''Grand Canyon'' is a 1991 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed and produced by

Lawrence Kasdan Lawrence Edward Kasdan (born January 14, 1949) is an American filmmaker. He is the co-writer of the '' Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''Return of the Jedi'' (1983), ''The Force Awakens'' (2015), and '' Solo: A Star Wars St ...

, and written by Kasdan with his wife Meg. Featuring an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

, the film is about random events affecting a diverse group of people, exploring the race- and class-imposed chasms which separate members of the same community. The film was produced and distributed by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

and was released on Christmas Day, 1991. ''Grand Canyon'' was advertised as "'' The Big Chill'' for the '90s", in reference to an earlier Kasdan film.

Plot

After attending a Lakers basketball game, an immigration lawyer named Mack finds himself at the mercy of potential muggers when his car breaks down in a bad part of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

late at night. The muggers are talked out of their plans by Simon, a tow truck driver who arrives just in time. Mack sets out to befriend Simon, despite their having nothing in common. In the meantime, Mack's wife Claire and his best friend Davis, a producer of violent

action film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

s, are experiencing life-changing events. Claire encounters an abandoned baby while jogging and becomes determined to adopt her. Davis suddenly becomes interested in philosophy rather than

box-office A box office or ticket office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a wicket. By extension, the term is fr ...

profits after being shot in the leg by a man trying to steal his watch, vowing to devote the remainder of his career to eliminating violence from the

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

. The film chronicles how these characters—as well as various acquaintances, co-workers and relatives—are affected by their interactions in the light of life-changing events. In the end, they visit the

Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...

on a shared vacation trip, united in a place that is philosophically and actually "bigger" than all their little separate lives.

Cast

Production

Writer-director Lawrence Kasdan explained, "Part of what ''Grand Canyon'' is about is that we have accepted the fact that our city is not our own. That for people from South Central, for them to go into Beverly Hills and West L.A., the police are on the lookout. They feel unwelcome, are under threat. And vice-versa. Our cities have become these little armed camps." Parts of the film were shot at

Glen Canyon Glen Canyon is a natural canyon carved by a length of the Colorado River, mostly in southeastern and south-central Utah, in the United States. Glen Canyon starts where Narrow Canyon ends, at the confluence of the Colorado River and the Dirty D ...

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

as well as

and

Canoga Park, California Canoga Park is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Before the Mexican–American War, the district was part of a rancho, and after the American victory it was converted into wheat farms and the ...

and the Grand Canyon in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. The footage of the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Lakers play their ...

game in the film was shot before anybody knew Lakers guard

Earvin "Magic" Johnson Earvin "Magic" Johnson Jr. (born August 14, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player. He is often regarded as the greatest point guard of all-time and has been compared with Stephen Curry. Johnson played 13 seasons in the ...

was HIV+. Rita Kempley, in her film review in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', pointed to this scene as proof that "... the filmmaker and his team ha truly caught society on the verge." The character Davis is based on action film producer

Joel Silver Joel Silver (born July 14, 1952) is an American film producer. Life and career Silver was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey, the son of a writer and a public relations executive. His family is Jewish. He attended Columbia High School i ...

Soundtrack

''Grand Canyon: Music From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' was released in 1992 on

Milan Records Milan Records is a record label located in Los Angeles, California specializing in film scores and soundtrack albums. In addition, Milan boasts an extensive electronic catalog which features down-tempo, chillout, and eclectic electronic releases ...

. In 2013 a remastered and expanded edition was released on La-La Land Records. This version does not contain

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", " Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Th ...

's "Searching for a Heart."

Track listing

Personnel

James Newton Howard James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...

: Piano, Keyboards, Synthesized Bass, Synthesizer Programming, Programming, Orchestration *

Dean Parks Weldon Dean Parks (born December 6, 1946) is an American session guitarist and record producer from Fort Worth, Texas. Albums Parks was member of the North Texas State One O'clock Lab Band before moving to Los Angeles to work with Sonny and Cher ...

Michael Landau Michael Christopher Landau (born June 1, 1958) is an American musician, audio engineer, and record producer. He is a session musician and guitarist who has played on many albums since the early 1980s with Boz Scaggs, Minoru Niihara, Joni Mitch ...

, Jude Cole,

Davey Johnstone David William Logan Johnstone (born 6 May 1951) is a British rock guitarist and vocalist, best known for his long-time collaboration with Elton John as a member of the Elton John Band. Career Johnstone's first work was with Noel Murphy in 1 ...

: Guitars *

Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthe ...

: Programming, Synthesizer, Synthesizer Programming *

Simon Franglen Simon Franglen (born Westminster, London, England) is an English composer of classical and film music. He is also a record producer and former musician. His credits include four of the list of top grossing films and six of the list of best-sell ...

: Synclavier Programming * John "J.R." Robinson: Drums * Neil Stubenhaus: Bass Guitar *

Chuck Domanico Charles Louis Domanico (January 20, 1944 – October 17, 2002), better known as Chuck Domanico, was an American jazz bassist who played double bass and bass guitar on the West Coast jazz scene. Domanico was born in Chicago. He settled i ...

: Acoustic Bass * Michael Lang: Piano * Joe Porcaro, Emil Richards, Donald Williams, Mike Fisher: Percussions *

Kirk Whalum Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...

: Saxophones *

Paul Salamunovich Paul Salamunovich KCSG (June 7, 1927April 3, 2014) was a Grammy-nominated, American conductor and educator. He was the Music Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale from 1991 to 2001 and its Music Director Emeritus from 2001 until his death in ...

: Choir Director, Choir Master *

: Performer (track 9) * Grand Canyon Fanfare Orchestra: Performer (track 16) * Chris Boardman, Brad Dechter: Orchestrations *

Marty Paich Martin Louis Paich (January 23, 1925 – August 12, 1995) was an American pianist, composer, arranger, record producer, music director, and conductor. As a musician and arranger he worked with jazz musicians Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kento ...

: Conductor * Tommy Johnson, Jim Self: Tubas * Rick Baptist, Charlie Davis, Gary Grant, Mario Guarneri,

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'', '' Rock with You'' ...

, John Richard Lewis, Jon Lewis, Warren Luening, Malcolm McNabb: Trumpets * Gayle Levant: Harp * Charles Loper, Bill Reichenbach Jr., George Thatcher: Trombones * David Duke, Joe Meyer, Brian O'Connor, John A. Reynolds, James Thatcher, Richard Todd: French Horns

Reception

Box office

''Grand Canyon'' earned $40.9 million worldwide.

Critical response

''Grand Canyon'' received generally positive reviews from critics; it has a 7/10 "fresh" rating at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

and a critical rating of 78% based on 36 reviews.

Janet Maslin Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for ''The New York Times''. She served as a ''Times'' film critic from 1977 to 1999 and as a book critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000 Maslin ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote, ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' critic Rita Kempley wrote, Owen Gleiberman of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' chided the film for its "... solemn zeitgeist chic," and called it "... way too self-conscious," but ultimately decided that "''Grand Canyon'' is finally a very classy soap opera, one that holds a generous mirror up to its audience's anxieties. It's the sort of movie that says: Life is worth living. After a couple of hours spent with characters this enjoyable, the message—in all its forthright sentimentality—feels earned." Film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film four out of four stars, and wrote, "In a time when our cities are wounded, movies like ''Grand Canyon'' can help to heal." Ebert's television reviewing partner

Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...

also loved the film, with Ebert placing it at the #4 and Siskel at #6 on their 1991 top ten lists.

Accolades

Legacy

Phil Collins Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer, musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and lead singer of the rock band Genesis and also has a career as a solo performer. Between 1982 and ...

' 1993 song " Both Sides of the Story" references the scene from ''Grand Canyon'' where the young mugger tells Simon (played by Danny Glover) that he carries a gun to make sure people respect (and fear) him.Kot, Greg
"Pop: Phil Collins, Regular Guy: And Like Regular Guys, He's Worried About His Kids,"
''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' (Nov. 7, 1993).

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Canyon (1991 Film) 1991 films 1991 drama films American drama films Films directed by Lawrence Kasdan 1990s English-language films 20th Century Fox films Golden Bear winners Films set in Arizona Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Films about race and ethnicity Films shot in Arizona Films shot in California Films shot in Utah Films scored by James Newton Howard 1990s American films