When one is in the industry for as long as Tom Hanks has, they’re bound to have some stinkers, and it’s no different for the Forrest Gump Star. Initially rising to prominence following the success of ’84’s Splash, the actor soon became a household name by delivering several hits, including ’86’s The Money Pit and a string of classics in the ’90s.
But between Splash and The Money Pit, Hanks starred in a comedy named The Man With One Red Shoe, and to say that it was a letdown would be an understatement. The Toy Story star too was quite vocal about his views on the forgettable comedy, stating that it wasn’t about anything.
Tom Hanks Admitted His 1985 Comedy Was a Disaster
Despite starring Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher, The Man with One Red Shoe fell face first upon its release, only racking in $8.6M at the box office, becoming one of Hanks’ biggest flops. And like fans and critics, the Oscar-winner too wasn’t fond of the forgettable comedy, as during a candid conversation with Playboy in ’89, the actor admitted the movie was bad and lacked any real focus. He said,
“Not a very good movie. It doesn’t have any real, clear focus to it. It isn’t about anything particularly that you can honestly understand. It made no money at all”.
And while for many, such a big flop this early in their career might’ve had an adverse effect on their Hollywood run, fortunately, this wasn’t the case for him, as it didn’t take Hanks long to get over this failure.
Tom Hanks Took the Blame for the Failure of Brian de Palma’s Comedy
Not long after sharing his views on one of his biggest failures, Tom Hanks found himself in another critical and box-office failure, Brian De Palma’s The Bonfire of the Vanities. Bringing back only a fraction of its budget, the comedy thriller was a disaster among critics, as it currently stands at a mere 15% at the rotten tomatoes. But unlike The Man With One Red Shoe, in which the cast was the biggest highlight of the movie, this wasn’t the case for this one, as Hanks admitted that everyone in The Bonfire of the Vanities was miscast, especially him.
Keeping in mind that the actor was mostly known for doing comedies at the time, his likable persona became a problem, as the character he was playing was supposed to be unlikable. He told The Blast :
“Everybody was miscast, me particularly.”
Also read: Tim Allen Confirms Toy Story 5 in the Works, Tom Hanks Asked To Return
Thankfully, like The Man with One Red Shoe, Brian De Palma’s box-office disaster didn’t hinder Hanks’ Hollywood ascend, as four years later, he’d bag his first of many Oscar wins.
The Man with One Red Shoe is available to rent on Apple TV.
