Review of Larry Crowne (2011) by Doug C — 01 Dec 2011

WARNING: PLOT SPOILERS...

The critics apparently don't get this film.

If you are a 40 something single working guy you will.

This isn't purely an economic angst anti-hero anti-romantic drama like "Falling Down" (1994), nor is it a simple straight forward romantic comedy like "You've Got Mail" where boy gets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back in the end.

Like Falling Down, there's definitely an economic angst aspect to this film that certainly resonates with the audience. Unlike D-FENS in Falling Down however, Larry Crowne doesn't settle his score with the world using guns and violence.

Instead, Hanks' character gets his comeuppance against the guy who fired him purely through accident when he orders a pizza for his friends helping him move and even then shows himself to be the better man.

He gets even with high gas prices by parking his gas guzzling land yacht SUV in favor of a gas sipping motor scooter.

In another echo of Falling Down where the picketer who was "not economically viable" finds himself fighting the bank for a loan, Larry finds himself powerless against an uncaring bank that refuses to renegotiate a loan that he can no longer afford.

Finally he gets his comeuppance on the bank officer who won't deal with him by strategically defaulting on his mortgage.

The strategic default scene at the bank is worth the entire admission price for just those two minutes of the film alone - and as an act of pure rebellion against societal norms it is every bit as powerful and satisfying as the "Whammy-Burger" scene in Falling Down.

Both D-FENS and Larry Crowne are on a modern day Homeric Odyssey of sorts to get back to a place where they can find satisfaction and security in their lives.

Instead of turning to violence and destruction as D-FENS did in Falling Down, Crowne chooses to reshape and reclaim his life in a positive way.

He turns his life around and reclaims his self confidence again through a new job he has pride in, an education to empower himself and by changes in his friends, his home and his appearance.

Finally, Larry gets his faith in love restored that he lost after his divorce years ago.

For once in the world, the nice guy next door - the guy who was a gentleman towards the lady when he could have taken advantage of her inebriation and gotten away with it - gets the girl of his dreams while the bad boy creep has his stuff tossed out on the lawn.

The storyline is entertaining but it is made satisfyingly real by the first rate acting.

You feel Hanks' pain at the gas pump as he pumps $75 of his meager pay check into his SUV while watching a guy on a motor scooter fill up for less than $4. You can feel his pain and sorrow at being fired and his discomfort at making changes in his life. You can feel his empowerment when he strategically defaults on his mortgage and you can sense his new found self-confidence as he gives his final speech in Mercedes' (played by Julia Roberts) speech class.

You can feel Julia Roberts' bitterness towards her creepy worthless husband and her unhappiness towards her less than glamorous teaching job with usually less than motivated junior college students.

Importantly, you can feel real chemistry between Hanks and Roberts when they finally find each other as more than student and teacher and have that first life changing moment at her apartment door after he takes her home on the back of his scooter having found her stranded and drunk at a bus stop in the middle of the night.

Even George Takei (Star Trek's Mr. Sulu) in a bit part as Larry's economics professor was a breath of fresh air injecting both humor and a difficult challenge into his college plans.

This movie is a Cinder-fella story for guys (the pumpkin is apparently a Yamaha Riva motor scooter) - so it is fitting that Julia Roberts from "Pretty Woman" should be the female lead in this one. The professional critics seem to have missed this connection entirely - they don't get it.

I give it 5 stars.

Best movie all year.