Larry Crowne Review

Directed by Tom Hanks
Written by Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos
Starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Cedric the Entertainer, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw

 Larry Crowne comes out in a summer full of the same, super hero films, Disney films, or big budget action films. Walking in I was excited for this film because it was different from the rest of the films. So lets get started.

 Larry Crowne is about Larry Crowne a navy seal veteran who loses his job at his local retail store. With him in a bad position in life he decides to go to college after talking to his neighbor (Cedric the Entertainer). When he goes he meets Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) who is a free spirited girl who invites him into a motorscooter gang along with Talia's boyfriend (William Valderrama)

 When he goes to his class he meets Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts) his speech teacher. She has very little passion about her teaching job because most of her students dont care. After awhile the class starts to grow on her a bit especially with Larry Crowne. Will Crowne a fired retail worker change these peoples lives?

 Larry Crowne is just fluff. Its so sweet and sappy and I just took the film for that and really enjoyed it. I think critics are being way to harsh on the film expecting a real story about being fired from your job like a Company Man or Everything Must Go. Its nothing like that, its a pure television sitcom.

 The cast is solid with Hanks being a extremely likable person that you cant help to root for. He is just the most optimistic guy you can meet and just really pleasant. Newcomer Gugu Mbatha-Raw absoulty shines in this film and is an actress who should become a name in Hollywood soon. Most of the jokes in the film come from Valderrama and Cedric the Entertainer and they do a good job at making some funny and good jokes. Roberts and Hanks both connect very well which is a plus to have your two stars have chemistry.

 The film is being marketing wrongly which is not a complaint but its something to point out. The film looked from the trailer like it would be a romantic comedy but it is actual more like a coming of age film like Garden State. It's all about Crowne finding himself in this college and finding where he belongs. Sure its not a serous as Garden State but that is the sub text of the film.

 I do have some complaints about the film. Tom Hanks directing style reminds me alot of Denzel Washington's directing of The Great Debaters. Both actors turned directors do a fantastic job directing actors but the problem is they have very little visual flare or style. They just direct the film straight foreword which gets kind of boring. To be fair to Hanks he does a better job then Washington with some cool visual things but not many. One more thing, at times it is hard to just total forget realism as something that happen in the film are too insane.

 Overall, Larry Crowne is a very charming and heart warming film that I think could grow on me like Be Kind Rewind which was also a very fluffy film. As of now I have to give the film a recommendation with a rating of.

3.5/4 out of Stars