Larry Crowne

There was a story in the press a few months back about a couple who accosted Tom Hanks at a petrol station to complain about his latest film, Larry Crowne. Being the top chap that Tom is he reimbursed the couple the price of their cinema tickets there and then with the promise to do better next time. Apart from this being a great idea (Michael Bay, expect my invoice anytime soon), were the disgruntled couple correct with their condemnation of said film? First of all, let’s say this. This is a film starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts and it’s advertised as being a bit of harmless fluff. You really shouldn’t go in expecting anymore than that in the first place. The fluff in question has Hanks as the eponymous Crowne, an employee of a store who gets the boot and ends up back at college where he enrols in a class under the tutelage of the oddly named Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts). Tainot won’t give Crowne the time of day at first, but before long, well, you can guess the rest. This is harmless stuff really and does have a few nice moments of drama and comedy. It can’t escape though from the totally unbelievable screenplay and that both Hanks and Roberts’ characters are pretty far-fetched. Hanks also doubles up on director duties, but can’t do anything to cover over the cracks. It’s a good job then that the supporting cast is good value with Hanks classroom colleagues all enjoying their brief moments in front of the camera, Cedric The Entertainer providing a few chuckles as Crowne’s full of bluster neighbour and, best of all, George Takei as a strict professor with an hilarious robotic laugh. To sum up then? Though I advocate all films to be seen in the cinema, I’ll meet that unhappy petrol station couple half way on this one. The big screen adds nothing to this but, if this is your bag, do catch up with it later on down the line on telly. Even if you still don’t like it, at least you won’t have to drive around California on the off chance of hoping to bump into Hanks and getting a refund.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Innocent enough, a few laughs and totally forgettable once watched. You weren’t exactly expecting Citizen Kane though were you?. Rating: 6/10