Having seen “Larry Crowne,” I believe I understand what inspired Tom Hanks to write, direct and star in the new romantic comedy. Crowne is an optimist whose upbeat attitude has survived a barrage of disappointments. A lot of people in the real world have experienced setbacks, and feel bitter, hopeless and lost as a result.
Through “Crowne,” Hanks tells people to keep their chins up because good things are just around the corner. It’s a good message. Unfor-tunately, Hanks has not made a good movie. As viewers meet Crowne, he’s picking up trash at U-Mart, a retail giant for whom he works. Despite his graying temples, Crowne is not a manager, but an hourly worker. He’s earned employee of the month eight times, and is called to the office for what he assumes will be his ninth nod. Instead, Crowne is fired because he doesn’t have a college education.
Hanks sets up Crowne as both victim and fool – victim because he joined the Navy out of high school, served 20 years, and was rewarded with divorce papers and a foreclosure; and fool because he’s always gone with the tide, working as a military cook and a retail lackey, but never striving for more. When Crowne says to his bosses, “Please don’t do this,” the emotion in his voice will likely resonate with anyone who’s recently lost a job.
A neighbor talks Crowne into registering for college, and the next thing Crowne knows, he’s sitting in Speech 217: The Art of Informal Remarks. The title of the class made me chuckle, but his teacher, Mercedes Tainot, is anything but amused. Played by Julia Roberts, she appears to have gotten lost on the way to the auditions for “Bad Teacher.” Hanks doesn’t use dialogue to suggest why she’s such a grump, but rather shows her enduring a husband who defines the word “disappointing.”
As the trailers reveal, Crowne and Tainot become romantically involved. Like many things in the movie, this happens suddenly and, for the most part, inexplicably. Sure, what red-blooded American male doesn’t dream of Julia Roberts falling head over heels for him? But what never becomes clear is why the contemptuous Tainot would be attracted to an underachiever like Crowne.
There’s enough to like about “Larry Crowne” that I’m hesitant to steer you away from it. For example, Crowne strikes up a friendship with a gang of scooter owners, including a bright, young ray of sunshine called B’ella. I like how B’ella takes Crowne under her wings, and I laughed each time her boyfriend caught her and Crowne in an innocent, but seemingly compromising, circumstance. Also, Cedric the Entertainer lives up to his name in his role as a neighbor who runs a 24-7 yard sale and loves to haggle over prices. I also liked George Takei’s performance as an economics teacher who hates cell phones.
Unfortunately, “Larry Crowne” lacks dramatic momentum. The only reason I knew it was over was because the end credits rolled. And Hanks doesn’t define Crowne clearly enough. In some scenes, Crowne comes across as suave and intelligent, and in others, he seems clueless and says goofy things like, “That’s spectac’lar!” The one thing Hanks makes clear is that being around Crowne will make a person nicer.
Finally, Hanks has no eye as a director. While a lighthearted movie like “Larry Crowne” hardly calls for the skills of a great visualist, too much of the movie appears to have been shot with no concern for composition. The shots of Roberts sitting in the back of the class while her students deliver their speeches initially seem to emphasize her emotional distance from them, but she’s still back there at the end of the semester, when she’s warmed up to everyone.
In a world driven toward success, is there room for people who are content with being a cog in the machine? Yes, and someday, someone will make a good movie about it. In the meantime, “Larry Crowne” will do, but only once it’s out on DVD, and only when there’s nothing else worth seeing.
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some sexual content. Two stars out of four. Email David Laprad at dlaprad@hamiltoncountyherald.com.