I saw a trailer for this the last time I went to the cinema, and thought that despite not hearing of it before, it looked like quite an easygoing feel-good film. So when the opportunity arose for a trip to the cinema, and unfortunately X-Men: First Class was no longer showing, I thought it was worth a try.
I love Tom Hanks, not just because he is the voice of Woody in Toy Story, but because I think he always seems to create very likeable endearing characters: just look at Forrest Gump, and Chuck Noland from Castaway. Not only is he this film's namesake, but he is the director, and was also involved in the writing of the script, so it seemed like a good bet.
The plot is (surprisingly) about Larry Crowne, a middleaged worker at a supermarket, who loses his job due to having never attended college. After moping around for a few days, he takes action. He buys a scooter and decides to enrol in a public speaking class at his local community college. There, he meets a motley crew of moped riders run by the bubbly Talia, and develops a crush on his teacher, Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts). Miss Tainot has lost all passion for her job and her husband, causing her to hit the bottle on many occasions.
This is a feel-good film, in the sense that it shows how two people whose lives have hit rock bottom, can finally find some purpose in life and begin to enjoy it again. However, one major issue I have with it is that the trailer shows the vast majority of the action in the picture, meaning that even for a short film (98 mins) it feels padded out with meaningless scenes that could easily be removed without detrimental effect to the overall piece.
That said, it is an easy, lighthearted view, and the acting it in is very good, so it cannot be said to be a bad film. It is just not one that will have you on the edge of your seat in suspense. I would watch this if someone lent it to me on DVD, but I wouldn't recommend rushing to the cinema for it.
Personally I also found it a novelty that I saw Gugu Mbatha-Raw, who played Talia in it, at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester in a production of Romeo and Juliet, as the leading lady. She was in it alongside Andrew Garfield, who has also been in some big films recently such as The Social Network and Never Let Me Go, as well as having just finished filming The Amazing Spider Man as Peter Parker. Proof that everyone starts out small!
No comments:
Post a Comment