SnoopyStyle It's Monterey, California. Cannery Row has fallen into economic depression after the canning plants shut down. Everybody calls the marine biologist Doc (Nick Nolte) but nobody knows his past. There is a group of local hobos led by Mack with the childlike Hazel who collect samples for him. Drifter Suzy DeSoto (Debra Winger) arrives looking for any work. She accepts a job at Fauna Flood's bordello. The two gruff damaged souls struggle to find companionship. Doc is a former pitcher who secretly leaves bags of grocery for a beachcomber called The Seer.This is lighter rom-com based on John Steinbeck books. The setting is depression era like. Its light tone does make it have an artificial feel. It is mostly made on a sound stage but that's not exactly what I'm talking about. This is more of a light rom-com fable rather than a dark gritty drama. The combination of Nolte and Winger has plenty of gruff fiery energy. Both are experienced at playing with these big voices. They're good at clashes which is the start of any rom-com. This movie has some memorable bits like the frog hunt. Parts of this are good although the whole doesn't always add up.

Steviereno An astounding number of people here went off half crazed that this story didn't match the book. The joke is on them. Continue....I saw this movie nearly 30 years ago and thought it was terrific and that the critics were abysmally wrong about it. Having found it again, and streaming, no less, I decided to treat myself and a friend. As I was waiting for the friend to arrive, I took the time to look up "Cannery Row" on both IMDb.com and Wikipedia. I found out that there was a sequel to Cannery Row, called "Sweet Thursday." It being available for Kindle, I bought it and started reading it."Sweet Thursday" begins at the beginning of this movie. Same scenes, same characterizations, same development. This movie is about Sweet Thursday, not Cannery Row, per se. This movie having been out there for 32 years now, that information should be readily available to everyone.Blame it on John Huston for putting the more well-known name on the movie - but at the same time, the story standing on its own is a really lovable movie. Yes, he gave them more fodder for the "OH.MY.GOD. The script wasn't faithful to the book at all!!!!" brain-dead complaints.Thus you can tell when reviewers are ill-informed. In this case, they all went in expecting one story and got the other - and they (the ones from the last few years, at least) could have known that, if they'd merely looked it up. But those same people go into a movie judging it not on its own merits, but how they expected it to look and play out. In other words, they weren't judging it based on its own merit, but on their expectations. And HOW is that a fair review???Of course. It isn't.This movie has DELIGHTFUL characters - several of them. This movie has a "Boy meets girl" plot. This movie has TERRIFIC atmospheric music. This movie has FABULOUS bemused narration by John Huston. If those aren't enough for people, all of you reading this can just write them off as numb skulls or pompous twits.Huston's narration is some of the best EVER in Hollywood history, right here in this little gem of a movie. The only movie I can compare it to is the great live-action cartoon "Popeye," the one with Robin Williams and Shelly Duvall (1980). It is the same level of not-quite-reality, with a similar sort of semi-cartoon village, even - Huston's Monterey and Popeye's Sweethaven. (In looking that up, it has a much WORSE rating on IMDb. Which is amazing and unbelievable. EVERY single person I've ever talked about "Popeye" has expressed nothing but awe and amazement at how great it was. There must have been a lot of idiot reviewers for that, too.)How anyone thinks that a better movie could have been made here is truly mind-boggling.I give it 9 stars, and I thought about 10.

mungfish Having read Steinbeck's Cannery Row and Sweet Thursday, I am appalled that this travesty was allowed to be filmed. Except for a few character names and a few familiar scenes, the movie was unwatchable. The movie dragged on and the invented dialog was painful to listen to. The screenwriter should be ashamed for defiling the original books to the extent that he did. I understand that most books or novels cannot be set to a movie directly, but this effort missed the intent and charm of the originals. The photography was fairly good and some of the set designs were creative. Although Debra Winger was miscast, she probably was a better choice than Raquel Welsh. How did the Chinese grocer become Mexican? I sincerely wish that someone would remake the movie and be true to Steinbeck's genius. This debacle insulted his memory.

hrandolph Cannery Row is firmly placed in my personal top 3 films of all time. Set decoration, cinematography, characterization. A Broadway Musical, without the music. The screenplay and dialog are masterful and are true testaments to the art of John Steinbeck. Is the story really that much different than The Grapes of Wrath? Love, companionship, respect, family; and most of all – Hope. You really must read Steinbeck (both fiction and non-fiction) to understand and appreciate the essence of this film.This was not a musical, but David S. Ward injected the perfect 'music' -John Huston's narration. Using the Director's eye (and remarkable voice) to tell the back story, and subtly shine a light of dignity and respect on the Players is a masterful addition.