Laurel Canyon
The brilliant and charming Frances McDormand goes from the overbearing mother/schoolteacher in Almost Famous that shouts "No drugs!" to the joint-rolling, bong-hitting hippie record producer here in Laurel Canyon. A cinematic nod and tribute to Joni Mitchell's Ladies of the Canyon album and the era of soft rock written and produced in the wooded hills around Los Angeles.
In an ironic way, this movie is related to Almost Famous in that both stories use music as a backdrop and, more importantly, there is tension, forgiveness and restoration made between mother and son. This movie, while touching on the same subjects of sex, drugs and rock and roll, handles them all in a decidely rougher manner.
Christian Bale plays Sam, an uptight and fairly straight-laced son who rebelled against the free-loving, free-wheeling ways of his wandering mother (McDermand). They are reunited when Sam leaves Cambridge to do his medical residency in LA and stays at her studio/house. The clashing of morals is interesting to watch, but the real story is that mom/son relationship getting restored, along with respect.
It's funny to see Daniel Lanois make an appearance sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing guitar with his little wool cap on (looking just as you've always seen him). [Columbia Tristar / Doug Van Pelt]
Ratings:
Obscenities: 88
Graphic Violence: 00
Nude Scenes: 5.9
% Spiritual Relevancy: 11
This DVD review was not printed in ISSUE 103 of HM Magazine, and is thus an "online exclusive" of sorts.
DVD rating key:
Obscenities (fka: BL (Blue Language)) # of “blue” / cuss words.
Ideal rating = 0
Graphic Violence (fka: BG (Blood ‘n’ Guts)) # of scenes with graphic violence.
Acceptable rating = <50
SC (Spiritual Conversations) An arbitrary rating based on the ease of starting a conversation on spiritual things.
Ideal rating = 50+
Nude Scenes (fka: NP (Naked People)) # of nude scenes.
Ideal: 0 (A rating of less than 1 signifies questionable scenes)
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