'Larry Crowne'

'Larry Crowne'  (PG-13)  (2 stars)

Writers: Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos
Director: Tom Hanks
Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston, Cedric the Entertainer, Gugu Mbatha-Raw,
Wilmer Valderrama, Pam Grier, Rita Wilson, Ian Gomez

"Larry Crowne" has two of our most exciting movie stars so why is it so lifeless, flat and dull? The blame has to go with writer and director Tom Hanks who has made a movie that just falls flat with a screenplay that is amazingly shallow. Nia Vardalos is the co-writer so maybe that is it because she is not a strong cinematic writer even with her over rated "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". The story fails on two levels, as a romantic comedy and as a statement on going back to school late in life and our economy.

I never believed one second of this movie and the writing is so conventional and phony. Tom Hanks plays Larry Crowne who is a mid manager at a Target like store and is a popular employee but has never been promoted. He is called in and his bosses inform him he is being laid off because he never went to college. He decides to enroll in community college and so far the movie establishes what it is trying to be. It is going to tell a serious story about a man in his 50's going back to college to better himself. He takes a few classes including the best part of the movie, an economics class taught by a hilarious George Takei.

He also takes a speech class taught by a pretty much miscast Julia Roberts. She hates her teaching job, has a lout of a husband and drinks a lot. Of course since she is Julia Roberts and Hanks is Hanks you know a romance will start. So you have a romantic comedy and a socially concious movie. The social part is weak in that I never felt that any of Larry's classes seemed real. Julia Robert's character has to be the worst teacher I have ever seen and her class the worst I have ever seen taught. Her class plan is like no other speech class I have seen and I have taken a few. In the end I couldn't see any way that Larry learned anything from this class. I also never felt by the end of the movie that larry became a better person either.
Now the romantic comedy part is even more dissapointing considering you have freaking Julia Roberts with Tom Hanks! There is the awkward first meeting, a meet cute later and then a scene where Crowne picks up his drunk teacher and gives her a ride home on his scooter. They go back to her place and kiss and it has to be the most awkward and dumbest kisses I have ever seen in a movie. Then when Julia Roberts has a witty one liner the movie's score drowns out what she says. Later, of course, Hanks and Roberts get together and I never felt any chemistry. They are totally wrong for each other and I never believed they were flesh and blood characters. I felt like they were sitcom characters and I did not root for them to get together.

The movie has not one real moment but there are some things that save it from being one of the worst movies of the year. I loved a subplot dealing with a very cute girl played by the engaging Gugu Mbatha-Raw. I actually wanted her and Larry to get together instead. Larry finds a scooter that will save gas and get him to work. He hooks up with the girl and her friends to form a scooter gang and she starts to fix Larry's cluttered life. She is the only real character in this movie that is stocked with cardboard sitcom characters even including the two main characters. I wanted a movie just about her because I was very bored with the two leads. Julia Roberts performance rises above the weak writing of her character. She is very funny but Tom Hanks is very dull in this movie and it is a weak replica of most of the characters Hanks has played in his career.

This movie wastes a perfect opportunity to be a winning romantic comedy with a message. How can you take two of our best movie stars and give them something that seems like it was written by a 14 year old. This is a by the numbers Screenplay 101 movie that drags along, has one cliche after another and has no pulse or comprehension of real life. Hanks is boring, Julia Roberts is wasted and you have a movie plot that can be seen on television for free much better on any sitcom. There is a better statement on going to community college on television called "Community" and it is extremely under rated. The comedy and romance are more real and fresh on that show and the characters seem like they connect. You know you are in trouble when your movie fails compared to a television sitcom.

If you want to see better movies like this rent a very fine little movie from 1983 called "Educating Rita" with Michael Caine and Rita Waters. Also for Tom Hanks as a writer and director check out the charming "that thing you do", a very fun movie that has way more life and charm then Hank's "Larry Crowne". Also you must watch "Community" on television which is a very funny show.