MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (7/1/11): LARRY CROWNE
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wilmer Valderamma, George Takei, Rami Malek, Pam Grier, Roxana Ortega, Bryan Cranston, Julia Cho, Sarah Levy, Ian Gomez, Malcolm Barrett, Rob Riggle and Rita Wilson
WRITER: Tom Hanks & Nia Vardalos
DIRECTOR: Tom Hanks
WEB SITE: www.larrycrowne.com/
THE PLOT: Directing his first full-length feature film since 1996's That Thing You Do!, Tom Hanks (who also co-wrote the movie with Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame/infamy) stars in Larry Crowne as the film's title character. A frequent employee of the month award winner at the fictional "UMart" store where he works, Larry - who's also now divorced - gets the bad news from Jack Strang (Rob Riggle) and the rest of the HR team that he's being let go.
Obviously stunned, Larry heads home - which is located across the street from his enterprising neighbors Lamar (Cedric the Entertainer) and B'Ella (Taraji P. Henson), lottery winners who spend their days conducting a daily yard sale. (Yes, you read that right ... Daily. Yard. Sale.) It's there where Larry stumbles across a publication that inspires him to go to school, and by school, I mean community college.
Taking an economics class - taught by the offbeat Dr. Matsutani (George Takei) - Larry meets a nice, free-spirited young lady named Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who, along with her boyfriend Dell Gordo (Wilmer Valderrama), has a love for life ... And scooters. Larry also signs up for another class on the suggestion that it will "change his life," a speech class taught by Mrs. Tainot (Julia Roberts), first name Mercedes. While Mercedes is a skilled teacher, she - as her officemate Frances (Pam Grier) knows, is bored with her job. That wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't also bored with her author-turned-blogger-turned-Internet-addicted husband (Bryan Cranston) and their failing marriage.
So ... The question remains: What will happen when a middle aged man attempts to re-invent his life by enrolling in community college, surrounding himself with people half his age full of life and others his age who, like him, are still trying to figure out their own? There's one way to find out ...
THE TAKE: Tom Hanks is a very smart man. I say that without sarcasm, for when it comes to making a movie, he has a certain rhythm, method and timing that he has cultivated over the years to create his way. Larry Crowne is the latest example of this, for the film - despite a rather shaky start - eventually delivers exactly what you would expect from a Tom Hanks film: A story about a simple subject with a lot of heart and enough humor to support his character's well-mannered nature before arriving at its eventual conclusion. And even though you know what's going to happen eventually, the ride getting there is enough fun that you don't mind.
With the possible exception of Henson's acting (someone is still stuck in Hustle & Flow mode), the performances found in Larry Crowne are well-suited to their characters' natures, making each enjoyable - and more importantly, adding their own unique element to Larry's journey. Hanks' work with the pen and behind the camera does just enough to draw you in, keep things progressing along and throws out a few unexpected surprises to keep things from becoming stale. Of course, it doesn't hurt when you have a good chemistry on screen with your co-stars, which is why the pairing of Hanks and Roberts - who clearly have a good time with one anther - works so well.
Larry Crowne never comes close to digging as deep into economy-related issues as a pure drama like The Company Men or the examining the emotions of re-evaluating one's life in middle age as say Everything Must Go. None of the characters in the film really struggle to any great measure; even in their respective times of sorrow, Hanks' never digs too deep to explore the harsher sides of living, working and romance in modern day America. Then again, that's not Hanks' intent. For he is simply trying to give you a nice story about a nice guy ... And in the case of Larry Crowne, it's done nicely enough to make you enjoy the time you spend with him.
PARTING SHOT: A film that essentially is the definition of a date movie with a few flaws and a whole lotta heart due to its likable characters, Larry Crowne is a nice fella that makes for a nice film for your summer entertainment.
RATING (OUT OF FOUR BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
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