is fantastic as Jane.
Runtime: 1 hr 41 mins
Genre: Dramas
US Box Office: $3,596,939
Synopsis: Laurel Canyon is a street that runs through the heart of the Hollywood Hills, joining the middle-class, stolid environs of the San Fernando Valley to the heart of the city of Los Angeles. The... Laurel Canyon is a street that runs through the heart of the Hollywood Hills, joining the middle-class, stolid environs of the San Fernando Valley to the heart of the city of Los Angeles. The canyon is notable for its varied residents through the years and has served, and continues to, as the home to many rock stars, musicians, performers, producers, and the like. Among its current residents are Jane (Frances McDormand), a legendary record producer, currently producing an album for a British band whose lead singer Ian (Allesandro Nivola) is her much younger lover. Jane and the band are creating the album in her Laurel Canyon house where she has a recording studio. Jane’s son Sam (Christian Bale) and his fiancée Alex (Kate Beckinsale) are both recent graduates of Harvard medical school. Conservative, solid and serious, the couple find it necessary to move to Los Angeles to complete their studies: Sam is completing his Residency at the renowned Hausman Neuropsychiatric Institute, while Alex is intent on completing her dissertation on Drosophilia Genomics. Jane has offered her Laurel Canyon home for them to stay in, promising that it will be vacant. But when Sam and Alex arrive Jane and the Band are still working in Jane’s home recording studio to complete the album. Sam and Alex begrudgingly stay at Jane’s house until they can find an alternative place to live. Once in the house, however, things begin to slowly unravel. Alex’s attraction to Jane’s and Ian’s freewheeling lifestyle and Sam’s hesitancy about renewing a relationship with his wayward mother as well as his growing attraction to fellow medical resident Sara (Natascha McElhone) slowly fill the house with tension and doubt... -- © 2002 Sony Pictures Classics [More]
Starring: Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone
Starring: Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone, Alessandro Nivola, Melissa De Sousa
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Screenwriter: Lisa Cholodenko
Producer: Susan A. Stover, Jeff Levy-Hinte
Composer: Craig Wedren
Studio: Sony Pictures Classics
Reviews for Laurel Canyon
Like Shampoo, the movie is a comical carousel of beautifully joined overlaps.
The hills are alive with the sound of rock and roll, and the people of Laurel Canyon are learning new songs to live by.
More obvious and superficial with, except for Ms. McDormand, rather soapy and cartoonish elements.
An engaging, entertaining glimpse into the lives of musicians nestled in the titular Hollywood Hills enclave.
A simmering soap opera with a much stronger cast than it deserves. ... [Its] edges are so smooth that it feels like it has been processed by some photo editing software.
it goes without saying that McDormand is the high point of Laurel Canyon. She tears through the stiff, paper-thin movie with a sense of complete freedom, the same way Geena Davis did in The Accidental Tourist.
A flawed but smart independent film whose virtues outweigh its flaws, and whose virtues are distinct.
Maybe it's that Cholodenko's more familiar with New York and loath to be too critical of another town, but Laurel Canyon lacks the sense of risk that High Art had, and in doing so, emasculates its apparent protagonist in Sam.
May not be the deepest film around, but the sharp writing, an able cast and sensitive direction make it an engaging one.
...well-acted but unadventurous in its allegorical depiction of temptation and personal growth.
Rock-and-roll tale of temptation in paradise looks great ... and works thanks to McDormand's fearless performance.
Thank goodness for Nivola ... who makes a charming degenerate, and McDormand in her sexiest role to date. They make up for a bunch of sins.
Latest News for Laurel Canyon
October 19, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Flags" Flies High; "The Prestige" Is Magic; "Flicka" Is A Pretty Good Ride; "Marie Antoinette" Spared Critical Guillotine
This week at the movies, we've got a complex tale of heroism (Clint Eastwood's "Flags of Our Fathers," starring Ryan Phillippe), a story of dueling magicians... More...
More Movies
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 71% 71% | Where the Wild Things Are | 03/12 |
| 83% 83% | Paranormal Activity | 03/12 |
| 89% 89% | Zombieland | 03/12 |
| 77% 77% | The Informant! | 03/12 |
| | The Strength of Water | 03/12 |
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Around The Network
- Laurel Canyon at Rotten Tomatoes
- Laurel Canyon at IGN
- Laurel Canyon at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Tim Burton's costume designer talks to Movieline about her long collaboration with the filmmaker and Johnny Depp.

The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

We've got 20 copies of the hit TV series' Pilot Episode to giveaway.

Double passes up for grabs to the new comedy starring Paul Giamatti.

Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions

Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser

Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.

We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection



Top Critic

