Larry Crowne Review

If I had a successful career in film as an actor, with a few directing jobs under my belt I would try my hand at writing too like Tom Hanks has in this movie.  If I were to speak for him based on my interpretation of the movie; I think Tom wanted a realistic movie that didn’t shy away from the real personalities he may have come across in his years but he also wanted a wholesomeness that showed America still had some values.  Larry Crown is played by Tom Hanks and he is a very simple man who was probably divorced by his wife for his lack of worldliness.  He works hard and that is why he is jilted by his firing when he finds out he is not able to be promoted when the downsizing happens which leads to his pink slip.  A lack of education is sighted as the reason which is perplexing to him since he feels he should be able to remain in the same position.  He is mocked and jeered for his simple expectations, which are the opposite of the company’s desire to move people up the ladder.  Perhaps Hanks was trying to make a statement here knowing someone that this happened to. 

So, off to college then he sells his house and he gets a job as a short order cook as he tries to start over again and make sense of his life.  The interesting part of this character he portrays though is he rarely ever complains.  I think this is an important part of something we are to glean from this movie.  I mean, who WOULDN’T complain when all of these things happened to them, but not Larry.  I think that is the very attitude that helped him get to a new place in his life.  He was able to get the girl of his dreams AND the friends he didn’t know he wanted because he refused to feel sorry for himself.  I can think of many individuals who could get inspired by this movie, including myself.  You see, I’m a complainer; I always have been.  My only solace is that I complain less over the years which is improvement.  We need more Larry Crowne’s out there to show up and get the job done while changing the environment around them; trend setters I think they used to call them. 

I think this movie is wonderful because it isn’t all feel good from beginning to end but with its ups and downs I felt like I really cared about the two main characters.  Julia Roberts did a fantastic job playing the settling Mercedes Tainot until Mr. Crowne turned her worldview upside down.  She put in her time and didn’t get back what she gave which left her bitter and cynical.  We even have a cameo for Tom’s wife Rita Wilson here which was a nice surprise too.  I hope that this movie gets a lot of attention on video soon when it comes out November 15^th.  Aside from the occasional adult language this movie should be viewed by minors with parental approval in my opinion.  The ratings system is far too lax for most conservative parents these days.

Unfortunately this movie does lag in some spots but not long enough to stop me from watching the whole movie through or enjoying it as a whole.  There are even a few very funny scenes like when Larry and Mercedes kiss for the first time or the drunk scene with Mercedes.  Julia delivers a wonderful performance and it’s no wonder these two very talented actors are good friends.  I can picture them all having dinner in their home while consuming bottle after bottle of wind and laughing themselves silly.