Hanks Retains The Crowne

Larry Crowne appears to be a movie willing it's audience not to like it. Co-written and directed by Tom Hanks it's a slight tale of a divorced man having to completely reinvent his life when he's made redundant. It's a comedy drama where the comedy isn't broad and the drama isn't very powerful and for a while, in the early parts of the film, reaching for the remote control's off button is a serious option.

But along the way something happens. You begin to care. About Larry, about Ms Tainot his constantly pissy Community College teacher and about the friends he meets. And by the end you realise you actually get a kick from this low key, old fashioned, horribly nice and decent little movie. What you in fact realise is that you've been watching is Tom Hank's version of a Cameron Crowe movie...a poor man's Jerry MacGuire, if you like, and that's no bad thing.

Tom Hanks, as Larry, plays on his nicest guy in the world persona, and proves to the world why he's the best at this kind of thing. Julia Roberts, as his teacher, has fun stomping around in a strop before, she too, activates her star wattage that we've come to know and love. In fact Hanks gets great performances out of all his actors from Cedric The Entertainer to Bryan Cranston as Robers porn obsessed husband...but there's two actors that really shine here.

The first is Star Trek legend George Takai in a cameo as Hank's economics professor and is clearly relishing the opportunity to flex his comedy muscles. The second is British actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw (from the BBC's Doctor Who and JJ Abrams' failed TV series Undercovers) who wows as Larry's guide and inspiration in his new college life. Like Rosario Dawson in Clerks 2, Anne Hathaway in Princess Diaries, Sandra Bullock in Speed, Rachel McAdams in The Wedding Crashers or Julia Roberts herself in Pretty Woman, here is an actress that exudes youth, sex appeal, charisma, energy, charm, a girl next door quality mixed with that indefinable x-factor. Here is a movie star in the making, mark my words.

Larry Crowne might be a slight movie, but it's warm, immensely likable and lots of fun.