When he suddenly finds himself without his long-standing blue-collar job, Larry Crowne enrolls at his local college to start over. There, he becomes part of an eclectic community of students and develops a crush on his teacher.
This charmer about late middle-aged renaissance is pertinent for these times and a perfect summer comedy for grown-ups looking to escape robots and superheroes.
67
Tampa Bay Times
Steve Persall
The pleasant surprises in Larry Crowne come from its side characters.
60
Empire
Helen O'Hara
This one coasts by on Hanks' immense appeal and charm, but more focus and a touch more sharpness are needed to make it really come alive.
It's easy enough to accept the romantic-comedy luck of the two finding each another. It's much tougher, and ultimately useless, to buy everything else about this fairy tale of self-reinvention in a stalled economy.