Larry Crowne

Steve and I rode with the Los Angeles Scooter Group guys and gals last night to see an advance screening of the new Tom Hanks movie, Larry Crowne. There were about 20 of us and we had a good time.  The LA Scooter Group sure is a fun bunch of folks.  We rode from North Hollywood (NoHo, get it?) to the Sherman Oaks Galleria, and it was a great ride there and back.

One of the LA Scooter Group riders raced ahead to get on the top level of the Sherman Oaks Galleria parking structure to grab this shot when we rode over to see Larry Crowne…

Check out the yellow arrows pointing to two riders in this photo...that's Steve on the left, and yours truly on the right!

Several Los Angeles Scooter Group riders posted photos from this great ride, and you can view them all here (that’s where I grabbed the shot above).

So, the movie….it was good. It is definitely more of a romantic comedy than a motor scooter movie, but the scooters played a cool supporting role. Tom Hanks rode a Yamaha Riva that Mike Frankovich at NoHo Scooters provided (Mike hooked up Universal Studios with all of the scooters used in the movie). Tom Hanks and crew rode an interesting collection of bikes that pretty much mirrored the scooters on our ride last night…Vespas, Genuine Buddy, a Yamaha or two…you get the idea. I rode alongside a fellow last night who was on a 1958 two-stroke Vespa.  Interesting stuff.

The movie’s story line is centered around Larry Crowne (played by Tom Hanks) losing his job and going back to school at a community college. I’ve read that Universal shot this movie at Cal State Dominguez Hills, which is just south of Los Angeles. Julia Roberts is one of his teachers. George Takei, of Star Trek fame, is one of the others.   Julia Roberts, of course, is Mr. Hanks’ co-star.

To me, the classroom scenes were the funniest parts. I do a little teaching myself (I teach in the engineering college at Cal Poly Pomona), and it was fun watching how Julia Roberts interacted with her students. She threw an eraser at one who was sleeping, which is something I’ve always wanted to do (but I think I’d get in trouble if I did).

Our ride back was great – a cool summer evening, lots of night life and neon on the streets of Los Angeles, and our fabulous California Scooters. We had a lot of compliments from the other scooteristas, and we enjoyed riding with them.

That’s it for now, folks. The 4th of July is looming large, and I’m looking forward to the long weekend. We’re having a KaBoom party at the plant on Monday night, and we’ll be watching the fireworks at the Pomona Fairgrounds across the street. To all of you military folks who are serving or who have served, our thanks to you!  And to everyone, enjoy the holiday…we sure plan to!