Larry Crowne is a great example of how a great cast does not equal a great movie. Tom Hanks had his hands full with writing, directing and starring in the movie, when he should have chosen one particular role. The movie lacks any source of direction, offering different subjects without elaborating on any of them.
The film’s premise is that Larry Crowne has lost his job because he didn’t have a college degree, so when his neighbor and buddy that we hardly see in the film tells his he should get some education, he does so. Once we learn about his situation, his job is never referenced again in the movie, aside from a scene near the end. Why give us a story and then not follow-up on it? Does he want to go work there again?
Upon entering university, Larry never encounters any sort of issues, social conflicts or anything that might remotely cause any sort of turbulence during the course of his educational experience. He meets a girl who might be one of the nicest female characters in film history, and there seems to be a spark of interest between them which is killed when Wilmer Valderrama’s character steps in and contributes in no way expect a lame attempt at adding another comedic element to Crowne’s new life.
Julia Robert plays the irritated, I can’t wait to be divorced professor. That’s about as much depth as we get out of Julia’s character and is carried on during the course of the film. Why should we like her? Are we supposed to? Aside from a drunken romantic scene, there’s no other source of information as to why Larry Crowne and Mercy Tainot would fall for each other. If fixing the issues of a GPS device is the main source of romantic attraction, then my love for Pandas might be enough to make me the president of the United States.
There’s a lame attempt at a Breakfast Club-style group with Mrs. Lainots’ class, but their scenes never last long enough to really care about any of them. The constant theme of this whole film is too much for too little. “Less is more” is something somebody should have told Hanks before beginning production of this film. When you attempt to cramp in so many characters with no real source of direction or conflict, you end up getting a mediocre film that doesn’t turn into anything else thanks to Hanks and Robert’s terrible chemistry. If this film is attempting to be a romantic, comedy or Napoleon Dynamite-style average film, it doesn’t do a good job portraying any of them.
The reason “Larry Crowne” can be called a decent, passable family film is because there is no conflict to ever tire you out. Nothing ever happens during the entire course of the film that might jeopardize someone. Lose your job? No problem? Need to give the bank your house? Go for it! When we don’t see anything happen to a character we might care for, it’s incredibly difficult to establish some sort of connection.
I give props to Tom Hanks for attempting to cover a large array of roles in this average film, but if you’re going to try it again, give the script to someone else or give another person a shot at directing.
