The Film
Tom Hanks is human, people. He does make the occasional mistake. Without a doubt, he knows how to pick movies, probably better than any working actor out there today. However, that judgment was apparently on a lunch break when it came to signing up for Larry Crowne.
Hanks plays Larry (duh), a middle-aged man that seems way too happy about his job at U-Mart, a Walmart-esque big-box store. Still, Larry seems like a nice enough guy and he's loyal to his company, which basically gets him kicked to the curb with a pink slip. Unable to find work, Larry decides to head back to school. However, instead of going the Rodney Dangerfield (Back to School) route, he finds friends and love -- with his unhappily married, completely annoying teacher Mercedes (Julia Roberts).
On the surface, Larry Crowne could have been an interesting, touching movie about a guy being downsized. Instead, we get a dorky love story. But hey, it's got Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks, who barely have any connection or chemistry in the movie.
Larry Crowne is a crowning example of filmmakers throwing two A-listers into a movie and expecting audiences to show up. If that's not enough, the movie does pack in a bunch of other famous people (Bryan Cranston, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Wilmer Valderrama, Pam Grier, Rob Riggle and Rita Wilson), in the hopes that you don't notice that it's an average movie, at best.
Want to get to know Larry a little better? Check out Mark Grady's theatrical review of Larry Crowne.
The Picture
Larry Crowne is a newer film filled with Hollywood A-listers. Then how come it looks so average? These are some aging A-listers, which means that the camera doesn't capture a completely detailed image in the close-ups. Instead, it's a bit on the softer side. Thankfully, that doesn't plague the entire film. Otherwise, the 2.40:1 transfer does have some decent colors and even a little detail sprinkled throughout. The image isn't horrible, but certainly isn't something you'd expect from a film with dueling Oscar winners.
The Sound
The film's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track fares much better than its image. The audio presented manages to elevate Larry Crowne's audio above the average rom-com, thanks to plenty of surround action and a heaping helping of Tom Petty. As with many romantic comedies, the dialogue is the main focus, which does sound great. However, it's a nice surprise that the film offers up some nice college ambience.
The Extras
Larry Crowne is pretty lean on the extras. Tom Hanks directed this film, so you'd think he would have a commentary or his own featurette. No dice. At under 12 minutes, the making-of piece is the meatiest of the bunch, but that's sort of stretching it. This is a pretty standard fluff piece, with the actors recapping the film mixed in with actual scenes from the movie. Aside from that, there's deleted scenes and a completely confusing 10 minutes of behind-the-scenes action with everyone laughing and knitting -- yes, knitting.
Final Thoughts
The name Tom Hanks isn't always a written guarantee for a good film experience, although he does have more than his share of hits. Larry Crowne isn't exactly The Money Pit or Dragnet -- yeah, both of those '80s comedies were way better. Larry is lazy all around, with its one crowning jewel being an above average audio track.
Product Details
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