In the hands of a much more
seasoned director, Larry Crowne would
be the perfect antidote to a summer that has seemingly produced only sequels
and prequels of established franchises. Instead, the audience is treated to
nothing less than vanilla ice cream type cinema.
The title character, Larry
Crowne, is likeable yes, but there is never really any depth to him. He wanders
aimlessly as a middle-aged but boyish man working retail before being fired for
never having attained anything higher than a high school diploma. It mentions
he served as a chef in the navy but did he not have any other ambitions?
There is very little background
that can be gleaned except that he is divorced and seemingly childless. The
bland screenwriting credit goes to Ms. Nia Vardalos, who worked with Hanks on
the script thanks to their solid business relationship. (Lest we forget he made millions off
her 2002 surprise hit My Big Fat Greek
Wedding.) Hanks wears many
different hats with the film, much in the vein of Woody Allen, by not only
serving as the lead but also the writer, director and producer of the film.
The
film is bland yes, but more importantly it does posses some degree of substance.
One wonders why it took so long for Hanks and Roberts to reunite after 2007's Charlie Wilson's War. Their chemistry is one of the
highlights of a seemingly unremarkable film. Furthermore, if you are able to ignore the shoddy transitioning
and amateurish dialogue you are treated to really clever performances from Wilmer
Valderrama, George Takei, and a standout Bryan Cranston.
All in all it is a welcome change
of pace that brings the movies back to a somewhat realistic life, albeit one
where somehow Julia Roberts is your community college professor.
