Culturebox: Sleepless on a Scooter

Now playing: Slate V, a video-only site from the world's leading online magazine. Visit Slate V at www.slatev.com.
movies Sleepless on a Scooter Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts in the lazy rom-com Larry Crowne. By Dana Stevens Posted Friday, July 1, 2011, at 3:18 PM ET I'm not going to lie: I had high hopes for Larry Crowne (Universal Pictures), a romantic comedy directed by, co-written by, and starring Tom Hanks, about a recently laid-off man who goes back to college and falls for his teacher. Some critics I know entered the screening room already scoffing in anticipation of these two middle-aged movie stars exchanging light banter on a scooter. I was primed for light banter on a scooter. Tom Hanks in comic mode can be a delight--his voicing of Woody the cowboy in the Toy Story movies counts as one of the great movie performances of our time. And Julia Roberts, who got on my nerves in her Erin Brockovich, America's-sweetheart days, has mellowed into an effortlessly self-assured leading lady. Her dry, understated line readings can elevate even a mediocre script. But this script--a collaboration between Hanks and Nia Vardalos, the writer and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding--would need multiple punch-up sessions to attain mediocrity. Roberts and Hanks aren't just prevented from playing their A games; they're never even taken off the bench. My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Vardalos' wildly successful tale of a Hellenic family in low-stakes crisis, took place in a comfortably familiar, if cloying, rom-com universe; Larry Crowne takes place in no recognizable universe at all. Neither the relationship of the two leads, nor any encounter between any of the film's other humans, seems to proceed according to the emotional or sociological customs of our culture. In what isolated village of the San Fernando Valley do people behave like this, and how can I be sure never to go there? To continue reading, click here. Dana Stevens is Slate's movie critic. E-mail her at slatemovies@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Mean Things Rich Democrats Say About Barack Obama Canada: One of the World's Leading Exporters of Hacking Coughs The Most Amazing Thing about Pixar's New Heroine Isn't That She's a Girl--It's That She Has Curly Hair	Advertisement
Manage your newsletters subscription: Unsubscribe | Forward to a Friend | Advertising Information
Ideas on how to make something better? Send an e-mail to slatenewsletter@nl.slate.com. Copyright 2011 The Slate Group | Privacy Policy The Slate Group | c/o E-mail Customer Care | 1350 Connecticut Ave NW Suite 410 | Washington, D.C. 20036