So you could see Kevin Bacon or Colin Firth talking to a volleyball for an hour and a half?

For me Jimmy Dugan may be him at his finest, comedy and drama. Stole the movie from the star.

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Posted by Jimbeaux

Member since Sep 2003

20160 posts

Posted on 4/1/14 at 9:25 pm to alajones

quote:
So you could see Kevin Bacon or Colin Firth talking to a volleyball for an hour and a half?

I think to carry a movie like Cast Away, you do need an extremely likeable guy. Kevin Bacon wouldn't do.

Colin Firth? Maybe, but it wouldn't have had the same type of impact as Hanks.

I really think that the movie watcher is watching a person who is 90% Hanks and 10% Chuck Noland (the actual name of the character). When the guy cries about losing Wilson, it's Hanks crying, not Chcuk Noland crying, so the audience, who loves Hanks, is more easily moved.

The only actors who have that likeability working for them as much as Hanks... no one. I was going to consider Jimmy Stewart or Sidney Poitier, but no one matches Hanks for likeability.

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Posted by Freauxzen

Utah

Member since Feb 2006

37445 posts

Posted on 4/1/14 at 9:42 pm to alajones

quote:
So you could see Kevin Bacon or Colin Firth talking to a volleyball for an hour and a half?

And you can see Tom Hanks thinking about molesting a little girl? No you can't. He can't do it, it's not part of his wheelhouse because his charisma is based on likability. He's never taken a role that really puts him there, and that's probably a smart move, no one would ever by it. That's why his range is limited (arbitrary or not).

On the other hand, Bacon turned in a career performance in that very scenario. Now I wouldn't say Bacon is a better actor, I'd probably put them on the same tier. But there are things that Hanks can't do either. He just isn't equipped for it.

(And The Woodsman might be better than anything Hanks has done FWIW.)

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