Tom Hanks' "Four Pretty Good Movies"

[mnkykungfu]

In a recent interview for his upcoming book, Hanks threw out the comment "I’ve made a ton of movies (and four of them are pretty good, I think)..." But which four dammit? WHICH FOUR?!? We clearly must get to the bottom of this. Please vote in the poll, and feel free to specify in the comments with your reasoning. (I will close the poll in 30 days, the results of which will determine for all time which films Hanks was referencing...)

 

[lapis molari]

Voted! Vote for yourself to see which are my "pretty good" choices.

 

[Jrzag42]

I don't see an option for The Money Pit...

 

[addiesin]

I didn't pick ones I like best, but ones I think he would probably consider good. I think that means ones where he's the star not a side character (League of Their Own), live not animated (Toy Story, Polar Express), not a movie with a gimmick (Burbs, Hooch, Splash, etc) or where the hook is otherwise silly or fantastical, and one that was successful when it came out (not Joe vs the Volcano). Real people drama, acting for actors. So I think the four would be:
Forrest Gump
Apollo 13
Saving Private Ryan
Castaway

I also haven't seen all of them. Green Mile could be one but I haven't seen it so didn't pick it.

 

[The Scribbling Man]

Volunteers (1985) isn't on the list, which I would have voted for. It's underrated as heck. (though I'm sure it won't be one of the films Hanks is thinking of).

 

[mnkykungfu]

I love that you guys are throwing hats in the ring for particular favorites not listed!
I love that some have a defined approach to how to pick the films!
Keep it up!

A word on methodology:
Tom Hanks has 63 feature film acting credits to his name as of today. Shockingly, almost all of those are main roles, if not the outright lead, as Hanks already had a hit career as a standup comic and TV actor when he broke into the film scene. The poll on this site is pretty robust and it allowed me to include a lot of options, but not all.

In the end, I think the ones left out would not get enough votes to impact THE FOUR, but please do comment if I'm wrong. I had to leave some out that I personally wanted on the list, at least as an honorable mention, as I know people like to vote their favorites. However, the final choices were compiled based on the scores on IMDB, Metacritic, and Rotten Tomatoes, as well as me keeping in a couple of dark horse contenders that I know have cult followings despite their lower ratings on all three.

Which 4 should win??? The films you most think are pretty good? The ones Hanks thinks are pretty good? His best movies? His best movies? Feel free to comment on your approach!

 

[The Scribbling Man]

A quick bit of research told me 3/4 of the films Hank is probably referring to. You may also be surprised to know that one of those three films is not on the polls currently.

In light of that, it may as well be what we think his top 4 are. Though it's still probably fun to guess. I won't link what I found so that the temptation is mild.

 

[DigModiFicaTion]

Where's the Terminal? I don't know if it would make the top four for me, but I did love his work in that one

Cast Away
Saving Private Ryan
That Thing You Do!
Forrest Gump

Honorable Mentions
Sully
The Terminal
Bridge of Spies
Apollo 13
You've Got Mail

 

[mnkykungfu]

Where's the Terminal?

^see above methodology. It's not one of his better-reviewed films. Though as I said, there's a lot to like in many of his movies, including ones I couldn't find space for here. It's been a long time since I've seen The Money Pit for example, but like @Jrzag42 I remember it fondly. Its ratings are pretty weak across the board, though.

A quick bit of research told me 3/4 of the films Hank is probably referring to.

I'm curious what it is you found.... Feel free to PM me!
I'm pretty sure Hanks threw out a number like that as a winking tease, specifically leaving it for others to say which are deserving of his faint praise. Personally I think "America's dad" has an incredibly strong filmography, and it's hard to pick only 4 that are absolute classics, much less "pretty good".

 

[Editzilla]

The Burbs, The Green Mile, Toy Story, and (if it was on the list) Mases And Monsters LOL.

 

[The Scribbling Man]

The Burbs is great.

 

[Editzilla]

The Burbs is great.

" I've never seen that. I've never seen anybody drive their garbage down to the street and bang the hell out of it with a stick. I........I've never seen that."

Seriously that film is underrated as heck. Score's amazing too:

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

I chose Apollo 13, Philadelphia, Catch Me If You Can, and Saving Private Ryan. But honestly, I was surprised that I did not see what is, for me, a truly great movie in his filmography. He’s done a lot of solid work, but just not a truly great film IMO.

 

[The Scribbling Man]

But honestly, I was surprised that I did not see what is, for me, a truly great movie in his filmography. He’s done a lot of solid work, but just not a truly great film IMO.

Toy Story is masterpiece.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

Toy Story is masterpiece.

I’m sure I’ll rankle quite a few with this take, but I kinda don’t think of voice acting as a “Tom Hanks movie” and, honestly, Toy Story never did it for me.

 

[TM2YC]

Dragnet, Philadelphia & Forrest Gump for sure. The last two have regularly made me cry and Dragnet should be viewed as one of the greatest comedies of the 80s, instead of just an comedy from the 80s.

The 4th one, I'm less sure. Either: Apollo 13, That Thing You Do!, The Green Mile, or Toy Story 3.

 

[The Scribbling Man]

I’m sure I’ll rankle quite a few with this take, but I kinda don’t think of voice acting as a “Tom Hanks movie” and, honestly, Toy Story never did it for me.

I think it's fair not to count voice acting, but to not like Toy Story? My feathers are rankled.

 

[Moe_Syzlak]

I think it's fair not to count voice acting, but to not like Toy Story? My feathers are rankled.

It’s fine. I just never loved it the way many do. I’ve never been compelled to rank Pixar movies but I doubt any of the Toy Story movies would be in my top five. But again, it’s fine.

Edit: off the top of my head, that Ed Asner movie is probably my favorite Pixar movie.

 

[Jrzag42]

I was joking about The Money Pit...

I only voted for Joe VS The Volcano. It's the only 'Tom Hanks movie' I've seen that was listed. I don't count the animated ones, obviously I love and respect animation, but those aren't movies that you watch just for Tom Hanks. Toy Story is more of an ensemble imo, and Polar Express he just plays side characters really (Inb4 "Technically he's the main character!). Also I don't care much for either film (PE is especially garbage).

Edit: why should I care what defines a 'Tom Hanks Movie'? That wasn't the wording used nor is it the point.

 

[mnkykungfu]

Seriously that film is underrated as heck.

The 'Burbs is one that I kept in because I knew it has a lot of fans, despite it having lower scores than many other films on every single metric.

Hanks' earlier comedic work often gets forgotten or overlooked as frivolous, except for Big, but I agree with @TM2YC that Dragnet is great. I think Bachelor Party is great silly fun, too, a real throwback to a simpler time, but sadly there was no space for it.

Personally, I did vote based on what I thought was the best movie, but if I was having a hard time choosing, I then factored in how much Tom Hanks featured in it being a great film. So the Hanksness give a couple films the edge. Saving Private Ryan, for example, is a great film for many reasons, but more for Spielberg and the assembly than for Hanks. That factored in, for me.