comment #1

Mike says ...

The Green Mile is tedious. No question. But I have several friends who love it.

Still it was nice of Travolta to give Hanks a career.

comment #2

Rich S. says ...

You had to throw in that "serious-minded" thing. I can think of half a dozen Hanks films more reviled than Green Mile, but they're all comedy's or kids movies.

I know it has its fans, but to me Polar Express is horrifying.

comment #3

thevisceral says ...

Dunno. I miss funny Hanks. I still love The Burbs. Satan is our pal!

comment #4

Flash Gordon says ...

The Da Vinci Code

comment #5

scooterzz says ...

to answer the question: yes...'the terminal' and 'the da vinci code' are infinitely more insufferable than 'the green mile' (imo)....

comment #6

Flash Gordon says ...

Travolta also turned down Splash. Maybe he's onto something.

comment #7

Luke Y. Thompson says ...

Philadelphia.
Mazes and Monsters.
Forrest Gump.

comment #8

DarthCorleone says ...

On what planet was the career of Tom Hanks not established prior to 1999?

comment #9

TVMCCA says ...

But I thought Travolta gave Gere a career before OFFICER by backing out of both DAYS OF HEAVEN and AMERICAN GIGOLO.

comment #10

Flash Gordon says ...

DarthCorleone:

Travolta turned down Splash. That was 1984. He also passed on Big in 1988. Again, maybe he's onto something

comment #11

Mark says ...

You may remove Hanks from the equation. Is there simply any serious-minded film that is remembered with more revulsion than The Green Mile?

Among straight dramas that surpassed $100 BO, and thus considered successess by Travolta et al, few surpass The Green Mile. Patch Adams is all that immediately comes to mind.

comment #12

DarthCorleone says ...

Flash Gordon>> Fair enough. Given the quote as presented, though, it doesn't make much sense.

Anyway, I sort of liked The Green Mile. I'll agree that The Da Vinci Code and The Terminal are worse. I'd also rather watch The Green Mile than Cast Away and Forrest Gump,

comment #13

Edward says ...

I wasn't a fan of "The Green Mile" or "Da Vinci," but I forgot about "Cast Away," ugh. I too miss the comedic Hanks.

comment #14

tmurry says ...

Does Bonfire of the Vanities count? That's probably his most reviled, period, but it is a bit satirical (although played seriously for the most part). Even if the answer is no, I still think Green Mile is pretty well liked as the less cute kid brother of Shawshank (IMDB voters in the 100's of thousands give it and average 8.3 of 10 rating, giving it the #114 most "well liked" movie slot), and I like it better than a several of his other serious roles, all of which have been mentioned (I could sit through it again much easier than I could Castaway, to be sure, or Polar Express, which is dreadful but might not count).

Incidentally, I'd love to see Mazes and Monsters again (I have fond memories of Hanks' glorious overacting, but I haven't seen it since it came on TV around 25 years ago) and I've never seen Every Time We Say Goodbye, which sounds serious, and cheaply made.

comment #15

Pablo Villaça says ...

I love The Green Mile. Really.

comment #16

YND says ...

I actually loved CAST AWAY. Zemeckis' commercial/Hollywood instincts held it back from being the masterpiece it could've been, but it's still pretty effective and conceptually ambitious by industry standards.

And while I'm no fan of GUMP or GREEN MILE, it's definitely the thought of having to see THE TERMINAL again that sends shivers down my spine.

comment #17

TheJERMSguy says ...

I loved Green Mile. I'd vote Da Vinci Code as his weakest drama. Or the last 15 minutes of Cast Away...

But at the time he did it, Hanks was the #1 box-office star in America. He already had two Oscars and headlined Saving Private Ryan. So Travolta making Hanks is like saying Matt Damon made Mark Wahlberg by passing on Planet of the Apes. Except it's not as strong as Travolta saying he made Hanks, cuz that's the dumbest thing he's ever said. So...

San Dimas High School football rules!

comment #18

The InSneider says ...

The Terminal is absolutely wretched.

comment #19

MickTravis says ...

The Terminal blows chunks out the nostrils.

I recognize the faults of the Green Mile (will Hanks make it to the outhouse in time? ... uh, nope) but Sam Rockwell is to that movie was Val Kilmer is to Tombstone. Which is: The Shit.

comment #20

Ray says ...

I wouldn't want Travolta giving me anything other than a wig in a windstorm.

comment #21

D.Z. says ...

JERMS: I don't think Wahlberg's ever really been a star. He's a box-office draw, and he had some cred because of Boogie Nights, but he'd have to make Damon's money off the Bourne flicks to achieve true stardom. OTOH, he can sell smaller films better than Damon, so maybe he's a star in that sense.

comment #22

Josh Massey says ...

The Da Vinci Code is not only one of Hanks's worst, it's one of the worst major Hollywood releases of all time. Just a wretched, wretched film.

Back off of Cast Away, though. I loved that one. Hugely underrated.

comment #23

DarthCorleone says ...

I do think the island section of Cast Away is fantastic and possibly the best work Tom Hanks has done, but those narrative bookends just don't come close to doing it for me. Hence, unfortunately the sum of the parts don't make for a compelling whole.

comment #24

theultimatebiu says ...

Cast Away was irritating for one thing alone 'FED-EX'

comment #25

SaveFarris says ...

you're saying CastAway would have been more tolerable if Tom Hanks had worked for Oceanic Delivery or UDS or some other trumped-up outfit?

comment #26

rr3333 says ...

Hanks did the 'Green Mile' because he was pissed he passed on doing 'Shawshank'. I kinda liked 'Mile' even with all its flaws.

Though, lets call it the way I see it ... Tom Hanks stopped being an actor after 'Philadelphia'.
Afterwards, he just became the effected, high and mighty, Tom Hanks doing a movie.

What happened to the days of 'Nothing In Common', which Hanks (regardless of what you thought of the film) was GREAT in.

I miss that Tom Hanks.

comment #27

TheJERMSguy says ...

DZ: That's kinda my point. There's no analogy that equates the bone-headednss of Travolta saying he made Hanks. Harrison Ford saying he made Michael Douglas by passing on Traffic? Nothing comes close to Travolta-Hanks.

For a great Hanks performance, there's Punchline. He's funny at stand-up, moving at drama, and makes Sally Field look woefully miscast.

And yeah, Terminal would be painful to sit through a second time.

comment #28

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