Tom Hanks directed, co-wrote, and stars in this romantic comedy as conscientious Larry Crowne, a man who—despite being named Employee of the Month nine times—loses his job at U-Mart (think Walmart) because his lack of a college education prevents him from climbing the corporate ladder. Divorced and deeply in debt, Larry sells everything, including his gas-guzzling SUV, and buys a motor scooter from tag-sale enthusiast neighbors Lamar and B'Ella (Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson), who also suggest that he enroll at the community college. Encouraged to take a speech class, he meets Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts), an embittered English teacher who wears dark glasses to disguise her morning hangovers. Married to porn-loving deadbeat Dean (Bryan Cranston), Mercedes starts mixing booze in the blender the minute she gets home. Although she's wary at first, Larry's earnest charm eventually wins Mercedes over. Meanwhile, Larry's also taking Economics 1, taught by Dr. Matsutani (George Takei), and making friends with free-spirited Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who's determined to give him a complete makeover, sparking jealousy from her biker boyfriend (Wilmer Valderrama). Hanks is perfect as the bland, middle-aged Everyman, but beautiful Roberts is not believable as a wife who's rejected just because her breasts aren't big enough, and the flaccid, overly generalized, schmaltzy script totally lacks drama. Disappointingly mediocre, this is optional, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include a “making-of” featurette (12 min.), a “Fun on Set” behind-the-scenes featurette (11 min.), deleted scenes (8 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a cinematic misfire.] (S. Granger)
Larry Crowne
Universal, 99 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: $34.98, Nov. 15 Volume 26, Issue 6
Larry Crowne
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