Laurel Canyon Critic Reviews

A romantic comedy of grace notes and mini-epiphanies -- mini, that is, except for Ms. McDormand's Jane, who is memorable to the max. Read the full review

Reconfirms the filmmaker's talent as an acutely observant chronicler of upscale bohemian subcultures. Read the full review

Compelling tale of a free-spirited record producer, played with perfect pitch by Frances McDormand. Read the full review

Ultimately lacks the narrative muscle that could have made it great. But it does have McDormand, who is great in this, her best showcase since "Fargo." Read the full review

Thanks to the performances and the general looseness of the script, the movie is more appealing than it has any business being. Read the full review

In its milieu and parallel story lines, the film suggests a bantam "Short Cuts," but for better and for worse, this is Altman without the razored edge. Cholodenko elicits appealing performances from her ensemble, but she never pushes their characters anywhere there isn't an easy out. Read the full review

Frances McDormand rescues this role from the throes of cliche. It's as though drippy dialogue and sappy rock were a small price to pay for a part that lets her flash her breasts, get stoned, and join in a three-way. Read the full review

McDormand is the best thing about Laurel Canyon. She's also the most unfortunate victim of a film that seems unable or unwilling to give even its most intriguing and compulsively watchable character her due. Read the full review

Occasionally, the film invites a more dynamic touch than the careful slowness Cholodenko carries over from "High Art." But that same care gives the movie a seductive quality that would have been lost in a more hurried approach. Read the full review