Recently, Tom Hanks tried to make a joke about film critics during his episode of Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend’s podcast interview. 1996 had That Thing You Do!, and the two-time Oscar winner cited film critics, with sarcasm, for not being fans of his creation. His comments are, at least, timely as Here, his latest feature, is far from being a commercial success.
Thinking about the pros and cons of reviews, Hanks said the absolute low was when people refer to his movies as ‘cute.’ For instance, he said in a lighter tone, “That is when the wife will say, could you please take the revolver out of the glove box and try putting it somewhere else.” Even later, Hanks explained how, after some time, it does not matter what critics have to say or how many people went for a movie.
He said that, in due course, movies move on their own and have no status of ‘winner’ or a ‘loser’ attached to them. Eventually, there might be some pictures that weren’t appreciated enough in the beginning, but in time, it is more appreciated, whereas there could be some pictures that were enjoyed at one time, but as time progresses, they are not appreciated because they might feel irrelevant. O’Brien came up with an example of the movie That Thing You Do!, directed by Tom Hanks, and though it had a poor reception initially, it is now considered an independent cult movie.
Hanks proved this by telling a story of one critic who had once bad-mouthed the movie but 20 years later claimed it was a masterpiece. He humorously mimicked the emotions of critics, remembering the story of how one writer bashed the movie and said it looked like it was made only for TV. However, one critic who dismissed the film two decades ago was quoted describing it as a cult icon, proving that with time, films transform.
The movie Something for the Record, also produced in 1996, depicts the live concert of a boy band from a small town with the assistance of a music manager, Mr. White, portrayed by Tom Hanks. While the film had a poor ticket sale, it became popular in later years, becoming an example of a cult movie. It’s even that the movie’s title song was nominated for Oscar Awards in the category Best Original Song.
