I know, I know...but see that's partly why. EVERYONE loves the man. I'm wary of that kind of utter devotion. Usually it's normal for a good actor to get a certain amount of love and appreciation. But I think Mr. Hanks is in a league of his own (heh). There are so few actors that are loved across the board in the way that Tom Hanks is (Jimmy Stewart is the only one that comes to mind). He's just so nice and respectful. For me, at first, it seemed like a facade'.
I guess I just didn't want to drink the Kool-Aid. But do you know what happened?
 | ||
| I drank the mother effin' Kool-Aid! |
I don't know if it was his prevalence in modern day cinema or my growing maturity (still growing, folks!), but something eventually clicked. Maybe I got wore down. Maybe I finally saw what everyone else saw. I think ultimately I finally just gave him a pass and realized that even though it's UNUSUAL for someone to be so beloved and yet be so down-to-Earth, it sometimes CAN happen.
And now, I'm just a massive fan.
So I beg the question, what are his five best movies? Get ready for some curveballs, people!
NUMBER FIVE:
Joe Versus the Volcano
A significantly underrated romantic-comedy that marks the first of three times (thus far) that Tom and Meg have appeared together in a movie (much to all of our communal enjoyment). I tend to think that greatness for a flick goes along with it's quotability. Man, does this movie have quotes in spades:
"I can feel these lights SUCKING the juice out of my eyeballs!"
"Well I love you too. I've never been in love with anybody before either. It's great. I'm GLAD. But the timing stinks."
"Luggage, Mr. Banks is the sole preoccupation of my life."
I could go on and on why this is a great flick (i.e. at the beginning of the movie Hanks throws one book, one poem and one play into his bag when he's quitting work that all but sums up the flick: Robinson Crusoe, the Odyssey, and Romeo and Juliet - brilliant), but I won't. The important thing is why is this on a best of Tom Hanks list. Well for one, because it's so disrespected and most lists wouldn't include it, so eff that. But mostly because it is TYPICAL Tom Hanks. He's charming, lovable, fun, funny, respectable, honorable, dashing, etc. Everything you could want from a leading man, Hanks does it with this film. Boom.
NUMBER FOUR:
A League of Their Own
Now we're entering a part of Tom's career where he did something a little different and it paid off big time. For one, he's playing a darker character than usual. A guy who's an alcoholic and an embarrassment to his chosen profession. Not to mention, he's playing an almost bit part in which he doesn't even have much to do until we're halfway done with the movie. But these are all reasons in why this is one of his best movies. Some actor's might fail at shifting gears. Most make a living on doing the same thing over and over again. Or at least, playing a very similar part over and over again. I'm looking at you Harrison Ford (not that it's always a bad thing). But here, Hanks shines. Sometimes change is good and doing something different pays off.
NUMBER THREE:
Road to Perdition
If you had told me that Tom Hanks would be believable and remarkable in a gangster drama even fifteen years ago I would have told you to shoot it out your ass. And yet, this is simply an amazing movie with an amazing performance. Once again, you have Hanks taking on a much darker edge than we're used to (although by the time this movie came out, we were familiar with the versatile Hanks that had filmed movies like Philadelphia and Saving Private Ryan), and maybe the darkest yet? He plays a man who has lived his life working as an enforcer for the mob (killing people/assassin). But when his oldest son witnesses him in the act, it puts the lives of his entire family in jeopardy. Father and son are forced to go on the run and evade the criminals that Hanks' character has spent a lifetime protecting. OH MY GOD, what a premise. Especially for Tom. Seriously, I'm hopping in my DeLorean right now and gunnin' it to 88 MPH on my way to 1992 to blow my little eleven-year old mind AWAY.
NUMBER TWO:
The 'Burbs
This is a movie you probably haven't seen, but you damn well better. Another one of Hanks' underrated flicks. Ahead of it's time. A dark comedy by Joe Dante (who is the man, btdubs) that is all about suburban life in America and the sometimes paranoid delusions that can strike any one of us living just a normal life that is sometimes seemingly mundane. Hanks carries the movie. Sure he's got a great cast but his character goes through so many ups and downs that the film really relies on him grounding everything that happens and having us believe in him as a real character in order to believe that the events of the movie could actually happen. Lose you? Basically the better actor Hanks is the more we buy the insanity of the movie. That's a tough job for the guy, luckily for us, he nails it.
NUMBER UNO:
Forrest Gump - Of course
If you didn't see this coming...well - you're dumb. This movie is Hanks' tour de' force. The screen is his and he has a character with dialogue all prepared to just blow us the Hell away. This movie marked his greatness. It prepared us for all that came after it (i.e. Tom Hanks suspense star: the DaVinci Code and Tom Hanks war hero: Saving Private Ryan) and left us wanting more. It was a career defining moment and change. It was a triumphant performance within a triumphant movie that remains one of the best movies to emerge from the horrible land named after the plant that is Holly. I won't detract from the movie by trying to give it any synopsis or explain it to you like you're a child (for those morons who haven't seen it - seriously, what's wrong with you?), however, I WILL say one thing: I don't think Forrest is retarded. He's definitely slow, but the wisdom that comes from the guy and the fact that he can notice and understand when things are beyond him tells me that he's simply not that smart. But he's definitely not mentally handicapped.
'Burbs is underrated, I never get tired watching that.
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