Larry Crowne (2011)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Sergio G

  
  If you still think that a good casting will make a good movie, see Larry Crowne and think again.

• Crash E

  
  It's a funny movie, Tom Hanks did a good job with it. He directed it, starred in it, co-wrote the script, that's a good job, for me I enjoyed it a lot, thanks for the person who's watched it with me

• danny d

  
  i thoroughly enjoyed this underrated film. it was a bit more charming and unique than most standard rom coms these days, the cast was solid, and i laughed a lot. goerge tekai was especially hilarious. the film was trashed by critics who felt that the social commentary on the… More
  i thoroughly enjoyed this underrated film. it was a bit more charming and unique than most standard rom coms these days, the cast was solid, and i laughed a lot. goerge tekai was especially hilarious. the film was trashed by critics who felt that the social commentary on the economy was a bit wasted, but i wonder how many of them have been seriously impacted by the effects. i have been a victim of the recent troubles, and i felt like i could place myself in the film and fit right in. spot on in my mind.

• Cynthia S

  
  I wanted this to be better. It was cute...but not fantastic. I did enjoy this movie in a low level way - liked it enough to sit thru the entire thing. But it's really a lack luster script, and story. Hanks, and Roberts, both seem to flail a bit in trying to keep their characters… More
  I wanted this to be better. It was cute...but not fantastic. I did enjoy this movie in a low level way - liked it enough to sit thru the entire thing. But it's really a lack luster script, and story. Hanks, and Roberts, both seem to flail a bit in trying to keep their characters "alive" for the story. They all could have tried harder...

• Lorenzo v

  
  <i>"I was downsized, I'm here to make sure that never happens again."</i> After losing his job, a middle-aged man reinvents himself by going back to college. <center><font size=+2 face="Century… More
  <i>"I was downsized, I'm here to make sure that never happens again."</i> After losing his job, a middle-aged man reinvents himself by going back to college. <center><font size=+2 face="Century Schoolbook"><b><u>REVIEW</u></b></font></center> This feel good movie captures the emotional stress of the maturing working population and economic doldrums. The authentic everyman and everywoman portrait has a sensitive touch for the mainstream over 35 generation and avoids all over selling and over dramatizing through its restrained script, yet touching relevant points of experience and malaise that is infecting our society and living experience. Cedric the Entertainer entertains without his wacky, acidic style while both Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts capture their roles and relationships well and without any of the typical melodramatics and over the top stunts found in almost all other romantic comedies. This is a solid movie that doesn't need additional thrills, subplots along with some captivating soundtracks. The weakest part of the film is the final speech that didn't catch on fire, a non-memorable two minutes that didn't capture the depth of emotion. Tom Hanks has some great facial scenes, particularly in the beginning and else where his character speaks millions without saying anything. Well worth the money for those who are now experiencing the pits of despair as Larry Crowne to escape the harsh reality of now and issue forth some modicum of entertaining hope which is exactly what the movie was likely supposed to do.

• Red L

  
  What happens when a hard-working guy gets laid off? If you are in a movie, you go back to school to get your college degree and totally change your life around! The movie feels like fluff even though it was co-written by someone from my home town.

• ♥˩ƳИИ &

  
  Cast: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wilmer Valderrama, Pam Grier, Nia Vardalos, George Takei, Rob Riggle, Rami Malek Director: Tom Hanks Summary: After being laid off from his longtime job at a soulless… More
  Cast: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Bryan Cranston, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wilmer Valderrama, Pam Grier, Nia Vardalos, George Takei, Rob Riggle, Rami Malek Director: Tom Hanks Summary: After being laid off from his longtime job at a soulless retail giant, average middle-aged guy Larry Crowne (Tom Hanks) decides it's time to change up his life, so he heads back to college. There, he finds a new perspective -- and a new romance with a professor (Julia Roberts). Hanks directs this comedy-drama from a script co-written by Hanks and Nia Vardalos. My Thoughts: "It was a cute, charming, fun film. Not the leads best performances, but I don't think the story is award worthy either. But it was a nice little film to watch on a boring day for sure. I really liked the character's. Definitely a film for older adults. These are situations some of us may go through or have gone through. If I ever do, I hope to get as clean of a slate as Larry Crowne does. To be that lucky to have a do-over with no baggage. The movie had a nice array of actor's too, who brought flavor to the film. Not a great film but one I would watch again."

