Larry Crowne

Scooters are normally fun, and on Larry Crowne's trip, he loses his job, goes back to school, falls for his professor and manages an enjoyable ride.

And just like a real outing, visiting the world's biggest ball of yarn may be interesting to see, but the characters that are met along the way are what make it or break it. From the start, Tom Hanks gives a pleasing performance as the off camber title character, and Julia Roberts, as his speech professor and crush, is equally as satisfying. While many of the supporting characters enhance the tour, two really stand out. George Takei as the stoic economics professor could believably show up to class riding a donkey without the students knowing whether to laugh or start taking notes. The high point, however, is Gugu Mbatha-Rau's enamoring interpretation of Talia Francesco. She plays the bubbly Talia with the a charisma that could break up a European Vespa gang.

The movie travels at an acceptable pace without stalling at any one place for too long. Writing, directing, and editing all serve to support Larry's trip from place to place and character to character.

In the end, when I come across a scooter, I may rent one or I may not. The same applies to this movie. While I wouldn't suggest to anyone to seek it out, if you happen upon it with some time to kill, it's an entertaining ride.

While I was scrolling through the different titles available this weekend, I chanced upon "Larry Crowne". Looked it up on IMDb; not so good - an average of 5/10. Scroll down further and voilà! Written by Tom Hanks himself, gotta see it. And I'm glad I did.

First, let me get the 'acting' part out of the way - It's good. Not mind-blowing, but most certainly good enough to be worth the US$9 weekend price of a movie ticket here in Singapore. The actors were good enough that I felt connected, and that's as good as it ever has to be.

As for the plot - nothing jaw-droppingly complicated and twisted, but then again neither was Forest Gump. And what a big success that movie proved to be. Don't expect character development to blow you away, but it did, at the very least, impress me.

Of course, if you walk into the theater expecting "Harold & Kumar" or "Chuck & Larry" humor, you would most definitely be sorely disappointed. Some others have criticized the film, saying that it had "cheap laughs" at best. Now that isn't necessarily true, because it all depends on what your expectations are.

So hear this - Larry Crowne isn't an all-out-LOL-fest, it's a wholesome film sprinkled with subtle, clever, and thoughtful humor.

In my opinion, this film was an excellent cross-section representation of the sandwiched American Middle-class - too rich to qualify for welfare, too poor to save any money. Most people (outside the United States) wouldn't know the America shown throughout this film - where folks are priced out of their own states, where they attend community colleges that aren't crazy over keg parties and crawling with bikini-straddling blonds, where students have to juggle work and school, where they might have to choose the former over the latter too often.

Hollywood glamorizes the American lifestyle each and every chance it gets, and this film provides a rare glimpse into the real America where most people reside.

All things considered, I would consider this film a feel-good movie, and there's much more to it than meets the eye. If you enjoyed Forest Gump, you'd most likely enjoy this one - even if the feel-goodness sets in slightly more subtly.

One final thing - I've never written a review for any movie before, ever. But I felt that the reviews here (as of 9th July 11) were doing Larry Crowne such injustice that I had to write this to balance it out.

Cheers.

Larry Crowne is the perfect example of a movie that will make you feel good after a tiresome week at work... No brain twisters, no cheap/vulgar humor, no extravagant display of emotions, and no messages to make the world a better place and such... Just subtle brilliance...

The acting by all was superb especially Julia Roberts who didn't have many lines to say but her expressions and gestures just make you fall in love with her... Aspiring actresses; that's the way its done....

Yes the storyline is too simple but you cant hold that against a movie of this genre... The term 'beauty lies in simplicity' is coined for such movies, that give your mind a quality and relaxing massage... Well done and thank you Tom Hanks for such a feel-good film...

People love it or hate it, it seems.

Probably not among Hanks' classics, but I was downsized at the age of 51 a week before this movie came out.

Needless to say, it was an emotional experience.

A year and change later, I have the best job I've ever had. I watched it again, and the experience was still emotional, but this time it was triumph screaming in my soul instead of poignancy and worry.

Sue me, I loved it.

(addendum) God, is my review really too short to be submitted? Is brevity something to be penalized? I know a lot of people, and believe me, most of them err on the side of yakking too much. And here you are telling me my review must be lengthened. Geez. :-/

I believe this movie to be very underrated and cannot understand why. I loved the story and characters. They were all so real and very funny. Hanks and Roberts were simply great but the whole cast did an impressive job and George Takei as the economics lecturer, Dr. Matsutani, was absolutely hilarious. OK the story is predicable and so was the ending, but I didn't care. It's a fun ride that's not to be taken seriously, so just sit back and enjoy this wonderful comedy.