Film Review - Larry Crowne

As soon as the house lights illuminated the theater and the new summer flick Larry Crowne had finished, I thought to myself, "How the heck am I going to give Tom Hanks a less then magnificent review?" I must say that the tale of Larry Crowne is not an epic or adventurous one. The film was written and directed by Tom Hanks, but personally I think he should remain in front of the camera and not behind it. The character of Larry Crowne decides to reinvent himself by going back to college after the job that he held dear crumbled to the ground because he did not have a post secondary education. Without one, he couldn't progress within the company or get a promotion.

Larry Crowne heads off to the nearest local college to test his wits and acquire the knowledge he thinks he needs to be successful. During his classes, the audience get to meet his classmates, but they are not captivating or memorable at all. Rami Malek (The Pacific, Night at the Museum) is this bug eyed class clown who gets more laughs than Hanks. Julia Roberts plays Larry’s professor and obviously the path towards the romantic comedy is explored and forever leaves the audience dissatisfied. I could not engage in Julia’s character but Bryan Cranston's (Breaking Bad) portrayal of her porn addicted husband offers a chuckle or two.

We meet other characters along Larry’s journey to educational bliss. He makes friends with the students who ride scooters on campus; they even have a little gang with a secret handshake, which was uninteresting and altered the flow of the film (negatively). The two main members of the crew really get to know Larry and help him along the way. A young, free-spirited woman named Talia helps him dress to impress and learn the lingo to catch the eye of his beautiful professor. Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Undercovers) plays this young woman with a smile on her face throughout most of the film, but I thought there was sexual tension between Larry and Talia; the relationship they have is bizarre and uncomfortable. Hanks, on the other hand, is a master of his craft when it comes to his acting skill set. He portrays Larry with an ease and confidence that was really the only positive thing about this film. Hanks and Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) wrote the film together but there is no room for success at the box office for mediocre romantic comedies that can barely makes us feel a thing! I will forever admire Tom Hanks and his career, which is one of the only reasons I semi-enjoyed this film. All in all if you like fluffy films about college and love then go see Larry Crowne, but you might have to buy some popcorn to tune out the nonsense in between Tom Hanks lines.

Two out of Five  stars

-Andrea Boulet