Tom Hanks Defends ‘That Thing You Do’! With Bold Words for Movie Critics

When Tom Hanks recently appeared on Conan O’Brien’s podcast, he made an unexpected remark about movie critics. Speaking on his 1996 directing debut, ‘That Thing You Do!’, Hanks used foul language to characterize a critic who wasn’t taken by the movie at first. He recalled a review in which the critic said that Hanks should no longer collaborate with TV veterans since the movie lacked substance and felt like a TV production. In response, O’Brien and his co-hosts laughed when Hanks used a vulgar slur to characterize movie critics in general.

Despite his word choice, Hanks stressed that time can frequently alter people’s perceptions of a picture and admitted that unfavourable reviews are inevitable in the film industry. He said that Although ‘That Thing You Do!’ didn’t get a lot of great reviews at first, it eventually gained recognition as a cult classic. Hanks acknowledged negative reviews as a necessary component of the film industry’s “carnival” and embraced them as such.

Image Courtesy: People

Along with talking about ‘That Thing You Do!’, Hanks also discussed his most recent movie, Here’, in which he reunites with director Robert Zemeckis and co-star Robin Wright from ‘Forrest Gump’. 

In his reflection on ‘Forrest Gump’, Hanks revealed that he had concerns about the movie’s success during production because of how physically taxing the shoot was. In spite of his reservations, ‘Forrest Gump’ became a landmark film of the 1990s, taking home several Oscars, including Best Actor and Best Picture. Right now, Hanks’ latest movie, ‘Here’, is showing in theatres.

–Farheen Ali