Does 'Larry Crowne' Get A Passing Grade?

Not that long ago, I went to a bakery with my friend Amy. After perusing the case brimming with delectable pastries and desserts, I choose a decadent slice of chocolate cake, oozing with mousse and ganache. Amy ordered a plain cookie coated in colored sugar. It wasn’t a diet that made her choose that cookie over the more appetizing goodies. As Amy explained walking back to a cafe table, she just likes desserts that aren’t so dense and heavy.

I thought of Amy while leaving “Larry Crowne,” a movie I would imagine she would like, as it is very much the cinematic equivalent of her chosen dessert: sweet, light, colorful, yet somewhat bland and forgettable.

“Larry” tells the story of the amicable title character, a happy-go-lucky worker at a local mega-mart (Tom Hanks, the ultimate guy next door). One day, Larry is summoned to the employee’s lounge where he thinks he is getting “Employee Of The Month” for the ninth time in a row. Instead, Larry’s bosses tell him they’re downsizing and he is the first to go because he doesn’t have a college degree.

Upon insistence from his neighbors (Cedric The Entertainer and Taraji P. Hensen), Larry enrolls at community college where he excels at economics, taught by a hilariously dull professor (George Takei). He also finds himself in a public speaking class run by Mrs. Tainot (Julia Roberts), a burnt-out professor with an immature husband and a habit of slinging back a few adult beverages after work.

Soon college begins to change more than just Larry’s intellectual prowess. He buys a scooter and gets a hip new wardrobe courtesy of a free-spirited classmate (radiate newcomer Gugu Mbatha-Raw). The new threads and friends give Larry a newfound confidence, which may just attract the attention of a certain speech-and-debate professor.

I applaud Mr. Hanks (who also co-wrote and directed) and co-writer Nia Vardalos for not taking easy potshots at community colleges and their students. As someone who attended and graduated from a community college, the media’s overwhelming negative stereotype is one that I find particularly offensive.

While Mrs. Tainot’s small class did feature some older adults and bottom-of-the-barrel students (the hallmark of community college stereotypes), Larry’s econ class was full of young students who seemed to be taking the class seriously and adults who were there to jumpstart a new career.

Hanks and Vardalos do a nice job of showing the diversity within community colleges, while still keeping the humor. I swear my public speaking class featured speeches not much more exciting than Larry’s one about making French toast. 

I also applaud them for choosing an all-too topical subject and treating it with respect. Although “Crowne” is a cheery film, it doesn’t gloss over or glamorize the terrible limbo that is unemployment. It’s not spoiling anything to say that Larry doesn’t end up with a high paying corporate job or winning the lottery. He is flipping burgers at a local restaurant while juggling college course work. But he’s happy.

Maybe a little too happy.

The real problem with “Crowne” is Larry Crowne himself. Here is a man completely, genuinely nice. A squeaky clean, gosh-darn-it, white bread, All-American, good-boy type.

The thing is that completely, genuinely nice, squeaky clean, gosh-darn-it, white bread, All-American, good-boy types don’t make thrilling movie leads. There’s just not enough inside Larry to make him interesting enough to carry a 90-minute feature.

That vague flatness permeates the other characters, too. His neighbors are funny but somewhat bland. His motor scooter enthusiast friends are nice and quirky but somewhat bland. Even Julia Robert’s character, arguably the most fleshed-out one, is, you guessed it, somewhat bland. Inoffensive and mildly entertaining, yes, but most characters are cardboard cutouts rather than real people.

Some, like my friend Amy with her sugar cookie, enjoy something sweet and light for a change. It satisfies your sweet tooth and won’t leave you feeling overloaded.

But I much prefer a slice of chocolate cake to a sugar cookie. And I much prefer a comedy with a lot more substance to “Larry Crowne,” a film that’s already foggy in my mind, despite having only left the theater a few hours ago.

What I'd see this week:

• For some adventure - “Super 8”
• For some laughs - “Bridesmaids”
• For some intellectual stimulation - “Midnight In Paris”
• For the kids - “Kung Fu Panda 2”