Review

Review Date: 1-July-11
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Junk

Larry Crowne (2011)

Community colleges are among society's better inventions. I love the idea of (relatively) inexpensive higher education and view-expanding opportunities being offered to everyone from 18 to 83. The inclusivity that defines the community is usually expressed by ethnicity and background as well as age. Similar to Jehovah's Witnesses' tracts (only without the pandas), community college advertisements show people of every color and walk of life enjoying the fruits of knowledge. The movie Larry Crowne, which takes place at a community college, does the same. And that's the only nice thing I can say about it.

Larry Crowne was written by star/director Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame. Its feel-good pedigree is enhanced by the pairing of Hanks with the other top movie star of his generation, Julia Roberts. Alas, neither the writing combo nor the acting combo generates a spark. The movie meanders much and strains credulity. Hanks is practically a cipher as the title character, who gets canned from his retail job because he doesn't have a post-high degree. In his youth Larry chose the military over college which, since the movie was released on July 4th weekend, means he's a patriot rather than a slacker. On the advice of his neighbor (Cedric the Entertainer), he enrolls in a community college filled with colorful folk, by which I mean people with amusing quirks along with various shades of skin. He is by far the blandest among them, absorbing their disparate energies without fear or wonder, approval or disapproval. He may be admirably tolerant, but he comes across as dull.

For no apparent reason, Larry is adopted as a pet by a bubbly and beautiful fellow student (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). She has a boyfriend though, so his school crush falls upon one of his teachers (Roberts). There's no apparent reason for this either, because although she is comely she is also seriously rude. The audience knows, while Larry does not, that a bad marriage and society's indifference to the humanities have soured her. When Larry gives her a ride home after a drunken fight with her husband, they share a kiss which is meant to indicate a promising compatibility. But a viewer must work to believe that this nonentity and this outward bitch might be drawn together (except on unsavory grounds like desperation), and the mere fact of the Hanks-Roberts pairing doesn't bridge this gap. With the romance and cute campus interactions I assume Hanks is trying to show that life goes on, enriched by community. But for composition and presentation his Larry Crowne earns a D.

Copyright © 2011 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.