Great Film overall

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I believe this movie to be very underrated and cannot understand why. I loved the story and characters. They were all so real and very funny. Hanks and Roberts were simply great but the whole cast did an impressive job and George Takei as the economics lecturer, Dr. Matsutani, was absolutely hilarious. OK the story is predicable and so was the ending, but I didn't care. It's a fun ride that's not to be taken seriously, so just sit back and enjoy this wonderful comedy.

Even when a film has very good material to work with (which this one unfortunately doesn't), it would still have to overcome the distraction of two giant stars to somewhat make it work. Here the material is so weak it's difficult to even get out enough words for this ten line review. These are two of the most recognizable celebrities on the planet, and watching them together on screen is just a distraction.. for mostly whatever they're doing you are still aware that you're watching Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks.. not some random English teacher and one of her students. Box Office MoJo indicates this movie made over seventy-two million dollars worldwide, so I guess the millions invested in the two blockbuster lead actors paid off well for a few folks. Would imagine their devoted fans thought it worthwhile too.. but in truth, it was hardly at all memorable.

Larry Crowne is Tom Hank's second film as a director. It's a feel good film with a big heart from its lead man. Financial cuts force Larry (Hanks) into losing his job. This hot topic is brushed aside as Larry stays positive by attending college. He meets some weird and wonderful people, including a young, free spirit who changes everything in Larry's life; his hair style, his fashion sense, even the layout of his living room. Larry's on a journey to reinvent himself. He gets a new job, stays focused in college and has a thing for the teacher (Julia Roberts). Julia Robert's relationship with her husband is nearing its end and never quite fits in with the rest of the film. Ultimately not much happens. The movie never escalates, only simmers. If it weren't for Hanks and Robert's ability to act out greatness from a weak script, Larry Crowne would be worse off. By the time it hits its happy, sure-fire ending all involved will be wondering what Larry Crowne's point was.

If you only watch action movies, if you only look for car chases, if you can only watch obvious movies, you will hate Larry Crowne. This is a slow, subtle movie about the American middle class and how, at times, it fails. There is nothing obvious about this movie at all, which means you must use your brain while you watch it. Larry, the title character is emblematic of a hard-working, well-intentioned guy who loses his job because he doesn't fit the corporate profile of a college-educated middle-management big-box manager. He has to cut expenses, go back to school, and down-size. His American dream has run up on the rocks. As an almost-fifty kind of guy, he has to re-invent himself. None of this is easy to watch.He does not go to Harvard. He goes to a no-name community college. Every note in this movie rings true--abandoning his house and mortgage, buying a scooter, wearing his polo shirts tucked into his pants. His professor for speech class has long since become disillusioned with bad students, bad pay, and a stupid husband. In a series of scenes between the professor and her husband (who does nothing--she's the bread winner), we see her drinking too much, losing hope of any kind of meaningful relationship, wondering if things will ever get better. Her husband is hooked on internet porn--sad, really. In a sense, the movie is highly critical of consumer culture, the idea that everyone should have a mortgage, an SUV, and a white picket fence. In reality, none of these things matter.All of this develops through a series of scenes that slowly tell a story of failure, disillusionment, and desperation. The up-side, though it doesn't appear obvious at once, is speech class. Learning something new, outside of oneself. Roberts, as a professor who once had big ideals about doing a phd and writing a dissertation on Shakespeare, is spot on, and anyone who has taught anything at 8:00 am will understand her frustrations. One of the best scenes is Roberts riding on Hanks' scooter after she has fought with her husband--iconic.The denouement--Roberts going to see Hanks at his job as a short-order cook--is a quiet cry for help, and they both know it. She has helped him rebuild himself, and he is a small, quiet island upon which she might rebuild herself as well. The movie is slow. There are no shoot outs, chases, or fighting of any kind. There are no special effects. This is what life is really like. Often, unremarkable, but frequently, if you are paying attention, stunning.