Review: Larry Crowne

Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks in Larry Crowne

I saw Larry Crowne back in 2011 when it was first released. I remembered enjoying it. When it showed up on Netflix I watched it again. I enjoyed it just as much the second time.

The cast is what won me over the first time I saw it, and it knocked me out all over again. Larry Crowne stars Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. They are the ones who meet cute, fall in love, and do all the kissing. Look at some of the secondary players: Tina Huang, Rita Wilson, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Wilmer Valderrama, Pam Grier, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Rami Malek, Grace Gummer, George Takei, and Bryan Cranston. Holy talent explosion, Batman.

Tom Hanks, Wilmer Valderrama, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in Larry Crowne
All the cool college kids ride scooters and shop at thrift stores and garage sales.

Tom Hanks and Nia Vardalos wrote Larry Crowne. Hanks directed. They wrote a charming romantic comedy about a guy who loses his job in a big box store. (He’s fired by Wilma Q. Gammelgaard, AKA Hanks’ real life wife Rita Wilson.) To advance in the corporate world, he needs a college degree, so he goes to college and promptly falls in love with his speech professor Mercy (Roberts).

Along the way he runs into a scooter crowd led by Talia (Mbatha-Raw), finds he understands his economics professor (Takei) better than anyone in the class, and lets go of his old life completely. While he’s busy with these life changes, the speech professor lets go of her old life too – in the particular form of one useless blogger of a husband (Cranston). Bloggers – bah.

By this time the semester is over, Larry is no longer in Mercy’s class and both are unencumbered enough to enjoy having french toast together.

If you missed this gem back in 2011, now is the time to correct your mistake and watch it.

Watch the Trailer for Larry Crowne


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