Laura Smiles Reviews

Ms. Wright and all her acting colleagues provide very persuasive performances amid the shifting perspectives of Mr. Ruscio's convoluted storytelling.

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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 | Original Score: 2/5

The movie Little Children wanted to be.

Full Review | Original Score: B+

Could have used much more of the sly and subtle humor that only occasionally pops up.

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 | Original Score: 2/5

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 | Original Score: 3/4

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 | Original Score: 1.5/4

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 | Original Score: 3/6

It would be difficult to come up with a more clichéd indie film than writer-director Jason Ruscio's Laura Smiles.

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Sharp dialogue, idiosyncratic characters and a wickedly brilliant structure that subtly derails expectation make Laura Smiles a rarity among mellers.

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