Larry Crowne Movie Reviews

In this multiplex era of comic-book superheroes, computer-driven fantasies and pre-teen oriented drivel, it's refreshing to stumble across a beguilingly old-fashioned romantic comedy. Fifteen years after making his directorial debut with the fondly remembered That Thing You Do!, double Oscar-winner Tom Hanks steps behind the camera once again. He also reunites with Julia Roberts, his co-star from Charlie Wilson's War (2008, as yet unreleased here)

We know you'd rush to watch Hollywood's two high premium stars get starry-eyed for each other. But hold it. The passion doesn't actually burn up the screen and the romance is a tad laid-back. Julia is too drunk for most of the time and Tom is too uncomfortable as a preppie. Nevertheless, there's enough to hold your attention in the film. And that comes mostly from the interesting bunch of students who comprise the college community

Larry Crowne is a rom-com fairy tale so tepid and well behaved that watching it feels like being stuck in traffic as giddy joyriders in the opposite lane break the speed limit. You have little choice but to cool your heels and pretend that the parched crabgrass in the median is a field of flowers. Any enjoyment will depend largely on your appreciation of the fact that a movie starring Tom Hanks (who directed) and Julia Roberts is a rarity nowadays

WHEN we first discover Larry Crowne (Hanks), he is pushing trolleys, arranging glass jugs, polishing surfaces and fixing inventories in a ‘Umart’ store. The prospect that he could be crowned “employee of the month” for the ninth time is the highlight of his working life, enough to make him forget he has been overlooked for promotion. At the end of his shift, he comes home to a lonely house (he has just divorced) and with great care, hangs up the red Umart shirt

Tom Hanks returns to directing for the second time after 1996's That Thing You Do with Larry Crowne, a mildly amusing romantic comedy that spends 98 minutes trying to say precisely nothing. It also commits the cardinal sin of releasing a film in 2011 with a cast that belongs to the '90s and a storyline that looks like it's from the '80s. On the surface, Larry Crowne seems appealing. A story of an ex-navy man named Larry Crowne

Larry Crowne review. Business rating 1/5 stars. What's Good: Tom Hanks' performance; the pleasant background score...