Tom Hanks will be writing, directing and starring in the film Larry Crowne, the story of “a man forced to reinvent himself and find a new career as he navigates the second act of his life.” According to Deadline Hollywood, the comedy will begin shooting in April and reunite Hanks with his Charlie Wilson’s War co-star Julia Roberts.
Outside of a few television episodes, Larry Crowne will only mark Hanks’s second feature film in the director’s chair. Previously, he wrote and directed the 1996 rock and roll film That Thing You Do!. Although it did moderate business at the box office, Hanks has never seen too ambitious to following it up until now. Which has been a shame, as I’ve found That Thing You Do! to be an amazingly confidently well directed film, capturing the innocence and excitement of the rock and roll music scene in the early 1960s before the assination of President Kennedy and the social and cultural upheaval that followed. I’ve watched the film (both theatrical and director’s cuts) several times and have found it energetic and engaging., leaving me wishingthat Hanks would direct more. Given that the chemistry that Hanks and Roberts shared on screen in Charlie Wilson’s War was one of the highlights of that film, early indications look good for this one.
