IS THERE a more bankable movie star than Tom Hanks?
Although the jury's out on whether his previous film, The Ladykillers, was a box-office bomb or just a mediocre moneymaker, there are few stars working in Hollywood today who can instantly hook viewers by virtue of having their name attached to a project.
Which brings us to The Terminal, his new stranger-in-a-strange-land comedy/drama -- and his latest collaboration with that other box-office golden boy, director Steven Spielberg.
While we're sure The Terminal will be another feather in Hanks' cap, it got us thinking about the best and worst flicks he's made over his career. We've decided to concentrate on his bigger-profile, live-action movies (so no Toy Story films, great as they were) and ignore the dark era known as "Early Hanks," when he pumped out such tour-de-forces as Nothing In Common and The Money Pit. And if you're looking for The Green Mile and Philadelphia, well, those ponderous dramas were caught in the purgatory between good and bad Hanks.
HANKS FOR THE MEMORIES
1. BIG 1988
ROLE: Josh Baskin, a 12-year-old in a man's body
THE STORY: When young Josh gets embarrassed in front of a girl at a carnival, he wishes he was big and is magically transformed into Hanks the next day. He then proceeds to land a sweet job at a toy company and romance an adult woman, Susan (Elizabeth Perkins), while trying to find the travelling carnival that will restore him to his young self.
WHY IT'S GREAT: We're sure there are a million reasons why Michael Jackson loves this film, but we'll stick to the obvious: Hanks is fantastic as a boy trapped in a man's body, bringing the right amounts of goofiness, vulnerability and innocence to the role without making it seem too cloying. No wonder this was the first role in which he was nominated for a best-actor Oscar.
Susan: "I want to spend the night with you."
Josh: "Do you mean sleep over?"
Susan: "Well ... yeah."
Josh: "Well, okay ... but I get to be on top."
2. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 1998
ROLE: Capt. John Miller, weary World War II soldier
THE STORY: When the U.S. government learns that three out of four Ryan brothers have died in combat in World War II, they dispatch a squad of troops led by Capt. Miller to track down the fourth Ryan lad, who may be dead or caught behind enemy lines.
WHY IT'S GREAT: While we're no fan of the flabby middle part of Steven Spielberg's war epic, the first battle (the Allied storming of Normandy) and the final clash (Miller and his men try to fend off a German attack in an abandoned town) may just be the most riveting -- and terrifying -- war action sequences ever committed to film. Hanks humanizes the spectacle, doing fine work as the battle-weary Miller, whose shaking hands betray the turmoil raging beneath his calm, no-nonsense exterior.
Capt. John Miller: Caparzo, get that kid back up there!
Pte. Caparzo: Captain, the decent thing to do would be take her over to the next town.
Capt. John Miller: We're not here to do the decent thing, we're here to follow f---ing orders!
3. CATCH ME IF YOU CAN 2002
ROLE: Exasperated FBI agent Carl Hanratty
THE STORY: Teenage con artist Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a master counterfeiter and disguise artist. Carl Hanratty is the dour, anal-retentive FBI agent who's hot on his heels. Can Hanratty bring the boy to justice -- and make him see the error of his ways?
WHY IT'S GREAT: Another Spielberg-Hanks winner, this light confection is an exploration of father-son relationships -- a failed one (between DiCaprio and his screen dad, Christopher Walken) and one with more promise (Abagnale and Hanratty who, by the film's end, move from hunter and the hunted to something more familial). And Hanks isn't even likeable for most of the the flick, wearing thick glasses and playing the straight man to Abagnale's far more charismatic character.
Carl Hanratty: "Well, would you like to hear me tell a joke?"
Earl Amdursky: "Yeah. Yeah, we'd love to hear a joke from you."
Carl Hanratty: "Knock knock."
Earl Amdursky: "Who's there?"
Carl Hanratty: "Go f--- yourselves."
4. APOLLO 13 1998
ROLE: Almost-doomed astronaut Jim Lovell
THE STORY: Astronauts Lovell, Jack Swigert (Kevin Bacon) and Fred Haise (Bill Paxton) are supposed to be flying a routine mission to the moon -- but when their space capsule malfunctions, it takes all of the ingenuity they and Mission Control can muster to get them back home safely.
WHY IT'S GREAT: This is a gripping, true account of the ill-fated 1970 moon mission -- and the attention to period detail is impeccable. Hanks gives another solid, workmanlike performance here: In an early scene set in the Lovells' backyard, you can sense the actor's much-ballyhooed enthusiasm for space travel coming through as he describes facets of the moon to his wife.
Jim Lovell: "From now on, we live in a world where man has walked on the moon. And it's not a miracle, we just decided to go."
