Photo: Brother/FilmMagic
Tom Hanks got gussied up last night in Manhattan to play guest of honor at the annual gala tribute put on by the chichi Film Society of Lincoln Center. Hanks, 52, bravely survived the brutal assault of compliments from the likes of Julia Roberts, Bruce Springsteen, Mike Nichols and Steven Spielberg, and is now resting comfortably. As ever in the career of Nice Guy Tom, the speakers emphasized his niceness. "Everybody fuckin’ likes you,” said Roberts, finally expressing how irritating that is. OK, Hanks is nice, but within reason.
How come no one talks about his way of faking you out? He calls it teasing. Yeah, right. When I met him a while back at his office in Los Angeles, he insulted my rental car (it was fire-engine red). “Was that the last car left on the lot or did you pick the color?” he asked, raising a deadpan eyebrow. On the phone with his wife Rita Wilson he divulged that he was talking to me, paused and added, “yeah, that guy.” He happily mentioned unflattering reviews I’d written about The Da Vinci Code and The Terminal, and his performances in them. I think he wanted to see me squirm. I did.
No mention of the frequent times I’d admired his acting in print. That’s not Hanks. And it would have made me squirm more. My point here is that Hanks’ career isn’t all high points (Bonfire of the Vanities anyone?). And he doesn’t go around helping old ladies cross streets. Ask him to do Elvis sneering his way through one of the worst of The King’s movies, 1964’s Roustabout. Nasty! OK, so Hanks won back-to-back Oscars for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump. And if he won a few more for Big, A League of Their Own, Apollo 13, Saving Private Ryan and Cast Away, you wouldn’t hear me bitching. But where’s the prize for the dark, loony side of Tom? Hanks told me one of his favorite movies was Punchline, the 1988 drama in which he played a rat bastard of a stand-up comic. “I didn’t see me up there on screen,” he said. I take his point. So in honor of Hanks’ latest honor, how about picking your favorite Tom Hanks performance in a movie where you don’t see him up there on screen. I could start with Road To Perdition and Joe Versus the Volcano. But it’s you turn. Go for it.
Share
Email
Stumble
AIM
Del.icio.us
DiggThis
Fark It!
- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.
Get RS Mobile
RSS
Samantha | November 4, 2009 4:32 PM
No one mentioned Money Pit. One of my favorite movies.
william egerton | October 5, 2009 2:56 AM
how aboult angels and demons even though ut was viloent it is still pretty good
tramadol and drug rating questionnaire | July 8, 2009 6:35 PM
Great site. Good info.
JR | May 12, 2009 2:57 PM
The best line in Joe vs the Volcano comes from Meg Ryan "I have nothing to say to that."
Now that was a bad movie.
Actually the only time I found Hanks boring was in castaway. But then the movie was boring, thus proving a movie can be well crafted, well executed and boring at the same time - the concept is boring.
ChetBruno | May 4, 2009 12:29 AM
How about Mr. White in "That Thing You Do!" When he tells the band to "Try not to Stink Tonight," Tells Guy Patterson to try on the Sunglasses and then says stearnly to "The Bass Player," who ticked everybody off by saying he would be leaving the band to join the Marines at the end of the summer, "and you...Semper Fi!" was really cool. And if you ever see the extended version with scenes that had been deleted from the theatre release, you see a scene where Mr. White pulls up with a buddy, and it is clear that the implication is that he is gay. And Howie Long plays his "friend," in the scene. Great directorial debut by Hanks.
keeganomalley | May 3, 2009 9:25 PM
Splash
Bachelor Party
and the horror movie he made way the hell back...
but my favorite Tom Hanks performance of all time:
JOE vs. the VOLCANO
Tokyoesque | May 3, 2009 9:10 AM
Tom Hanks did get divorced in 1987. Maybe his ex-wife should have written this article. Then we might have read less of the nice guy stuff.
bernie | May 2, 2009 9:10 PM
He was great in "The Postman"!!
tommyg | May 2, 2009 8:41 PM
any one see Dragnet?
yuck
Clarence The Angel | May 2, 2009 6:00 PM
The Ladykillers
yo | May 2, 2009 2:06 PM
Volunteers and The Burbs!!
JerseyMark | May 2, 2009 9:03 AM
He was fantastic in Punchline. It was almost uncomfortable watching him, thinking he might unravel or explode at any moment.
Anonymous cont'd | May 1, 2009 2:32 PM
...that takes brawn.
Anonymous | May 1, 2009 2:30 PM
I am sorry, but in my opinion there is no horrid side of Tom Hanks. He deserves the title of Mr. nice guy. He is one of the few Hollywood screen actors who has refused to allow the screen to devolve into an arena for smut.
Cesar | May 1, 2009 1:10 PM
Another Hollywood lib to a$$-kiss!!!!! And di you check out the RS list of 100 change agents....soooo predictable. I have never seen so many d-bags assembled in one place!!!! And guess who is #1 on the list!!! You will never guess!!!! This magazine is a total laugh!!!!!
Nathan | May 1, 2009 12:59 PM
Good call fan, Bruce Dern was damn funny in that as well.
fan | May 1, 2009 12:05 PM
The Burbs has always been one of my favorite movies!! "I want to kill everyone, Satan is good, Satan is our pal."
TH | May 1, 2009 11:16 AM
How about the Burbs? I love that movie!
