Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2012

A recently divorced nice guy gets fired for lack of higher education, enrolls at a junior college, gets a scooter and a cute makeover from some non-threatening minority kids and falls for his cranky public speaking teacher. What’s not to like about a Tom Hanks/Julia Roberts rom-com for the middle-aged, produced, directed and co-written (with Nia Vardalos) by Hanks? Well, just about everything. Though it’s shooting for charming and congenial, this relentlessly upbeat, frustratingly flat-footed misstep is awkward, offers zero chemistry, and comes off as hopelessly bland and blindingly schmaltzy. Japanese title: . (98 min)