• Drake T

  
  A delightful formulaic modern fairytale for the middle-aged man. Though it lacks the comedic flare to sustain it's subtlety gentle handling the cast is remarkably well versed in their characters and brings the color back in. Thanks to Cranston, Hanks, Roberts, Takei and many… More
  A delightful formulaic modern fairytale for the middle-aged man. Though it lacks the comedic flare to sustain it's subtlety gentle handling the cast is remarkably well versed in their characters and brings the color back in. Thanks to Cranston, Hanks, Roberts, Takei and many others this is far from a failure. I really enjoyed this film, regardless of it's lack of ambition.

• Manu G

  
  After losing his job, a middle-aged man reinvents himself by going back to college. Very good film! Directed and acted by one of my favorite actors Tom Hanks. What I really enjoyed about this film is the way both stories come in between Tom Hanks and Julia Robert's characters.… More
  After losing his job, a middle-aged man reinvents himself by going back to college. Very good film! Directed and acted by one of my favorite actors Tom Hanks. What I really enjoyed about this film is the way both stories come in between Tom Hanks and Julia Robert's characters. They were so evenly distributed and not one or the other took more attention than the other, something few directors could do well. I love the story throughout, there were alot of funny moments and an ending just like I expected to be. Acting roles were stupendous, keep em coming Tom! Until he was downsized, affable, amiable Larry Crowne (Hanks) was a superstar team leader at the big-box company where he's worked since his time in the Navy. Underwater on his mortgage and unclear on what to do with his suddenly free days, Larry heads to his local college to start over. There he becomes part of a colorful community of outcasts, also-rans and the overlooked all trying to find a better future for themselves...often moving around town in a herd of scooters. In his public-speaking class, Larry develops an unexpected crush on his teacher Mercedes Tainot (Roberts), who has lost as much passion for teaching as she has for her husband. The simple guy who has every reason to think his life has stalled will come to learn an unexpected lesson: when you think everything worth having has passed you by, you just might discover your reason to live.

• Coxxie M

  
  Tom Hanks falls in love with Julia Roberts and at first, Julia is like not so sure but by the end Julia Roberts totally falls in love with Tom Hanks and he is pleased with this because he was already in love with her.

• Sophie B

  
  A nice little comedy which brightens your day and makes you realize that an old dog can learn new tricks. Enthusiastic and smart film which leaves you on a high despite the not so perfect chemistry between the two leads.

• Alice S

  
  Having taught community college before - albeit only for a year - I empathize with Mercedes' cynicism: dreading 8ams, hoping for cancelled classes or snow days, wondering if I'm reaching anybody, breaking chalk, teaching while hungover...haha just kidding. I loved all of… More
  Having taught community college before - albeit only for a year - I empathize with Mercedes' cynicism: dreading 8ams, hoping for cancelled classes or snow days, wondering if I'm reaching anybody, breaking chalk, teaching while hungover...haha just kidding. I loved all of Julia Roberts' surly moues. Her character also has an awesome name: Mercedes Tainot. Mercedes is one of my favorite names, and they really should have used it more, and not just her nickname Mercy, which is kinda charming as well, I guess. The movie is an innocuous "feel-good" scooter ride. I guess I have to give credit to a movie that focuses on some little glamorized professions such as superstore chain employee and community college teacher. The academic and socioeconomic commentary is quite light; there's more emphasis on the human relationships, especially the cute Henry Higgins/Eliza Doolittle one between Larry "Lance Corona" Crowne and Talia, played by the effervescent Gugu Mbatha-Raw. It's nice, but there's not that much substance.

