Tom Hanks called critics a nasty word for hating on his fan-favorite movie: "Let me tell you..."
Hollywood actor Tom Hanks has had an illustrious career, delivering hits across genres. However, he has also faced his fair share of criticism. In a discussion with Conan O'Brien on his podcast, 'Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend,' the Oscar-winning actor reflected on some of the negative responses his movie, 'Here' received. O’Brien pointed out that sometimes films initially receive bad reviews, but later end up being classics. Hanks in response, recalled a particular critic who initially hated his 1996 directorial debut 'That Thing You Do!' but later grew to love it.
Hanks said “Let me tell you something about these c--- suckers who write about movies… Can I say that?" As reported by Irish Star, he added, “Somebody wrote..., ‘Tom Hanks has to stop hanging around with veterans of TV, because this is just like the shot on TV and it’s not much of anything... That same person then wrote about the cult classic ‘That Thing You Do!’ Same exact person. They said, ‘All you need is 20 years between now and then, and it ends up speaking some words.'” He added, opining, "That’s the thing we all signed up for. That’s the carnival, that’s the contest. I got faith in that. That’s okay.”
Netizens, however, have praised the movie. On X (formerly Twitter), a person said, "'That Thing You Do' ...Absolutely underrated Tom Hanks movie." Another echoed, "'That Thing You Do' (billionth time) watching since I'm sick and this movie is awesome." A comment also read, "'That Thing You Do' is Tom Hanks' best movie." Unfortunately, both critics and viewers have criticized Hanks' 'Here'. As reported by Screenrant, the film now has a very low Rotten Tomatoes approval rating.
That Thing you do is Tom Hanks ' best movie
— Saggitariut Jefferspin (@gigglesthecat13) September 7, 2024
Critics have argued that the ambitious approach to filming was one of the main problems of 'Here'. The film, which has been directed by Robert Zemeckis, made extensive use of computer-generated imagery to change the main actors, Hanks and Robin Wright, into both their younger and older versions. The choice to only use one camera perspective for the whole movie also gave some viewers the impression that the plot lacked depth. Wright and Hanks later addressed the criticism in a New York Times interview. Hanks explained that the response could be cynical only by "the lowest common denominator," while Wright defended the film as a simple but beautiful examination of human authenticity.
Director Zemeckis' more recent attempts to try new things have frequently failed to impress both viewers and critics, although his earlier works, such as 'Flight' (2012) and 'The Walk' (2015), were praised by everybody. Reuniting much of the 'Forrest Gump' team for 'Here', Zemeckis seemed intent on recapturing the Oscar-winning magic of his 1994 classic. However, he missed the mark.
