Larry Crowne
Tom Hanks starts again with “Larry Crowne”, a social comedy that is well-meaning smile between two messages highlighted in pencil guy. Friendly as any, and the chemistry with Julia Roberts works well.
A man (Tom Hanks) loses his job because he never did graduate. Returning to school, he ends up in the classroom of a teacher (Julia Roberts) who broods. Together, they discover a new beginning is always possible, provided to invest time and effort.
“Crowne Larry” could have been a maudlin melodrama. It is not. The way of the old social comedies U.S. so popular in the 1930 and 1940 (the shadow of Capra is present), it is honest slices of lives that remind us that as long as there is life there is hope. The story, snug in his messages, his moral and his maxims, is not in the lace. The scenario leading by excess, recalling that the happiness of a human being is defined not only by his job, but also by its quality of life, friends and love life. Findings supported a bit redundant and may give hives, but not enough to boycott the trial, however.
Unlike more serious projects like “Up in the Air” and “The Company Men”, which explored in depth the theme of unemployment, the feature is much lighter and naive. The important thing here is not the social side, but personal space. One that can implode at any time and that must be kept intact. This explains why the characters take the lead, relegating the situations in the background. The humor, well this though imperfect, serves as a guide, first to the integration of the hero to his new environment, then the teacher who changes his perception to reach happiness. All this will of course be coated with a romance to the credibility a little lacking.
Behind the playful and the apparent lack of major artistic, modest film directed by Tom Hanks (the first time it passes behind the camera since the forgettable “That Thing You Do!” In 1996) is often an excuse to show talented actors who seem much fun. First of all Tom Hanks can leave the auto pilot of “The Da Vinci Code” and its sequel to reconnect with Julia Roberts, his colleague of “Charlie Wilson’s War”.
The first recalls that it has been the best actor of his generation and is able to better than anyone in his hand this type of character who could easily have been grotesque or stupid. For its part, the actress temporarily forgets glamour to embrace a cynical and pathetic teacher that could make sparks in “Bad Teacher”. When attached to the screen, the duo shows a nice complicity that the subject matter superficially does not exploit enough. They are surrounded by jovial and charismatic performers including Pam Grier, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Bryan Cranston and newcomer Gugu Mbatha-Raw.
Although extremely minor, “Larry Crowne” is a working comedy that ends up putting in a good mood. All this is possible thanks to the charm of its distribution and how this incredibly naive view of life. For the daring, it will be iron, but as the antithesis to the robots of “Transformers 3″, there is nothing better.
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