Tom's Time

Recently I posted about what an amazing decade the 1960s were for music.  Well, I just read The World According To Tom Hanks, Gavin Edwards' sort of sequel to The Tao Of Bill Murray.  While I don't have much to say about the book, looking at the section where Edwards goes over Hanks' movies one by one, I was reminded what a great decade the actor had--this time it's the 1990s.

With films like Splash (1984) and Big (1988), Hanks was already a star by the time the 90s rolled around.  But his career had been spotty, and he seemed to be stuck playing the earnest young guy who has a lot to learn.  And the two films of his released in 1990 were both seen as major flops--Joe Versus The Volcano (which I like and is actually a fair amount of fun) and The Bonfire Of The Vanities.

He knew he needed a change, so took a role that was a bit different, and didn't require him to carry the film. As washed-up ballplayer Jimmy Dugan in A League Of Their Own (1992) Hanks got to be nasty.  He even gained weight so he wouldn't be thought of as a romantic lead.  The film was a big hit, but Hanks was just getting started.

Here are the rest of his films that decade:

Sleepless In Seattle (1993)
Philadelphia (1993) (Oscar win)
Forrest Gump (1994) (Oscar win)
Apollo 13 (1995)
Toy Story (1995) (voice)
That Thing You Do! (1996) (also wrote and directed)
Saving Private Ryan (1998) (Oscar nomination)
You've Got Mail (1998)
Toy Story 2 (1999) (voice)
The Green Mile (1999)
Cast Away (2000) (Oscar nomination)

I'm not saying I love every film on this list, but almost all of them were hits, some blockbusters, and almost all of them were respected.  I don't know if any star has ever had a decade like this.