The characters are tedious, as are the fussy performances of Bale and Beckinsale.
Comment
03/06/03
Laurel Canyon (2003)
67
%
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... [More]
Starring: Frances McDormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha McElhone
Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Reviews for Laurel Canyon
Relies on easy caricature over true character such that the film fails to build emotional momentum or resonance.
03/06/03
The chemistry between McDormand, Ian and goody-two-shoes Alex is soggy rather than sexy.
03/06/03
The spectacle of pretty people floating languidly across the screen notwithstanding, Laurel Canyon is short on conviction and long on contrivance.
03/04/03
Frances McDormand isn't just good, she's fantastic in this movie.
03/04/03
Top CriticComes across pretty much as a pretentious soap opera -- a movie that wants the audience to believe it has more to say about life than the usual melodrama.
03/01/03
'Where could all this be going? you might wonder. Sadly, the answer is 'Nowhere.'
02/26/03
A clumsy package of clichés.
02/24/03
Cholodenko has pulled finely calibrated ensemble work from her perfectly cast actors who, despite varied backgrounds, are on the same page and bring a rare authenticity to their interactions.
02/22/03
If the booze-swilling, oversexed evil sister of McDormand’s Almost Famous matron were to make her own movie, it might look something like Laurel Canyon.
02/09/03
A witty, thoroughly enjoyable take on what happens when two serious people come in contact with others who are hedonistic.
02/05/03
Cholodenko's tepid melodrama is an exercise in boilerplate storytelling.
02/04/03
Despite the insistent prurience in the writing, the performances are pro and much production value is accomplished on a modest budget.
01/27/03
McDormand's terrific as the perennially foxy rock chick, but Bale contributes the movie's most affecting performance as a son who still longs for the stability his mother could never provide.
10/02/02
If Laurel Canyon isn't quite as daring as it thinks it is, it is an always honest, often stirring movie.
09/15/02
An absorbing film about men and women and mothers and sons and how choices can forever alter relationships.
05/18/02
Latest News for Laurel Canyon
October 19, 2006:
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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...
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