• Tom M

  
  It's super sweet, and Tom Hanks is adorable. But the romance is so forced and the story so generic and basic that it wasn't exactly an interesting story. Still, I followed Tom Hanks like i followed my best friend through the story, I liked the friends that he makes in his… More
  It's super sweet, and Tom Hanks is adorable. But the romance is so forced and the story so generic and basic that it wasn't exactly an interesting story. Still, I followed Tom Hanks like i followed my best friend through the story, I liked the friends that he makes in his school, but my god Julia Roberts is just awful. Especially in one scene where Hanks finds her at a bus stop. The romance is forced and Roberts doesn't help with her incredible overacting with a somehow bland face.

• Christopher H

  
  A pretty straightfoward slice-of-life/romantic comedy. The story suffers from lacking a real conflict. Watching Larry Crowne(Tom Hanks) fitting into college is a little interesting at first, but gets boring after a while. I liked Tom Hanks but Julia Roberts performance felt phoned… More
  A pretty straightfoward slice-of-life/romantic comedy. The story suffers from lacking a real conflict. Watching Larry Crowne(Tom Hanks) fitting into college is a little interesting at first, but gets boring after a while. I liked Tom Hanks but Julia Roberts performance felt phoned in. There are some good laughs. Some of the best laughs come from George Takai(Mr. Sulu from the original Star Trek), he steals every scene he is in. The film may make a decent rental, but one is sure to forget it in less than two days.

• Everett J

  
  Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts are true movie stars and they continue to show it here. The story is pretty simple. Larry Crowne(Hanks) loses his job because he doesn't have a college education(sound familiar Simonton employees?!). He then decides to enroll in his local college… More
  Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts are true movie stars and they continue to show it here. The story is pretty simple. Larry Crowne(Hanks) loses his job because he doesn't have a college education(sound familiar Simonton employees?!). He then decides to enroll in his local college and basically start his life over. Roberts plays his teacher, and well you can probably guess the rest from there. They didn't exactly reinvent the wheel, but they did provide a solid 90 minute dramedy. Hanks has always had an "every man" quality to him, and here he plays it up to perfection. He even makes scooters cool, hell if I didn't live so far away I'd drive one to work. George Takei and Bryan Cranston both have smaller roles, and they are terrific. Only way Takei could have been better is if he said "Oh My". Plays more to the female crowd(Emily liked it) but I wouldn't say it's a chick flick. The romance really plays a backseat to Crowne's own journey, and it works better that way I think. Not sure if it's work 10 dollars a ticket(didn't see it in the theater), but it's worth a view.

• Cory T

  
  Featherweight and intermittently buoyant, 'Larry Crowne' struggles to be prevalent about our recession-era economy (unsubtle shots of skyrocketing gas price gauges), but Tom Hanks gravitates enough warmth that the slightness of the movie cannot sabotage him. Julia Roberts,… More
  Featherweight and intermittently buoyant, 'Larry Crowne' struggles to be prevalent about our recession-era economy (unsubtle shots of skyrocketing gas price gauges), but Tom Hanks gravitates enough warmth that the slightness of the movie cannot sabotage him. Julia Roberts, on the other hand, is an unconvincingly caffeinated curmudgeon with thinly veiled hostility for Larry because she believes he is involved in a May-December romance with a classmate. However, their chemistry is nonexistent and their affection for one another is abruptly developed, not earned because a drunken argument with Robert's caricatured, porn-addicted husband.

