STEVE INSKEEP, Host:
Our film critic, Kenneth Turan, is keeping his eye on the movie screen. In the new movie "Larry Crowne" he finds big names but not a big success.
KENNETH TURAN: Hanks plays Larry Crowne, an ordinary guy facing a midlife crisis. Larry is an enthusiastic employee at big-box store U-Mart, a man so devoted to his job he cheerfully picks up trash in the store parking lot on the way in to work.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "LARRY CROWNE")
INSKEEP: (as character) Larry Crowne to the common break area. It's employee of the month day. How many will this be?
TOM HANKS: (as Larry Crowne) Oh, I'm not saying - nine.
TURAN: Unidentified Woman (Actor): (as character) Larry.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "LARRY CROWNE")
HANKS: Unidentified Man #2 (Actor): (as character) (Unintelligible) better than a job - an education.
TURAN: At East Valley Community College, Larry signs up for a class in public speaking taught by Mercedes, played by Julia Roberts, who really doesn't want to be there.
(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "LARRY CROWNE")
JULIA ROBERTS: (as Mercedes) The state charter requires a minimum of 10 students per class or else it costs more for us to be here than not. So I mean, did you really want a class at 8:00 a.m.? I didn't.
(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)
TURAN: For one thing, the on-screen chemistry between Hanks and Roberts is less than zero. If this is the best the studios can muster for adult audiences, we're in for a long, hard summer.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
INSKEEP: Kenneth Turan reviews movies for MORNING EDITION and the L.A. Times. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
