Laurel Canyon | 
| Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Actors: Frances Mcdormand, Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, Natascha Mcelhone, Alessandro Nivola
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.94
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Rating:  89 reviews
Sales Rank: 29982
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd, Full Screen, Letterboxed, Live, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Subtitled)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 99
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 103 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: COLD00216D
ISBN: 1404922806
UPC: 043396002166
EAN: 9781404922808
ASIN: B00009MEKN
Theatrical Release Date: 2002
Release Date: July 15, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A california tale of a conservative harvard graduate his academic fiance & their mind-altering stay with his wild record producer mom. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 10/04/2005 Starring: Frances Mcdormand Natascha Mcelhone Run time: 103 minutes Rating: R Director: Lisa Cholodenko
Amazon.com
When young psychiatrist Sam (Christian Bale), the son of record producer Jane (Frances McDormand), brings his girlfriend Alex (Kate Beckinsale) to stay at his mother's house, he's expecting that Jane will be gone--but a delay in finishing an album with a British rocker named Ian (Alessandro Nivola) has kept her there. Instantly, the tensions of Sam's counterculture childhood set off a series of betrayals and attractions that threaten to wreck Sam and Alex's relationship. Director Lisa Cholodenko has a keen eye for the behavior, delineating doctors and musicians by the ways they talk and greet each other--it's an almost anthropological study of different tribes. Laurel Canyon lacks the focused story of High Art, Cholodenko's previous movie, and some viewers may find the ways the characters change too subtle to be rewarding; but for others, the rich, detailed performances will be a pleasure worth having. --Bret Fetzer
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| Customer Reviews: Read 84 more reviews...
 great character movie May 17, 2009
Jon Norris (Oregon, USA)
I discovered this film as I have been going through Frances McDormand's body of work. I only began to really pay attention to her after Fargo (loved her, mostly hated the film - just not my cup of tea), and recently went completely nuts over her in "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day." After Pettigrew, I started watching every one of her films I could get my hands on. I can't say enough about how powerful she is on the screen, and I am way at the back of a long line of admirers.
In this movie, McDormand plays Jane, a semi-famous record producer in LA, and Christian Bale plays her son, Sam. He has been at Harvard finishing medical school and gets a position at a medical institute in Los Angeles (LA). Bringing his rather sheltered East Coast girlfriend Alex (Kate Beckinsale) along, he goes to LA thinking his mother will be at her beach house so he and Alex can stay at her Laurel Canyon residence until they get set up with a place of their own.
Unfortunately for the plan, the record Jane is producing is taking longer than she thought it would, and the young couple find themselves in the midst of Jane's world of sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll. Needless to say, all manner of comedic and personality fireworks ensue.
This is a good character driven film, with lots of interesting, although somewhat predictable, situations as each person "goes through their changes," as a friend of mine who lived in LA used to say. The characters seemed familiar and quite real, and reminded me of more than a few people I have known. I found it all quite believable and immediately cared about the characters and the story.
There is nudity (including McDormand's sweet body), drug use, and serious swearing, so be forewarned. If that bothers you, then you probably won't like this movie. There are all manner of emotional conflicts and "cognitive dissonance" as the two worlds collide, including parent/child issues, fidelity issues, forbidden fantasy issues, and so on. It is a rich tapestry and it is all handled rather well, which is a nice change from most films, with their predictable mainstream Hollywood preaching.
Of course, I could rant on and on about McDormand, having become quite smitten of late with her and her work, but I won't bore you with that. Everyone does a great job: Alessandro Nivola as Jane's new lover and musical find, Nastacha McElhone as a resident at Sam's new workplace with designs on Sam, and the musicians, who are an actual band. The music was really played by the band, and Nivola really did the singing, which added a great deal to the realism.
The extras on the DVD, including writer/director's commentary and making-of featurette, are interesting and fun.
A great film, highly recommended.
 Unfunny Home Video April 23, 2009
Acute Observer (N. Jersey Shore)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The film begins by using a body double for a shocking sex scene that covers up body parts. Symbolism? The couple talk about rentals. There is an academic party with small talk. [No gossip?] The couple fly over Los Angeles on a clear day. Houses are sprinkled over the hills among the trees. [What happens during a fire?] We see a strange household and hear strange conversations. They are working at home to avoid expenses for rented business space. [Acoustics?] The conversations reveal their personalities and quirks. Is that a crazy business? Polite isn't her thing. The boring conversations roll on. Are they tedious? "It was nice meeting you." Sonic ooze?
I couldn't watch it for more than 30 minutes. Was it meant as a joke? The music doesn't add value.
 Just when you thought it was safe to finish your dissertation alone September 16, 2008
Patrick Nava (San Francisco, CA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
When couples start growing apart. Your girlfriend Alex, who is supposed to be finishing up her dissertation on fruit flies having sex (Kate Beckinsale) ends up making out with your Mom; Jane (Frances McDormand) a record producer and her rockstar boyfriend. Sam (Christian Bale) Kate's boyfriend; is a psychiatrist working with Sara (Natasha McElhone), and they're attracted to each other. Does any of this make sense?
The uptight student delays her dissertation, starts smoking grass and hanging with a bunch of lousy rockers and Christian Bale's Mom and boyfriend. Then the two psychiatrists get drunk, kiss and don't do it.
