“I was downsized. I’m here to make sure that this never happens again.”

Getting fired—it’s a subject that’s current, universal and personal. It’s also a highly unusual premise for anything remotely romantic or optimistic. And so, in that vein, Oscar winner Tom Hanks’ latest directorial and acting effort, Larry Crowne (he also plays the titular lead), starts off on a curiously promising note.

Set in small-town America, the film’s eponymous hero is an ex-Navy veteran and well-liked store leader at U-Mart, whose life revolves around collecting shopping carts, picking litter and keeping the store in order. One day, Larry is summoned to meet the store’s management, and he is genuinely convinced that it’s because he’s the Employee of the Month for the ninth time. Instead, he is unceremoniously sacked. Reason? For not having a college degree.

What does a sensible, do-gooder like Larry do in the face of such injustice? After a fruitless job search and much goading from his neighbours (played by Cedric the Entertainer and Taraji P. Henson), he marches straight to the East Valley Community College to get himself re-educated. Little does he know that he is not just signing up for a college class, but for a completely new lease of life as well.

Unfortunately, instead of becoming a fertile exploration ground for Larry’s character to be brought to life, his college debut is where things take a turn for the ridiculous. On the very first day of school, the Vespa-loving, free-spirited Talia (newcomer Gugu Mbatha-Raw) sees a paunchy, middle-aged Larry coming off his battered second-hand scooter at the college carpark, and immediately takes a shine to him.

Her instant attraction to Larry (for reasons unfathomable) is so strong that she inducts him into the hipster scooter gang that she is in, much to the dismay of the gang’s leader Dell (Wilmer Valderrama), who’s also her paranoid boyfriend. With Larry docilely nodding along, Talia single-handedly rescues him from the doldums by rearranging his home, fixing his hair and overhauling his wardrobe (all in the span of a week), so that he becomes a hip and eligible Romeo.

As Larry’s harmless flirtations with the twenty-something Talia continue, enter Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts), Larry’s speech communication professor with a fondness for heels and figure-hugging, belted shirt-dresses. At home, she loads up on the alcohol, bickering with her writer husband (Bryan Cranston) who lounges around at home all day, looking at busty bikini models on the computer. Then, she stamps her way into the speech class at the college, hungover and irascible, prefacing her very first lesson of the semester by yelling at her ten students to “get out” (Bad Teacher, anyone?)

Mercedes terrifies all her students except for Larry, who promptly falls for her. Cue a convenient rift between Mercedes and her husband, a drunken impromptu date, and the rapid blossoming of true love between the Larry and Mercedes (by way of making eyes at one another during classes).

There are some genuinely laugh-out-loud funny moments in the film, courtesy of the antics of Larry’s classmates, and his eccentric Economics professor (a spot-on George Takei). Roberts also entertains with her funny and endearing portrayal of Mercedes, an unreasonable character caught in the throes of a mid-life crisis.

The movie scores points for its down-to-earth portrayal of a recently fired middle-aged man, his fears and his insecurities. This is no doubt the handiwork of co-writer Nia Vardalos, of My Big Fat Greek Wedding fame. In true Vardalos fashion, the supporting cast (Larry’s neighbours and classmates) are racially diverse, get sufficient screen time, and their racial stereotypes are thoroughly milked for laughs. It is also on the pulse of middle-class America, with property foreclosure, fruitless job searches and desperate yard sales serving as timely reminders.

Bad economic times and unlikely romance can be good bedfellows (Up in the Air was one such winning formula), but here, any promise quickly fizzles out it heads straight for the saccharine road to an unrealistic happy-ever-after. As a result, Larry quickly settles into the role of a formulaic, one-dimensional good-guy who seems to be led around by others.

Above all, the biggest let-down has to be the absurd pairing of a cranky Mercedes with the genial Larry. It’s difficult to fault the two Oscar-nominated actors, Roberts and Hanks, but their attempts to inject fire into their supposed budding romance fall flat. It’s even harder to watch them lean on the crutches of painfully cheesy lines (“You said that my class changed your life,” gushes Tainot. “It did. I meant you,” murmurs Larry).

As much as we want it to work, Larry Crowne remains as a feel-good overkill that, despite a talented cast and a promising start, shoots itself in the foot with lazy short-cuts to happy resolutions.

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Movie: Larry Crowne

Rating: ★★★✩✩

Duration: 99 minutes

Language: English

Audience Rating: PG

Genre: Romantic Comedy

In Cinemas: 7 July 2011

Director: Tom Hanks

Cast: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Cedric the Entertainer, Taraji P. Henson, Wilmer Valderrama