Tom Hanks’ “Larry Crowne” is a harmless film that will offend no one. This is a luxury if you don’t mind your films so tepid and tame lest anything more surprise you.
Hanks directs himself as the title character, a loveable lug who was just fired from his long time job at the superstore UMart. This bothers him, slightly, but he soon realizes that if he wants to get back on his feet and start working again, he’ll need to get a college degree.
“Oh No! I lost my job at UMart,” I thought as Larry returned to his comfy suburban home. The film naturally addresses the economic crisis and does so simply and directly. This is not a difficult film.
And neither are the characters in it. Larry is the nicest guy around, and everyone is helpful and supportive, even the distant, uncaring teenage students he meets at community college. One student he meets, Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), grows an instant affection for him and his newly acquired moped. She gives him a nickname, a place in their scooter gang (Is that really a thing? In this movie, that’s as radical as it gets), a makeover and prodding on going after Larry’s apathetic speech teacher Mercedes Tainot, played by Julia Roberts.
One has to admire Hanks’ naturalism and charm, and it is no secret that Julia still has one of Hollywood’s most winning smiles and charisma. Their chemistry make even the corniest jokes in “Larry Crowne” (and there are a lot of them) at least grin worthy.
And this is “Larry Crowne” in a nutshell, a simple film that concerns a good guy’s bump in the road that does nothing but make you either smile or roll your eyes. There are possibly a few too many scenes of George Takei giving an economic lecture or Cedric the Entertainer trying to haggle yard sale prices, but what more than nothing can I expect in a film as harmless as this?
2 ½ stars