We go back to the studio (after Frances McDormand tells her boyfriend she liked kissing her son's girlfriend), which is in the house. Uh, well then the stoner alcohol-guzzling rockers go to a party, then Bale and McElhone sit in car taking about how each other would taste during sex. Still don't do it because Sam feels guilty, but Sara doesn't. In fact Sara just wants to have sex with Sam with no attachments.
I think this Lauren Canyon thing has to do with the book I read about Joni Mitchell, the Eagles, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, groupies, etc., living in that neighborhood. Pffft! This movie turns very predictable after 60 minutes. I don't know why I even wasted time doing this. You won't find this helpful at all.
 Laurel canyon June 26, 2008
Wilfrid Koprowski (Reading,PA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Laurel Canyon,
I did not care for Kate B. in this role I like her more in a role like Serendipity.
Laurel and Hardy Canyon June 6, 2008
C. CRADDOCK (Bakersfield)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Sam (Christian Bale) is serving an internship as a psychiatrist while his fiance, Alex (Kate Beckinsale) is finishing her dissertation on genomes. They plan to stay at Sam's mother (Frances McDormand) Jane's plush Laurel Canyon house while she is away. Jane is there after all, much to Sam's chagrin, because she is a record producer, and is trying to finish a project, and is also involved in a fling with Ian McKnight (Alessandro Nivola), the young lead singer of the band whose record she is ostensibly producing. Now we see why Sam is so uptight, as his mother's shenanigans make him very uncomfortable, and perhaps the reason he became a doctor was to rebel against his mom's slacker lifestyle. His discomfort is about to evolve into a full-fledged nightmare as Alex falls under the sway of his mother's libertine lifestyle. Meanwhile, Sara, a beautiful Israeli who is also an intern at the asylum, is trying to seduce him, but he resists...
Directed and written by Lisa Cholodenko, she based the character of Jane on Joni Mitchell. Joni is seen in a photo along with McDormand, and other photos show Bowie with McDormand, or Frances McDormand with The Red Hot Chili Peppers, which is no doubt meant to establish Jane's credentials as a record producer. There is even a cameo where real-life record producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, etc.) is seen.
Besides the five main characters, a sixth character is the location: Laurel Canyon. Some establishing shots make pains to not only show the Laurel Cyn street sign, but also one for Mount Olympus, an actual street name, but also one that seems to mock the inhabitants and their lofty view of themselves for living in such a groovy place. The Laurel Canyon "vibe" is captured quite convincingly, one of the films strengths.
While a good effort, and an entertaining movie to watch, Cholodenko could have done a better job writing and directing. An introspective character study made from material that could've better suited a comedy, it is a series of small epiphanies that don't really amount to much. What are you trying to say, Cholodenko? Judging from other viewer's comments, no one got the ending. The character of Alex was thinly drawn, and her actions didn't ring true. Sam was also rather one dimensional, or at the most, two dimensional. Ditto for Sara, and Ian. Jane, the libertine mother, partially makes up for it with a brassy and bold performance. Alex and Sara are both very appealing, but Ian is repulsive, and Sam is a major wet blanket.
I don't want to spoil the movie, but there is a very unusual love triangle, or love polygon, and when it actually almost happens, I thought it would be hot, but it was over the line, and I was repulsed by it. At least it stirred up my emotions, albeit in a negative way, but then it didn't know what to do with them. All undressed up and nowhere to go.
The Top Ten Films of the Actors in Laurel Canyon
Fargo: Frances McDormand won an Oscar for her role as a Midwestern sheriff, pregnant, and with a charming Minnesota accent. All the characters in Fargo were fully realized, and this film is chock full of that quirky charm and attention to detail that the Cohen brothers are so good at. Laurel Canyon could've learned a lot from this film.
North Country: Frances McDormand was nominated for an Oscar for this one.
Almost Famous: Another nomination for Frances. Also playing a mother, but here she is the mother of a character based on writer/director Cameron Crowe, a young rock journalist. She's the opposite kind of mother from Jane.
Mississippi Burning: Yet another Oscar nomination for McDormand.
American Psycho: Christian Bale's biggest role so far. But he will be the new Batman soon opposite Heath Ledger's final role as The Joker. He also appeared in Velvet Goldmine, Newsies, Swing Kids, The 3:10 to Yuma, Metroland, The Prestige, and I'm Not There.
Swing Kids: Kind of a Footloose, but with Nazis--and Christian Bale instead of Kevin Bacon. What's not to like? Great music, great dancing, and the whole thing is so utterly ridiculous your jaw will drop to the floor.
The Aviator [HD DVD]: Kate Beckinsale played Ava Gardener in this film. She was also in Pearl Harbor, Brokedown Palace, Van Helsing, and The Last Days of Disco.
Much Ado About Nothing: While in her first year at Oxford, Kate Beckinsale received her big break in Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (1993).
The Truman Show: After making her film debut in Surviving Picasso in 1996, Natascha McElhone has appeared in a few films, the most well known being The Truman Show with Jim Carrey--although in 2002 alone she made five films.
Face/Off: Alessandro Nivola appeared in this massive ego contest between John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. Alessandro says: At the time, I was obsessing over a documentary about Robert Crumb [Crumb, 1994]. He had this brother named Charles, who's in the movie, and I stole his voice. I played a tape of the film for Nicolas Cage, and he said [imitating Cage], 'Ah, yeah... errrr ... very dark. I like it.' Nic had a really big impact on me. It was my first film - I'd never been to L.A., or anything. He really urged me on and gave me the confidence to be daring.
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