Films on TV round-up: happy birthday, Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks turned 55 yesterday. In celebration, let's take a look at two films on TV this week from two very different strands of his career. And yes, I said two. I'm doing two films a week from now on rather than three. Deal with it.

Commencing: Monday 11th July 2011

They're not even in chronological order this time either. Deal with that, too.

The Money Pit (1986) Sunday 17th July, BBC1, 12am



It was while watching The Money Pit for about the millionth time that I had the idea to write my undergraduate dissertation on Tom Hanks. I said to my friend: "Isn't it weird how he did stuff like this and Turner & Hooch, and ended up doing Saving Private Ryan? Can you think of anyone else who's made a career switch like that?"

So began a six-month period in which I watched just about every film he'd ever made, buying up the obscure ones on VHS from eBay, and looking at the career of an actor who had started out as a wacky comedian and then switched into serious roles ' and somehow managed to do so without the audience's memory of pilled-up donkeys and loved-up mermaids compromising his new dramatic heft. They actually give you degrees for this shit.

The main reason he could achieve this was because he is ' as both an actor and a star ' the quintessential everyman, who has always played roles that involve his being an ordinary guy thrust into an extraordinary situation. In terms of his comedies, The Money Pit is probably the best example of this.

Oh, you want a plot synopsis rather than a bunch of self-congratulatory academic discourse? Fine, whatever. Hanks and Shelley Long are a couple who decide to buy a huge house at a knock-down price, which seems like a great deal until the place starts to fall apart brick by brick, driving them towards financial ruin and the breakdown of their relationship.

It's hard to make farce funny, but here the destruction of the house is brilliantly put together and well-timed ' in particular the expertly choreographed three-minute set-piece where one thing falls down, which in turns knocks down another, then another, set up like a domino rally.



But just watch Hanks throughout. Watch his flailing dive over the rubble trying to get to the phone in time, and you'll see slapstick. Then watch him do exactly the same thing in Cast Away trying to catch a fish so he doesn't starve, and you'll see blind, hopeless desperation. There are consistent actions like these in his performances that helped him transition from comedy to drama without it being problematic for the audience ' because whether he's trying to make us laugh or cry we feel like we're watching an ordinary guy just trying to get through something.
Philadelphia (1993) Monday 11th July, C5, 10pm



Philadelphia was the film where he made the switch. Although Sleepless in Seattle six months earlier gave some indications of where he was going, it was frothy and fun for the most part. This was not. Watching it now, you have to bear in mind that this guy was doing The 'Burbs and Joe Versus the Volcano just a couple of years before. Imagine Will Ferrell taking a couple of years off now, then coming back playing an AIDS victim in a straight drama, then imagine how catastrophically that would die on its arse.

Hanks is Andrew Beckett, a high-flying lawyer who hasn't admitted his homosexuality or his AIDS diagnosis to the conservative law firm he works for. When they begin to suspect him, they engineer a near-miss foul-up on an important case and put him in the frame for it as a way of pushing him out. He recruits Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), a lawyer who is also homophobic, to help him sue them, while Andrew conducts his own fight against death.

"So who are you suing again? The guy who sold you that hat?"

Whatever you think about the equality issues it raises ' heterosexual male actors are always lauded for their bravery when playing gay characters, but Hollywood continues to ignore gay actors for leading gay roles ' this is a courtroom drama with a huge amount of emotional punch, which director Jonathan Demme teases out through his trademark point-of-view shots where characters seem to talk directly to the camera.

Washington gets a lot of credit too ' his character's journey out of homophobia is very well played as his barriers are broken down by his natural sense of injustice ' but this is also a showcase for Hanks to win his first Best Actor Oscar, an opportunity he grabs by the horns. He plays 'gay' convincingly without resorting to camp, he appears shockingly gaunt and frail by the time we reach the last reel, and he gives Beckett a pragmatic approach to his nearing death, revealing how scared he is only in flashes.

How to show Hollywood you're not a comedian any more, you're now a dramatic heavyweight? Simple: be this awesome.
Apologies for breaking with tradition and turning this feature into a bit of an essay. Next week I promise the usual ill-informed idiocy. But for now, happy birthday, Tom.
Also on this week

Hot Shots! Part Deux Monday, Film4, 7.20pm
Terminator 2: Judgment Day Monday, ITV2, 9pm (also Saturday 11pm)
Rambo III Monday, ITV1, 10.35pm
Analyze This Monday, ITV2, 11.45pm
The Departed Tuesday, Film4, 9pm
Universal Solider: Regeneration Tuesday, ITV4, 9pm (also Saturday 9pm)
Crank Tuesday, ITV1, 10.35pm
The Pelican Brief Tuesday, ITV2, 11pm
Fatal Attraction Wednesday, Film4, 9pm
Kidulthood Wednesday, BBC3, 10pm (also Saturday 9.45pm)
Gomorrah Wednesday, BBC4, 11.25pm
Tigerland Wednesday, More4, 11.40pm
The Devil Wears Prada Thursday, Film4, 9pm
The Hills Have Eyes (2006) Thursday, Film4, 11.10pm
Miss Congeniality Friday, 5*, 9pm
Rendition Friday, More4, 10pm
Memento Friday, Film4, 11pm
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Saturday, ITV1, 4.30pm
Marley and Me Saturday, C4, 6.45pm
Back to the Future Saturday, ITV2, 6.45pm
Iron Man Saturday, Film4, 9pm
The Others Saturday, C4, 10pm
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels Saturday, ITV1, 11.15pm