Laurel Canyon focuses on Sam and Alex, a pair of upper-middle class lovebirds from the East Coast who relocate to Los Angeles. Enter Jane, Sam's estranged mother, a successful record producer, who's more than willing to put the couple up in her lavish digs. As Sam and Alex settle in at Jane's, they gradually lose their straight-and-narrow approach to life and begin to experiment.
If there is one reason to see Laurel Canyon, it's to witness McDormand in the kind of role she's long deserved.
– Ann Hornaday,
Washington Post,
11 Apr 2003
fresh:
McDormand is superb. Likewise Bale and Nivola.
– Carrie Rickey,
Philadelphia Inquirer,
17 Apr 2003
rotten:
Self-discovery seems to be the goal, but the revelations hardly seem worth the work.
– Bill Muller,
Arizona Republic,
18 Apr 2003
fresh:
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.