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Laura Smiles (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:15
Fresh:7
Rotten:8
Average Rating:5/10
Runtime: 1 hr 38 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Sep 22, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: A light-splashed meeting between two soon-to-be-married young lovers shows Laura (Wright), a fledgling actress, and Chris (Kip Pardue - "Imaginary Heroes", "The Rules of Attraction", "Remember the... [More]
Starring: Petra Wright, Mark Derwin, Kip Pardue, Jonathan Silverman
Director: Jason Ruscio
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Reviews for Laura Smiles
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
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Ms. Wright and all her acting colleagues provide very persuasive performances amid the shifting perspectives of Mr. Ruscio’s convoluted storytelling. Full Review |
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 2/5 |
Ruscio would rather add forced narrative complications than get to the actual core of what he's tossing out there, the sacrifices made in the name of relationships, dreams dashed or discarded. Full Review |
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B+ |
The movie Little Children wanted to be. Full Review |
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It casts an increasingly hypnotic spell, thanks in no small measure to Wright - a fearless actress (and the real-life wife of writer-director Ruscio) who brings this sometimes despicable, often heartbreaking character to life with every atom of her being. Full Review |
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Could have used much more of the sly and subtle humor that only occasionally pops up. Full Review |
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C- |
The film hardly registers as an open-wound document of a spirit more lost than she cares to confront. Instead, Laura Smiles exists somewhere in the middle, frozen by its pretension and incapacity to engage. Full Review |
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The film unfortunately ends as just another misguided indie, artily straining for substance. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Unlike many filmmakers who try to stake out the gray area between mundane reality and sleazy surreality, Ruscio maintains a successful balance throughout and gracefully brings the two together in a delicately ambiguous final scene. Full Review |
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2/5 |
Part domestic drama, part thriller, Laura Smiles is so ambitious that its ultimate failure is more depressing than anything in its dark script. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Ruscio's script is grim and darkly funny, but the big attraction is Wright's right-on performance. She's an actress waiting to be discovered. Full Review |
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1.5/4 |
It's an interesting profile in self-destruction until the script becomes unhinged itself and has Laura doing things that are not so much outrageous as hilariously stupid. Full Review |
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1/4 |
Laura Smiles teaches us that you can't escape misery, least of all in Jersey. Full Review |
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3/6 |
The movie’s muddy, overexposed look is tough on the eyes, but its unrelentingly bleak take on the land of supermarkets and car dealerships is not without its share of dark humor, and it thankfully eschews easy answers. Full Review |
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It would be difficult to come up with a more clichéd indie film than writer-director Jason Ruscio's Laura Smiles. Full Review |
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Sharp dialogue, idiosyncratic characters and a wickedly brilliant structure that subtly derails expectation make Laura Smiles a rarity among mellers. Full Review |
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