It’s not uncommon for actors and filmmakers to be critical of their past works, especially with the benefit of hindsight, and Tom Hanks is no different. With a career spanning over four decades, there are bound to be some regrets. However, none of the actor’s mishaps in his illustrious career is bigger than one Brian De Palma movie, which is unanimously hated by critics, fans, and even its cast.
Not only did he deem the heavily star-studded movie his worst flick, Hanks even went as far as to deem it one of the crappiest movies ever made.
Tom Hanks Didn’t Sugarcoat His Comments About The Bonfire of the Vanities
From having a star-studded cast, which involved Bruce Willis, Tom Hanks, and Morgan Freeman to being helmed by acclaimed filmmaker Brian De Palma, one would assume The Bonfire of the Vanities could do no wrong. But as the story goes, despite comprising some of the biggest names in Hollywood, not many were enticed by the casting decisions, as it didn’t reflect Tom Wolfe’s novel, which served as the source for the movie.
Moreover, the other aspects of the movie don’t make up for its misguided casting, as while translating Wolfe’s work to the silver screen, the story loses many of the novel’s qualities, including its crucial sense of irony. With the benefit of hindsight, Tom Hanks, who, at the time, kept telling himself that he could do it, despite being told by many that he wasn’t the right fit for it, realized that he “couldn’t manufacture a core connection”.
If I hadn’t gone through that experience, I would have lost out on something valuable. That movie was a fascinating enterprise from the word go. It was bigger than life, and for some reason it had a huge amount of attention on it. I can go to Germany, even now, and people will say, ‘How come you don’t make good, gritty movies like The Bonfire of the Vanities anymore?’ They have no concept of what it meant to be an American and have that movie enter the national consciousness. Bonfire taught me that I couldn’t manufacture a core connection.
As for the movie itself, Hanks didn’t sugarcoat his sentiments toward the critically panned release, stressing “It’s one of the crappiest movies ever made”, and his costar Freemen wouldn’t beg to differ.
Morgan Freeman Felt Brian de Palma Had No Clue With This Adaptation
Unlike Hanks, it didn’t take Morgan Freeman much time to realize that the “movie wasn’t going to work”, stating “I don’t think Brian De Palma had a clue”. The Dark Knight star further acknowledged the casting issue with the adaptation, revealing that he was only hired because the creators thought they had to be politically correct by making the judge black.
As a result, Alan Arkin, whom Freeman deemed the perfect fit for the role that he ended up playing, was fired despite being originally hired.
Originally, they hired Alan Arkin to play my role. I thought that was perfect casting. But then they thought they had to be politically correct and make the judge Black. So they fired Alan Arkin and hired me. Not a great way to get a role.
While Hanks still watched the movie despite his disappointment, Freeman didn’t even bother to witness the critical and commercial bomb unfold onscreen.
The Bonfire of the Vanities is available to stream on Apple TV.