Sammy | May 1, 2009 10:45 AM
I just like an actor who can make me laugh outloud...'The burbs,Big,Splash.' and then make me think and feel something..'Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan.' He is one of the best.
TPorter | May 1, 2009 10:29 AM
I have always liked 'Big'. It sometimes seems corny but his performance is so genuine that it makes it a great movie.
waltvdub | May 1, 2009 4:08 AM
off on a tangent, tom hanks digs vw syncros
...thats a plus in my book
Nowhere Man | May 1, 2009 2:17 AM
Travers, Travers, Travers...'Roustabout' was one of Presley's finest 60's vehicles. It was one of his last not to be shot solely on a Hollywood soundstage. It was the last to have Elvis in the black leather, rebel role he so relished. It also featured the great Barbara Stanwyck in one of her final supporting roles. Don't knock it!
donnie | April 30, 2009 10:31 PM
TURNER AND HOOCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Z-Dog | April 30, 2009 8:13 PM
A League of Their Own comes to mind because he was the one element that secured the movie as a true baseball classic. Sure, it was a fun movie on its own, Penny Marshall did a great job directing, but it was Hanks' character and his performance that won baseball "men" over.
Dragnet, well, its alittle dated but his wise-ass sidekick to Akyroyd's no BS Friday is classic pre-A list Hanks.
brock_vond | April 30, 2009 5:52 PM
Splash .... I have no idea why I like it, but I do ...
dandy | April 30, 2009 5:29 PM
definitely "catch me if you can." that movie was amazing, and it was based on a true story! plus, Hanks' job as the good-bad guy (because the Leonardo, playing the protagonist, is really the anti-hero of the story), was epic. totally a hit in my mind.
Levi | April 30, 2009 3:30 PM
My favorite overlooked and zany Tom Hanks role is Bourne. Lawrence Bourne. The 3rd, in "Volunteers" with John Candy. This was also the movie he met Rita Wilson on. He plays a preppy, caniving sob, who ends up joining the Peace Corps to avoid gangsters who he owes money to. He's hilarious in it.
drinkslinger77 | April 30, 2009 3:19 PM
Road to Perdition was a dark and fantastic movie, one of my favs. I miss some his older, comeidic works- I mean come on-The Burbs....Bachelor Party? And don't forget Joe Vs the Volcano! Stupid, yes, but love it all the same
OaklandsOwn | April 30, 2009 3:19 PM
Lighten up, dude. He's just ribbing you. If he really wanted to be cruel, he'd tell you how irrelevant and lame your magazine is...
Dave Stewart | April 30, 2009 3:09 PM
Hanks portrayal of Michael Sullivan in Road to Perdition is incredibly dark and haunting. As gangster films go, he doesn't try to emulate Pacino or De Niro - he gives an emotionally driven performance as he descends into hell with his son by his side.
Hock Ptooey | April 30, 2009 3:05 PM
Bachelor Party.
Milt is going to cut your balls off.
gord | April 30, 2009 2:15 PM
I know you totally "see" Tom Hanks in this movie but no one has mentioned The Burbs.
That is Tom Hanks' funniest and best movie ever. So good.
Bruce Dern, Corey Feldman, Carrie Fisher,Rick Ducommun, amazing!
JP | April 30, 2009 2:02 PM
"Punchline" is one of my favorite overlooked movie. Tom Hanks' chemistry with Sally Field is excellent. Plus, there is a great supporting cast in the movie. I think he's right on that being the role that is furthest away from the character that he is usually typecast as.
Dak | April 30, 2009 12:58 PM
Joe Vs. The Volcano. You've got to love a guy who quits his job by referring to his current situation as a "used rubber". Awesome. The best scene in the Hanks Cannon.
Ryan | April 30, 2009 12:38 PM
The Ladykillers is way underrated. Not every Coen Bros movie has to be a revelation of morality in the modern age.
rpriley01 | April 29, 2009 11:14 PM
catch me if you can, he did a great job along side leonardo dicaprio
Newton | April 29, 2009 3:24 PM
Joe Versus the Volcano may be the most divisive movie ever made; many love it (Roger Ebert is always quick to laud it's originality), many hate it (considering it the peak of the stupid screwball '80's comedy). I actually think Meg Ryan's performances are what make the movie, while Hanks is pretty much the same lovable guy he always is.
As for Road to Perdition, it is a darker role for Hanks, but we still see the same sweet, caring man behind the facade. I'd like to see Hanks take on a truly dark role, like that of The Judge in Blood Meridian. Strip away all the sentimentality and kindness, then we'll see what we really have.
wow | April 29, 2009 2:45 PM
joe versus the volcano is the worst fucking movie of all time... how can u possibly compare to Road to Perdition
maverick | April 29, 2009 2:26 PM
How about The Ladykillers? That was a little bit outside of Hanks usually films.
antoine tabet | April 29, 2009 12:20 PM
Road to perdition, Catch me if u can, Big, charlie wilson...
Chase | April 29, 2009 11:25 AM
He Knows You're Alone!
Jason | April 28, 2009 10:31 PM
How about Catch Me If You Can? Hanks was great in it. I watched it again last month and it really seems like he has fun with the role.
TJ | April 28, 2009 8:47 PM
I agree with matt09m; it's always short time before Tom Hanks disappears into Forrest.
matt09m | April 28, 2009 8:24 PM
I'd have to go with Road to Perdition for the best Hanks performance. But to see him not as himself... Forest Gump is pretty far away from the sly intellectual you describe.