Laurel Canyon: Critic Reviews

75%

MovieWeb: 1 reviews

68%

RottenTomatoes: 119 reviews

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Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly (Top Critic)

50

The characters are tedious, as are the fussy performances of Bale and Beckinsale.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Stephen Holden New York Times (Top Critic)

80

It reconfirms the filmmaker's talent as an acutely observant chronicler of upscale bohemian subcultures.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Guardian [UK] (Top Critic)

Full Review » 8 years ago
Claudia Puig USA Today (Top Critic)

75

All the performances are strong, but McDormand, Bale and Nivola's are most powerful.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Desson Thomson Washington Post (Top Critic)

Thanks to the performances and the general looseness of the script, the movie is more appealing than it has any business being.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Ann Hornaday Washington Post (Top Critic)

If there is one reason to see Laurel Canyon, it's to witness McDormand in the kind of role she's long deserved.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Wesley Morris Boston Globe (Top Critic)

63

[A] tame exercise in hedonism and self-discovery.
Full Review » 9 years ago
J. Hoberman Village Voice (Top Critic)

The spectacle of pretty people floating languidly across the screen notwithstanding, Laurel Canyon is short on conviction and long on contrivance.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Eric Harrison Houston Chronicle (Top Critic)

84

Laurel Canyon's end isn't entirely satisfying, but the story works.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Jane Sumner Dallas Morning News (Top Critic)

50

More obvious and superficial with, except for Ms. McDormand, rather soapy and cartoonish elements.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Vic Vogler Denver Post (Top Critic)

63

Never reaches the bar it sets for itself.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times (Top Critic)

50

Too stilted and pre-programmed to come alive.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Loren King Chicago Tribune (Top Critic)

75

An engaging, entertaining glimpse into the lives of musicians nestled in the titular Hollywood Hills enclave.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Carrie Rickey Philadelphia Inquirer (Top Critic)

88

McDormand is superb. Likewise Bale and Nivola.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Jeff Strickler Minneapolis Star Tribune (Top Critic)

63

Fizzles out in the third act, but we're long past caring. By then, Frances McDormand has usurped the movie and turned it into a lesson in character acting.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Bill Muller Arizona Republic (Top Critic)

60

Self-discovery seems to be the goal, but the revelations hardly seem worth the work.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Rex Reed New York Observer (Top Critic)

It has power above and below the waist, and proves that not all the navels in L.A. are in the oranges.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Andrew Sarris New York Observer (Top Critic)

What rescues this situation from the formulaic banality it seems to be headed toward is the seriousness with which the filmmakers take the actual work being done by the various characters.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Megan Lehmann New York Post (Top Critic)

75

Cholodenko ... takes the scenario beyond cliche by creating a raft of fully fledged characters and giving the tale a generational twist.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Peter Howell Toronto Star (Top Critic)

60

[Cholodenko's] smart script and sensitive directing make up for sluggish pacing, the picture's one major flaw.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Liam Lacey Globe and Mail (Top Critic)

63

Plays out like a slow-motion sex farce.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Stephanie Zacharek Salon.com (Top Critic)

Laurel Canyon may be more a vibe than a movie. And that's precisely its power.
Full Review » 9 years ago
James Berardinelli ReelViews (Top Critic)

50

Comes 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.
Full Review » 9 years ago
Kirk Honeycutt Hollywood Reporter (Top Critic)

An absorbing film about men and women and mothers and sons and how choices can forever alter relationships.
Full Review » 10 years ago
Peter Travers Rolling Stone (Top Critic)

25

A clumsy package of cliches.
Full Review » 9 years ago