On the surface Larry Crowne is an empty, bubble gum, fluffy movie in which Tom Hanks has a lot of fun with his co-stars. Taraji P. Henson, Cedric the Entertainer, Wilmer Valderrama, Julia Roberts and Pam Grier are but a few of the stars in this film. But underneath the surface, Larry Crowne gives you a lot to think about.
Larry Crowne is a retail sales leader that does all of the right things, exceeding sales expectations, and he should be the employee of the month. But one day management pulls him into the office and tells him that they have to fire him because he does not have his college education and seeing that he can go no further in the organization, they have to let him go. He is distraught, unsure of himself, and tries to get another retail sales job, but gets nowhere.
So upon the advice of his neighbor he goes to community college. He ends up taking a public speaking class and an economics course, and ends up meeting a young girl less than half his age. He is attracted to her, but she sees him as a project that she can make over. Larry Crowne gets made over, pep in his step, confidence, swag, and ends up dating his teacher, who is in a miserable relationship.
The irony of this film is that him and his teacher have done all of the right things in life; she married one of her peers, he is a square, but everyone that seems to be getting ahead in life do all of the wrong things. The girl he has a crush on drops out of school and opens up a thrift store, his neighbors do not work, and run a never ending garage sale. Larry ends up realizing that life is not about being a square or having the perfect job. He goes back to his old love, as a chef in a diner, sells his house, sells his SUV, abandons the suburban life and settles down in a small, but practical, apartment in the city. He is actually living a simpler life, doing what he loves, than he was trying to be the best salesman ever.
If you can get past the fluff; this movie feels like a 21st century version of Xanadu, you might actually like this movie. This isn’t Castaway, or Forrest Gump, but it is a great movie.