Film Review: Larry Crowne

First off, I feel like I should offer some form of explanation as to why I actually watched Larry Crowne. You don't even need to know me that well to know that I'm not exactly drawn to films with tag lines on the front of the case like 'Find Life and Love', which is the case of this. I'm not one for inspirational messages on my DVD case, thanks.

The reason I wanted to watch it was the fact that Bryan Cranston was in it. After the one-two punch of the sensational Breaking Bad (which may end up being one of the greatest TV shows of all time) and his supporting turn in potential film of the year, Drive. To put it mildly, I wanted more Cranston, in any way, shape or form.

But Cranston aside, I found a film I was mildly surprised by, and found quite enjoyable, and if it wasn't for a few problems, I'd highly recommend it.

Larry Crowne is all about Tom Hanks (a man everyone loves, and if you don't, you have no soul), he stars, directs and co-writes (along with Nia Vardalos, best known for My Big Fat Greek Wedding) and his likability carries the film nicely.

Hanks plays the titular Larry Crowne, a middle aged divorcee who has just lost his job as a team leader at a big superstore, and decides to go back to college, where he falls in with an unlikely gang of students, mostly scooter fans. He also starts to fall in love with on his tutors, the miserable, and very married Mercedes Tainot (Juila Roberts.)

The supporting players almost seem like stunt casting. Dale Dye has a small role as one of the superstore executives letting Larry go, George Takei plays another tutor at the college, Cedric The Entertainer plays Larry's next door neighbour who is a permanent state of yard sale. It's a motley bunch, but they all are quite likable.

The aforementioned Cranston has about 4 scenes, after all that, but has a great role as Mercedes' husband, Dean - a college professor turned internet blogger. Which means he just sits online looking at porn. He's an unbelievable dickhead, and Cranston is brilliant in the role. It's a shame he wasn't in it more.

The comedy is really silly, but I warmed to it for some reason. Some subplots involve George Takei's tutor being annoyed Larry keeps using a phone in class, and the running joke of one of his college buddies being annoyed at the attention his girlfriend shows Larry. It sounds rubbish, but I actually quite enjoyed it.

For all its charm, the side is seriously let down when it gets to character development, though. Mercedes' character jumps from the unhappy wife, bringing her misery to work to all sunshine and rainbows so quickly, you barely have time to blink. And even if that wasn't the case, I just couldn't buy into the romantic side of the plot at all.

I just couldn't see what would attract Larry to Mercedes, all she does was come off as quite unpleasant for the longest while, and a lot of the time, he doesn't even seem to be that interested in her. It's almost as if it was decided that the film better have Hanks and Roberts kissing a bit, seeing that they're in it.

If watching the film, I do advise that it goes off the very moment the credits start rolling, as it involves a horrifically embarrassing sequence, set to green screen. To make a comparison, it reminded me of the music video to David Hasselhoff's version of 'Hooked On A Feeling'. Yeah, that bad.

It's all a game of two halves though. It's undemanding, sweet and mildly amusing where it needs to be, but there's no way you'll buy into the love story aspect.

**1/2
An OK film let down by a lazy romantic subplot, and possibly the worst post credits sequence I have ever seen. Try renting it.

Film Review: Drive (2011)

It's safe to say that it's not every day that a film like Drive comes along. Sure, films that sound like the synopsis come along every day, they are a dime a dozen, but it's been a long time since I've seen a film about something so (relatively) simple done with such style.

Ryan Gosling plays an unnamed Hollywood stuntman (and I didn't even notice his character didn't have a name, that's how captivated I was by the film) who has a job on the side as a getaway driver, as he can navigate the roads of Los Angeles like no other. He also strikes up a 'friendship' with his neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan), and ends up being the wheelman for a pawn shop heist that her recently freed-from-jail husband Standard (Oscar Isaac) has been caught up in. This all ends up with 'The Driver' having a contract put out on him.

As I mentioned at the start, it's not a hugely original story, but the way it is told is stunning, and makes this 'simple story' one of the most engaging films I have seen this year.

Director Nicolas Winding Refn (whose only other work I have seen was the confusing, yet brilliantly acted Bronson) says a lot of influence for this film comes from classics like 'Bullitt' and 'The Day Of The Locust', but even if that's the case, I see a lot more influences than just those movies.

The slow pace of the film, with the sudden bursts of action and violence scream Michael Mann to me, particularly Manhunter, which may not be thematically similar, but contain the same deliberate pacing and 1980's feel.

Now when I say 1980's feel, don't go running for the hills, I'm talking about films like William Friedkin's To Live And Die In L.A. Of course, that shares its setting with Drive, but there's so much more to the comparisons than that.

To Live And Die In L.A. and Manhunter share the same cool and deliberate vibe with Drive (even though Drive is set in the present day), right down to the titles and the synth soundtrack. That's high praise indeed, as both films mentioned there are classics in my eyes.

With that vibe and style comes violence, and Drive does not shy away from that at all. The first truly violent moment in the film (a gunshot), elicited such a reaction with the audience I saw it with, you'd have thought we were seeing a horror film.

And that's a comparison I can make to the rest of the violence in the film. I've not seen many films that aren't horrors with this kind of level of brutality. And it's made all the more potent with the slow, gradual pace of the film, and it's never done needlessly either, when it so easily could have been. In fact, one of the best, and most tender and romantic moments in the film, is immediately followed by the most brutal and it works perfectly.

As a side note, when I went to see it, a family actually walked out of the cinema. Parents and a teenage boy (who must have been under the certificate age of 18), left about half an hour before the end. If you need telling by this point, Drive is not exactly a family night out kind of film.

Ryan Gosling is superb as the nameless Driver, remaining mostly stoic throughout, breaking to occasionally have a flicker of a smile form, or when he loses his patience, and whilst he never really says too much, he's a character the viewer can warm to.

He is backed up by a fantastic cast, including three American T.V. stalwarts who really don't appear in enough films, and should. Bryan Cranston plays Shannon, the Driver's mechanic, employer and apparently, only friend. Shannon cuts a rather pathetic character, already stung once by the mob, now attempting to borrow more money to finance a racing career for the Driver. Cranston is superb with this kind of role, having played a character in a desperate situation to perfection in the superb series Breaking Bad.

The chief mob character in the film is Nino (Ron Perlman, Sons Of Anarchy), an imposing guy, who again, is a character right up the alley of the actor playing him. Perlman is his usual gruff and intimidating self, but there's not much about his character given to the audience, save a superb scene, where he is seen through a window laughing hysterically, while a lady friend stands next to him, bored senseless. No words are uttered, but it tells you so much more than any dialogue could.

Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) also has a small role as Blanche, who is involved in the pawn shop robbery mentioned earlier. It's more a cameo than anything, although she is heavily advertised as being in the film.

Also worthy of a mention is the brilliant Albert Brooks as Shannon's mob contact Bernie Rose. I have never seen a bad Albert Brooks performance, and this is another fantastic one. The guy simply isn't in enough films.

Everything about Drive blew me away, from the performances, to how it was shot, to the music. Films like these in this day and age are a total one-off, and cannot be repeated, no matter who tries it (and mark my words, someone will.) The whole film is effortlessly cool, and, dare I say it, a modern classic.

*****
A very strong contender for film of the year, Drive is a cool, stylish, brutal and touching film that reminds you of some of the great films of yester-year. I implore you to check it out.