Movies Reviews

Larry Crowne – Movie Review

By Anne Brodie Jun 30, 2011, 10:18 GMT

Until he was downsized, affable, amiable Larry Crowne (Hanks) was a superstar team leader at the big-box company where he\'s worked since his time in the Navy. Underwater on his mortgage and unclear on what to do with his suddenly free days, Larry heads to his local college to start over. There he becomes part of a colorful community of outcasts, also-rans and the overlooked all trying to find a ...more

Well, Hollywood royalty is represented here – Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, Grace Gummer, Hanks’ buddy Meryl’s Streep’s other actor daughter and da dum … Julia Roberts and Pam Grier.   And Oscar nominated writer Nia Vardalos.  Why are all these wonderful, gorgeous people going down to the market? 
 
Do you think they relate to the ordinary divorced, jobless and impoverished titular character and his community college pals?  Highly unlikely, but they’ve given it a shot in this film of a former military cook now box store employee who soon faces all the aforementioned challenges, returning to school so he’ll never be fired again (yeah, right, I got news for ya).

Hanks is Larry, an amiable and hardworking sales clerk who has won Employee of the Month nine times.  One ordinary day he’s called in front of execs who fire his behind while assuring him it’s not based on gender, race or age bias. 

Which means it is. Larry’s told he would have worked his way up the chain to the executive suite if he only had an education.  Twenty years in the military after high school doesn’t cut it.

So spirit bowed but unbroken, he’s off to get educated. The dean of the local community college encourages him to join a class on informal speaking to prep for future job interviews, and besides, he’ll like the teacher.

The teacher is Roberts’ Mercedes Tainot (not Tie-the-Knot) (and why does Roberts clear her throat so noisily before delivering each line?) and she’s about as happy about teaching as Larry is about being jobless.

She’s lost her passion for the job, and for being the breadwinner while her husband surfs porn at home. She is churlish, hostile and very un-American Princess like.  I just don’t buy what she’s selling. 

Meanwhile Larry’s the old guy in a young community college world, until a classmate played by Gugu Mbatha-Raw takes him in hand and makes him over for a new day. She transforms his appearance, his home and his attitude. This non-sexual bond is just what he needs to “fit” into this new world. 

Rami Malek and Gummer are among his Informal Speaking classmates.  They are awkward, enthusiastic, typical kids trying to do their best and still have a little fun.  They help bring Larry out of what are clearly his fogey ways to begin again.

Cedric the Entertainer is Larry’ next door neighbor, a professional garage sale mogul, who helps him along when it’s clear Larry must sell his home , the one he expected to have a long time. 

But it’s Mercy who interests Larry most. Thing is he’s been kicked and he’s down and doesn’t expect a positive outcome so he avoids her.  Meanwhile she’s becoming interested in him.

Sounds okay but it’s a problematic film. There’s something that doesn’t sit right and I’m loathe to say it’s the script because two cool, talented people wrote it.  There’s a certain cartoon quality to the characters, and falseness about it. 

It’s inconsistent, way too random and at a remove.  Also, I just don’t buy these princes and princesses of Hollywood slumming it.  That’s a hard typecast to break.

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35mm comedy
Written by Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos
Directed by Tom Hanks
Opens: July 1st
Runtime: 99 minutes
MPAA: PG13
Country: US
Language: English