#HANX for the Memories: The Tom Hanks Podcast

Is The Bonfire of the Vanities one of the worst movies of all-time? That’s the question we’re trying to answer on today’s episode of #HANX for the Memories. Joining us to dive deep into this adaptation is Austin Wolf-Sothern of Cinema Stories on YouTube. In this episode, one host stands firmly (and perhaps surprisingly) in defense of this movie, while the other comes down on the other side of the...

For the second week in a row, the gods of the TomTom Club have delivered for us. After entering Phase II of #CruiseClub last week with Mission: Impossible, is it possible we’ve done the same with #HANX for the Memories and Joe Versus the Volcano? Joining us to talk about Tom Hanks’s best movie to date is Greg MacLennan of the Alamo Drafthouse, making his #HANX debut! In this episode, we discuss th...

A few episodes ago, we talked about Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd, a mismatched police duo in Dragnet. But Tom Hanks and a dog in Turner & Hooch? Now we've seen everything! Joining us on this wacky canine adventure are the Hoff-Bros: Brian Rodriguez (now of High School Slumber Party) and Kyle Reinfried (now of Foodie Films). In this episode, we talk about this movie's connection to Toy Story and (sort...

It's been a rocky road so far for #HANX for the Memories, but we're starting to turn a corner... and find ourselves deep in The 'Burbs! We may not be out of the weeds just yet, but we're certainly getting close. Joining us on our journey to this terrifying cul-de-sac are Nick Jenkins of Reel Bad and Lindsay Gibb of Winona Forever. In this episode, we talk about the movie's finest comedic sequences...

Punchline is a disappointing movie for many reasons, but possibly none more so than for the fact that it came out the same year as Big, the best Tom Hanks movie to date. Weíre joined by Jordan Polan-Clarke of Wistful Thinking to talk about watching what is very clearly a Sally Field movie through a Tom Hanks lens, how nearly zero of the stand-up jokes in this movie hold up 30 years later, and why...

It’s taken a little bit of time, but we’ve gotten to our first big (pun intended) winner on #HANX for the Memories: 1988’s Big! To celebrate and talk about the first time Tom Hanks was nominated for an Academy Award, we welcome in Holly Gore and Walt Hickey. In this episode, we discuss the immense differences between the theatrical and extended cuts, how this movie can be both sweet and creepy at...

We stayed up all night and went to sleep watching Dragnet. Were the Beastie Boys rapping about the TV series or this movie? Who can never be sure? Regardless, in this episode we’re talking about the 1987 Dan Aykroyd/Tom Hanks cop comedy Dragnet. Joined in spirit (but not on this episode) by Mike Flynn, we talk about Dan Aykroyd’s deadpan delivery, his and Hanks’s shared Donna Dixon connection, and...

Every Time We Say Goodbye isn't Tom Hanks's worst movie so far, but it's certainly his most milquetoast. When will this trend end? In what may wind up being our shortest episode of #HANX for the Memories, we debate whether or not Hanks's dramatic chops are working in this movie, and struggle to come up with things to discuss as we long for a version of this Romeo and Juliet story that is even remo...

The early stages of #HANX for the Memories haven’t been smooth sailing, but it felt like The Money Pit may have helped us turn a corner. Little did we know that the corner we turned would be right into a messy, confused brick wall of dramedy. What do you get when you mix a lighthearted workplace romp with three depressive existential breakdowns? Nothing in Common! In this episode, we discuss Tom H...

While #HANX for the Memories has proven to be a mostly fruitless affair so far, The Money Pit is Tom Hanks’s best movie so far. Could it be our turning point? We’ll have to wait to see what the next few movies hold. Joining us to talk about this movie is Christian Larson from Monkey Club. In this episode, we try to dodge the broken step as we talk about this film’s role as the nexus of all things...

As we continue our journey through #HANX for the Memories, we’re just two short weeks away from one of Tom Hanks’s most beloved movies. But before we get there, we have to take a Peace Corps detour to Thailand for Volunteers, a strange film that is filled with goodness and badness, nearly in equal measures. Joining us to break it all down is Walt Hickey of Numlock News. In this episode, we discuss...

Mike and Joey are going solo bolo style to talk about The Man with One Red Shoe. It wasn't intentional, but it's a happy accident; no guest should have to subject themselves to the overall "lack of movie" that these 92 minutes add up to. In this episode, we talk about how the movie isn't bad, per se, but just aimless. We wonder why there isn't more Hanks (or Jim Belushi) in this movie, while Mike...

Can we enjoy watching Bachelor Party in 2019? That's the question on everyone's mind as we welcome back Christian Larson to chat about this Tom Hanks classic. In this episode, we navigate around the 80s humor that doesn't quite hold up to point out the Bosom Buddies connections, the rise and fall of Tawny Kitaen, and Tom Hanks's pivot from bachelor bro to America's Dad. Join us as we rent a hotel...

Splash (or, as Mike calls it, Splash!) represents an interesting balance between wonderful character/acting moments and absolutely icky 80s movie tropes. Joining us to talk about the movie is Cara Gael O’Regan of the Wistful Thinking Podcast, who’d honestly be rather talking about just about any other mermaid movie, especially The Lure. In this episode, we wonder if the rumored gender swap remake...

Just a few short years after Tom Hanks starred in 37 episodes of Bosom Buddies, he guest starred as Uncle Ned in three episodes of Family Ties. Spanning from the middle of the first season to the middle of the second season, these three episodes showcase a story arc of a man who has everything, loses everything, then needs to get help. Joining us to talk about these three episodes is Matt Delhauer...

We're donning our robes and heading down to the caverns to talk about Tom Hanks' first leading role in a movie in Mazes and Monsters, which tells the story of a town gripped by panic over kids playing a Dungeons and Dragons-esque game. Or… at least the story of four dumb college kids who are all way too attractive to be spending all their time playing a game like Mazes and Monsters. Joining us on...

Bosom Buddies began as a buddy comedy dressed (pun... intended?) in a show where men are forced to dress like women to secure housing in an affordable NYC building. Season Two just about abandons that premise altogether and doubles down on the crazy. In this episode, we welcome back our resident TV expert, Brian Rodriguez of High School Slumber Party, to talk about a season in which Kip and Henry...

From bit part in a cheesy slasher to leading man in a network sitcom in the same year, Tom Hanks had quite the ride in 1980! Over the next two episodes, we're covering both seasons of Bosom Buddies: a show where Tom Hanks (and Peter Scolari) had to dress like women to score a cheap apartment in NYC. On this episode, we're joined by Aislinn Addington of The Contenders and Brian Rodriguez of High Sc...

He Knows You're Alone kicks off #HANX for the Memories with a simultaneous bang and a thud. It's rare that we get to cover a horror movie on any of our podcasts -- let alone a slasher! -- so it's a shame that this movie falls flat in so many places. That doesn't matter too much, though, as Tom Hanks emerges with a pretty sizeable 'fro and a head full of Freud as he psychoanalyzes his girlfriend's...

Joey and Mike have covered the ups and downs of the careers of Nicolas Cage, Keanu Reeves, Charlize Theron, and more. Then, they had an epiphany: why not watch good movies? In January 2019, they'll start watching every Tom Hanks movie, whose hits far outweigh his misses. Join them! The first episode drops January 11, 2019!