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Laurel Canyon (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:31
Fresh:10
Rotten:21
Average Rating:2.5/10
Consensus: Though the movie itself is flawed, McDormand is fantastic as Jane.
Theatrical Release:Mar 7, 2003 Limited
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
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Reviews for Laurel Canyon
McDormand is in top form playing a woman whose almost-childlike optimism can switch to cool business savvy in the blink of an eye.
Laurel Canyon will make you wish that your mother liked to smoked pot. By film’s end, though, you’ll have realized that the only way to tolerate Laurel Canyon is under the influence of illicit substances.
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...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 66% 66% | Public Enemies |
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 44% 44% | Night at the Museum: B… |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 32% 32% | Terminator Salvation |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 88% 88% | Inglourious Basterds |
| 78% 78% | The Hangover |
| 49% 49% | Taking Woodstock |
| 26% 26% | The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard |
| 47% 47% | The Girl From Monaco |
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