RBR: Larry Crowne

After seeing the charming trailer last summer for Larry Crowne I eagerly anticipated seeing the film. Being a college professor who frequently teaches public speaking, I wanted to see this film about a middle-aged man (Tom Hanks) who enrolls in a public speaking course after being laid off from his job. Now that I have, I'm resigned to the fact that most of the critics who panned this film were correct. This is not an actively bad film, it's just one that has no significance or substance to it. On the surface, it seems like a film fitting of our current society and yet it never really deals with the economic hardships that so many real people are facing. Despite having no job and no money, Crowne banters with his neighbor (Cedric the Entertainer), bonds with an ecclectic bunch of students who ride around on their Vespa scooters, and flirts with his speech teacher (Julia Roberts). Hanks' likeable personality and cheery disposition just seem out of place for this character and this film. It's hard to get mad at someone like Hanks (who also directed and co-wrote the film), but you can't help but be frustrated that the characters and the story seem so naively ignorant of reality. I did enjoy the speech class scenes, however, and was able to relate a lot to the interactions between teacher and student, so at least there was that. Given the happy nature of the film, there are likely plenty of people who will find it pleasant enough to make it worthy of a rental. If you do give it a viewing, however, just don't expect to gain any sort of poignancy or perspective by watching it. This is pure Hollywood fluff. Rating: ** 1/2