Larry Crowne

Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks in Larry Crowne
(The NYC Film Chick Blogspot)
no copyright infringement intended

This is a movie that had mixed reviews. Some considered it simply boring, some others said that Tom Hanks made it interesting to watch, otherwise it would have been simply boring - and there were other reviewers that simply liked it. I range among the ones who liked it. It's not a great movie to be written in the golden book of cinema history, while very enjoyable (maybe because of the lead actors, I can agree - better said, it's a story where a great story teller is a must).

Actually I watched it many times, the number of times it has been aired on one of the TV channels I keep on watching. It doesn't mean I keep an eye open on that TV channel all the time, nor that I watch the whole movie each time it comes,  only some scenes, while doing also other things. And as each movie there comes again and again, I watch each time other scenes, and eventually I see all of them.

Larry Crowne starts with a scene where the character played by Tom Hanks loses  his job for an absurd reason. This is America, a country where anyone can lose the job anytime for any reason, whatever absurd. With such a start, you'd expect the unfolding of a drama. Well, what follows is a very optimistic story, about a country of all opportunities. The guy enrolls in a local college (he has now free time), gets rid of his car (too expensive for a jobless) and gets instead a second hand scooter, so he befriends a group of young scooter enthusiasts, he gets rid of his apartment (too expensive now for him) and moves to a smaller place, his new friends help him to make it look modern and comfortable, soon enough he finds a new job (not the dream job, of course, but it wouldn't be the last anyway) and eventually he finds a possible soulmate. As the old saying goes, a kick in your back is a step forward.

Larry Crowne - trailer
(video by hollywoodstreams)

I remember once I met a guy who was opposing the universal health care. He was a truck driver with two jobs, who had taken a free day to attend a huge manifestation against the Obamacare. I asked him what would happen if he were to loose his jobs, so also his health insurance. He answered that in this situation he would look for another job and find it in a couple of months and that you cannot eliminate risk in your life. Was he right? Debatable. Like the story from this movie.


(Filmofilia)