The quarterly publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/43128
MOVIE REVIEW T he last time we saw Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts together on the big screen, he was a womanizing U.S. congressional representative from Texas, and she was a glamorous and wealthy socialite activist. The real-life characters they played in CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (2007) were flying high. Now, paired again eight years later in LARRY CROWNE (2011), their fictional characters are stuck on the tarmac. Larry (Hanks) is a divorced, newly unemployed middle-ager; his teacher (Roberts), is a borderline alcoholic without passion for either teaching or her marriage. 84 www.iltanet.org Peer to Peer The movie begins with Larry reporting to his shift at the Walmart-ish store, where — as a low-level manager — he has happily and loyally served for years. In a series of quick cuts, we see him bustling to get the store ready to open, straightening merchandise and helping co-workers — all evidence that he loves his job and he's liked and valued. And then … summoned to the "employee lounge" (a raggedy sofa, a few mismatched chairs and a vending machine), he sits down expecting to be presented with his 14th employee-of-the-month award and, instead, receives a pink slip. It seems that despite his perennial award-winning work performance, Larry has been deemed IT'S NO FUN BEING OUT OF WORK … UNLESS YOU'RE IN A TOM HANKS ROMANTIC COMEDY.