5. ROAD TO PERDITION 2002
ROLE: Taciturn hitman Michael Sullivan
THE STORY: When Sullivan's son Michael Jr. (a weak Tyler Hoechlin) witnesses a mob hit, the Sullivan family is targeted for death by the son (Daniel Craig) of a crime boss, John Rooney (Paul Newman). But the two Michaels survive and embark on a journey of revenge -- while, oddly enough, doing some father-son bonding. Meanwhile, they're being pursued by orthodontically challenged assassin Harlen Maguire (Jude Law), a creep who likes taking pictures of his dying victims.
WHY IT'S GREAT: This is a dark, dark film -- definitely the biggest acting stretch of Hanks' career. He plays a bad man who wants to do the right thing for his son, but seems incapable of not killing. This movie shows why Hanks really is filmdom's top everyman: Sure, he can play the goofball, the romantic lead, the decent fellow -- but with Perdition, he also proved he could convincingly play a bad person.
Michael Sullivan: "Your mother knows I love Mr. Rooney. When we had nothing, he gave us a home, a life -- and we owe him."
HANKS, BUT NO HANKS
1. SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE 1993
ROLE: Widower Sam Baldwin
THE STORY: After his wife dies, Sam and his precocious 8-year-old son Jonah (Ross Malinger) move to Seattle to make a fresh start. But through a series of contrivances (contrivances ... in a romantic comedy? Come on!) too exhausting to relate here, Sam becomes a radio call-in phenomenon to whom flocks of swooning women write in hopes of getting a date. Meanwhile, Meg Ryan is a reporter determined to get the story -- and win Sam's heart.
WHY IT SUCKS: This began Hanks' mercifully brief phase as a romantic leading man -- although Ryan has been stuck for years playing the same roles over and over again and, shockingly, has yet to be rewarded with an Oscar. The ironic title is the best thing about this flick; we were snoozing just minutes after the title credits rolled.
Sam Baldwin: "Well, I'm not looking for a mail-order bride! I just want somebody I can have a decent conversation with over dinner -- without it falling down into weepy tears over some movie!"
2. FORREST GUMP 1994
ROLE: The titular moron
THE STORY: Forrest Gump is just a simpleton who knows how to run really fast. Yet his mixture of good timing and sweet innocence born out of his extreme moronism lands him in the middle of some of the biggest events in recent American history and allows him to meet such great American figures as JFK, Nixon and Elvis.
WHY IT SUCKS: Sure, Forrest Gump won a slew of Oscars, beating out the likes of the far superior Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption for best picture, but it's a pointlessly saccharine, plotless romp through Americana. Witless, homespun homilies like "Life is a like a box of chocolates" only serve as further irritants.
Forrest Gump: "Stupid is as stupid does."
3. YOU'VE GOT MAIL 1998
ROLE: Cranky bookstore owner Joe Fox
THE STORY: When a big, mean bookstore run by Fox moves in next to a sweet, little children's bookstore run by Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan), the pair instantly dislike each other. But they soon fall in love -- unwittingly, of course -- after they meet up anonymously in an Internet chatroom. Will love blossom after they've discovered each others' identities?
WHY IT SUCKS: No wonder this cliched and half-hearted romantic comedy was Hanks' last turn in that tired genre. Plus, it makes Internet chatrooms out to be all bad and stuff -- where else can we talk to basement-dwelling, middle-aged fat guys posing as 18-year-old girls? Nowhere, that's where!
Joe Fox: "The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee."
4. JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO 1996
ROLE: Dying hypochondriac Joe Banks
THE STORY: When depressed, dehumanized office serf Banks is diagnosed with an incurable disease, it changes his life forever. He quits his job, packs up his belongings and journeys to a Pacific island where he will throw himself into a volcano to appease an angry god. Sounds like a great time at the movies, no?
WHY IT SUCKS: And the Meg Ryan trifecta is complete -- literally. It's a case of three times the suck as America's former sweetheart takes on three separate roles for no apparent reason. And you know you're not going to be standing behind a podium tearfully thanking the teacher who inspired you to act when you see the names of "Abe Vigoda," "Lloyd Bridges" and "Robert Stack" pencilled in as your co-stars.
Joe Banks: "So I'm not sick? Except for this terminal disease?"
5. CAST AWAY 2000
ROLE: Stranded FedEx employee Chuck Noland
THE STORY: When his airplane crashes into the ocean, the world's most resourceful delivery man gets stuck on a deserted island for years -- with only a volleyball he's dubbed Wilson (nice product placement, that) for company.
WHY IT SUCKS: A man in a loincloth who talks to a volleyball -- and who pines to be reunited with wife Helen Hunt?! That last point strains credulity too far for Cast Away to be believable. Sure, it's technically proficient, and Hanks musters up every reserve of his acting ability to make this even watchable, but if we wanted to see a dishevelled man talking to inanimate objects for two hours, we'd just hop onto the Queen St. W. streetcar and look out the window.
Chuck Noland (to Wilson): "Hey, you want to hear something funny? My dentist's name is James Spalding."
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