• Cassie H

  
  Before Larry Crowne ( Tom Hanks) was downsized in his position at U-Mart, he was very accomplished. He had served 20 years in the army and 10 or more years at U-Mart, but things take a turn for the worst when Larry is fired for not having a college education. That's where… More
  Before Larry Crowne ( Tom Hanks) was downsized in his position at U-Mart, he was very accomplished. He had served 20 years in the army and 10 or more years at U-Mart, but things take a turn for the worst when Larry is fired for not having a college education. That's where Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts) comes in. She teaches a speaking class at a community college. She is somewhat unhappy in life and her pathetic husband Dean Tainot (Bryan Cranston), who works from home and looks at porn all day is burning a hole in her life. Her life starts to look up when Larry Crowne takes her class as well as the other students in her class such as Steve Dibiasi (Rami Malek), who is a very eccentric individual. Larry's life also turns around when he meets Talia (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), who is a free spirit who is out to enjoy life. A great movie that is both romantic and comedic. It also helps that Julia & Tom are two of my favorite actors. I adore them, and they again shock me by their amazing chemistry since that in Charlie Wilson''s War.

• Flutie A

  
  It was spec-tackular...It's got some moments that are a little goofy, and Julia Roberts is basically grumpy & angry for half the movie. That said, there are some very funny parts, particularly from Hanks himself, as well as some good bits during George Takei's scenes… More
  It was spec-tackular...It's got some moments that are a little goofy, and Julia Roberts is basically grumpy & angry for half the movie. That said, there are some very funny parts, particularly from Hanks himself, as well as some good bits during George Takei's scenes (cell phone jokes that are really funny & true if you've sat through some college courses). Don't believe the critics, especially if you're a Tom Hanks fan. It's not as bad as they say.

• Aaron N

  
  Talia: Are you an ex-cop? Larry Crowne: Why would you think that? Talia: Tucking in a polo shirt makes you look like one. I guess Tom Hanks could at least receive a "Thanks For Trying" award. Back in 1996, Hanks made his directorial debut with That Thing You Do,… More
  Talia: Are you an ex-cop? Larry Crowne: Why would you think that? Talia: Tucking in a polo shirt makes you look like one. I guess Tom Hanks could at least receive a "Thanks For Trying" award. Back in 1996, Hanks made his directorial debut with That Thing You Do, a film that oozes likable charm. Now, he has made Larry Crowne, a film that oozes something else. I am not sure what it is that drove Hanks to co-write and direct this film, but I can only assume that he had a lot of fun making it, because the end results don't match up very well. One would think it would be tough to make a bad film about ostensibly nice people, all nice and having a good time, complete with a happy ending, but Larry Crowne manages to do just that. The whole thing is incredibly banal and lacks any kind of excitement. For all the likable charm that Tom Hanks can bring to a role, this really is an empty film. read the whole review at thecodeiszeek.com

• Steven C

  
  "Larry Crowne" was made under the most congenial of circumstances. The film seems to exist because Tom Hanks (star, director, co-writer) wanted to make a film with all his friends. This sense of amiability transcends to the screen making "Larry Crowne" one of the… More
  "Larry Crowne" was made under the most congenial of circumstances. The film seems to exist because Tom Hanks (star, director, co-writer) wanted to make a film with all his friends. This sense of amiability transcends to the screen making "Larry Crowne" one of the most effortlessly fluffy and charming romantic comedies in a long while. Unfortunately, the basic premise of the film, a man who is forced to redefine himself late in life due to job cutbacks, is *so* timely that the endless cheese-ball attitude nearly kills any sociological resonance. But do know that the film is so harmless, so light on it's feet, so family friendly that you can literally take anyone you know to go see it. Should be expect more edge from Hanks? Sure. But like I said, he's just in this for the fun and so should you. Julia Roberts is the real star of this film though, stealing every single scene with her sassy and lightly misanthropic attitude. "Larry Crowne" is far from being a bad film, but it is a disappointingly light one. Still, it works in it's favor because general audiences can do so much worse. If you are looking to watch something with your whole family and not feel insulted in any way, "Larry Crowne" is your ticket.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings