Palo Alto

Play trailer

Palo Alto

R

2014

1h 37m

Drama

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

70%

Tomatometer

129 Reviews

49%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

A lack of parental guidance encourages teens in an affluent California town to rebel with substance abuse and casual sex.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

A promising debut for director Gia Coppola, Palo Alto compensates for its drifting plot with solid performances and beautiful cinematography.

Read Critics Reviews

Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

09/02/2017

C

While all the young actors are committed to their characters (though none of them particularly stand out), this film will likely drown in its own nothingness as far more thought-provoking teenage fare continues to prevail.

Go to Full Review

Laurence Phelan

Independent (UK)

10/24/2014

4/5

The drama is scaled to just the right size: kids get into trouble or inadvisable situations, but there are no major melodramatics. We see them in their natural habitat.

Go to Full Review

Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

10/19/2014

2/5

Another week, another glacial outing from the ever-expanding Coppola clan depicting the oh so beautiful emptiness of American teenage wildlife.

Go to Full Review

Justin Micallef

Vague Visages

02/06/2024

There's a pulsating heartbeat of an autobiographical nature within Palo Alto.

Go to Full Review

Q.V. Hough

Vague Visages

06/23/2023

I connected a lot more with Gia Coppola’s feature debut than I did with Boyhood. Palo Alto features a group of up-and-comers and captures the essence of youth without forcing it on the viewer.

Go to Full Review

Robert Sims

Lights Camera Austin

01/22/2022

Based on a collection of interconnected short stories that James Franco published in 2010, director Gia Coppola's high-school drama presents two portraits in teen angst that owe more to the worldview of Bret Easton Ellis than John Hughes.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

MZ X

@RT29288367 Nov 24

Worthless garbage, the most painfully boring coming of age movie ever made. It looks like a poorly edited trailer for an hour and half; disjointed, disconnected drivel very very slowly paced and very poorly written. There’s zero depth to any of the characters, minimal dialogue and one of the most annoying people you could ever imagine in the obnoxious sidekick role. He was the WORST. I’m glad he finally got struck over the head with a bottle, easily the best scene of the whole film. Seemed like a high school film project made by morons who didn’t pass the class.

See more

Ege Sarp D

@RT17127199 Oct 19

The main plot is modern teenagers discovering who they are, and learning about the reality of the world but the plot is not being consistent, which is making it hard to being understandable. Overall, it is not a bad movie but confusing you.

See more

Gareth v

@geewah Sep 19

A visually stylish and occasionally haunting portrait of teen ennui, but too meandering to fully resonate.

See more

Stephen C

@bob25009 Jul 12

Success in 1 hour and 37 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $750,100.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See more

MrAlpaca55 T

@RT10755580 Jun 14

This movie was pretty terrible. Literlly nothing happened, there was 0 plot and the "plot" that was there never got resolved. We never even got a final resolution for the movie.

See more

nya T

@RT27686888 May 8

James Franco is a creep. Period.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Gia Coppola

Director

James Franco

Mr. B

Emma Roberts

April

Nat Wolff

Fred

Zoe Levin

Emily

Claudia Levy

Shauna

Short Term 12

98%

92%

Short Term 12

Watchlist

Megalopolis

46%

34%

Megalopolis

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Megalopolis

The Lesser Blessed

40%

58%

The Lesser Blessed

Watchlist

Rhymes for Young Ghouls

88%

75%

Rhymes for Young Ghouls

Watchlist

Tetro

72%

69%

Tetro

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Now Streaming: Oculus, Palo Alto, and More

Critics Consensus: Neighbors is Certified Fresh

15 Must-See Films from Venice 2013

View more photos

Synopsis

A lack of parental guidance encourages teens in an affluent California town to rebel with substance abuse and casual sex.

Director: Gia Coppola
Producer: Sebastian Pardo, Adriana Rotaru, Miles Levy, Vince Jolivette
Screenwriter: Gia Coppola
Distributor: Tribeca Film
Production Co: American Zoetrope, RabbitBandini Productions
Rating: R (Drug and Alcohol Use|All Involving Teens|Pervasive Language|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 9, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 9, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $750.1K
Runtime: 1h 37m

Most Popular at Home Now