Philadelphia is pretty much the best-case scenario for an Oscar-bait film: A movie, beneath its preachiness, that is beautiful, lovingly-made, and deeply-felt.
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Philadelphia (1993)
Category: Legacy
A League of Their Own is pretty close to the best possible version of itself: It is well-cast and well-directed. The lines are impeccably delivered. The tone is a just-right blend of cynical, smart, and sweet. It’s a big meal of comfort food even if it never quite ascends into greatness.
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Radio Flyer (1992)
Rose-tinted nostalgia shouldn’t be that difficult to nail: Find a non-horrible kid actor; pipe in a soundtrack of retro jams; spin some episodic coming-of-age shenanigans with a few “that wouldn’t fly today!” twists; and bring it home with a treacly voiceover about the “good ‘ol days.” Bam! Thumbs up!
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Turner & Hooch (1989)
Sometimes it’s a relief to watch a movie that’s exactly what it says on the tin.
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Punchline (1988)
Buried early in Tom Hanks’ filmography is a a light drama about comedians with broken personal lives.
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The Money Pit (1983)
There’s a 20-minute period towards the middle of the film where The Money Pit lives up to its slapstick potential, and it’s the hardest I’ve laughed in eons.
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Mazes and Monsters (1982)
Of all the moral panics from the last half century, Dungeons and Dragons is one of the most inexplicable to me.
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Volunteers (1985)
Back before Hollywood had properly figured out the Tom Hanks everyman persona, Volunteers provided a goofy little lark where Hanks plays a totally different type of protagonist.
Nothing in Common is a head-spinningly uneven film. It pairs some legitimately great performances and compelling ideas with a total dud of a script. What a waste.
There very well could be another movie that’s a better time capsule of the coked out party scene of the early ’80s than Bachelor Party… but I certainly haven’t seen it.