Kate Beckinsale Movie:

Editorial Review:
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

Laurel Canyon [Region 2] Reviews:
Untapped Gold in the Canyon
2009-12-07 - Laurel Canyon, at best, comes off like a pilot for a cable drama series. It's positioned better for TV, because the characters are cardboard and not very deep. It's a small screen with close ups of talking heads vehicle. You could be watching it in a hospital room with half your brain and body paralyzed and never be lost in the Hanna Barbera obviousness of the script.

The British fellow with designs on having a 3-way (or should I say "sexual awakening", as this clearly aspires to be somewhere in the vicinity of daring amoral art) with McDormand and Beckinssale is about as charming as a bloodsucking flea. And we're supposed to feel what towards him? --lovable rogue? You could watch him run over by a truck and you wouldn't care. Too bad that didn't happen.

Ah, but in the end, vagaries give way to a tidy feel-good ribbon closure, interdependent life lessons, and one huge steamy pinched off loaf of an ending. Perhaps it was calculated to end in an unsatisfying way to tip off that we're dealing with a director with the stature of Kubrick who leaves us with ever more riddles about the haze of the human condition itself. Yes, that's modernity folks and you better get used to it! Or unchecked hack writing, whichever you prefer.

I'm left to vomit in quantities that would fill that swimming pool five times over.

I did enjoy the featurette interview, however exhaustive, with director Lisa Cholodenko. Most directors get to where they are by being good communicators and Lisa is no exceptions. The problem is that no amount of referencing or giving kudos to hard working cast and crew translates into a satisfying product. Hollywood, by nature, loves to be self-congratulatory but I still stand by the cliche that nobody in Hollywood really knows what they're doing --which actually means that something impossibly good might be produced too! But no amount of obligatory deconstructive spin can prop up such weak material.





Fine performances all the way around, but...
2009-10-21 - I'm not quite sure what to say about this film, really. On paper, it looks excellent - great cast, potentially interesting story line, pretty solid reviews. But there is nothing that comes as a surprise in this film; it's all way too predictable. Loose, ex-hippie record producer mom, tense son who's become a psych student because his mom raised him in such a chaotic home, absurdly intelligent and equally absurdly attractive girlfriend who's naive to the ways of the world and is ripe for the plucking by a herd of hedonists, self-absorbed rock musicians who live in a parallel universe of sex and drugs...it goes on and on. Every event's outcome is telegraphed a mile away, every plot twist is obvious and stereotypical, every character behaves exactly the way you think they'll behave. Honestly, I'm not sure why an actor the caliber of Frances McDormand would choose to take on this role, but perhaps she just enjoyed the chance to play sexy and bohemian while she still can. Ultimately, it was a nice film to look at - and, as I said, the cast is exceptional - but it's much ado about nothing.

great character movie
2009-05-17 - 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
2009-04-23 - 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
2008-09-16 - 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.