doug-shepardson

It's nice, and often essential, for a movie to have a "Hero". And to be a Hero, the character needs to grow, to be challenged by some crisis, and emerge on the other side changed for the better. In the astonishingly boring Larry Crowne, Tom Hanks is the hero. His major crisis? He gets laid-off from a Wal-Mart box store. And how does he grow, and become a hero? He enrolls in an English class at the local community college and gets a part-time job as a fry cook at the local diner. That's it! That's the entire movie! Oh - right -- he eventually starts dating the class teacher, (Julia Roberts). What a waste of time and money, this one. As you watch the film, it becomes painfully obvious that there is no emotional connection between any of the characters, and even less character development. You keep asking yourself "Wow. Is this is a Tom Hanks movie? There he is again, riding a stupid motor scooter. " Let's talk about those motor scooters. There are many events in Larry Crowne that are completely unbelievable. Like the subplot in which a gang of tattooed twenty-year olds riding motor scooters decide to welcome Tom Hanks as a member of their gang. Why? Why does the hot biker chick girlfriend of the gang's leader suddenly go ga-ga over pasty, pot-bellied Tom Hanks? No reason is given. Thus it becomes a completely unbelievable event. So much about this movie feels shallow and fake. Also, having Hanks and Julia Roberts in lead roles is also a distraction. Every time they are on screen, they are too fake. The movie would have been a lot better if the male lead was taken by someone else - for example, singer/songwriter Mark Lanegan. Now that's someone who looks like he might bet laid-off from Wal-Mart. Final grades: "D" for screenplay, "C" for actors, and a "D" for overall entertainment value.

Despite a slow beginning (problems with the screenplay, not the director, in my opnion), the story builds and manages to capture your attention thru to the clever ending. Bo Youngblood has done a respectable job on a total budget that was probably less than the cost of the first 5 minutes of 'Wicked'. This small gem is the cinematic equivalent of an 'escape room'. A suggestion: Instead of spending $40 to visit an escape room, stay home and pop some popcorn and rent this for $5.95 and have just as much fun. My grade: Screenplay: 6.5. Production values: 7.5 Director/Actors: 8. Overall entertainment: 7.5.

I didn't want to go see a movie about a Hong Kong funeral director, but my wife made me go. Sounded boring. But WOW. This is one of those rare movies that can appreciated by all cultures and all age groups. It's a dark comedy that can make you smile or have tears of compassion well up in your eyes -- even as you follow the story in subtitles. I am not familiar with the Chinese actors, I hear that some of them are very well known, and I can see why. They were all brilliant, bringing to live a screenplay that is rich in emotion and drama. Solid editing and post-production work as well. Catch it if you can. Maybe someday it will even be on Netflix!