TMC
05-23-2013, 04:00 AM
http://www.avclub.com/articles/tom-hanks-vs-the-fonz-35plus-oscar-nominees-in-wei,92601/
2. Tom Hanks, Happy Days (1982)
Thirty years and numerous dramatic roles later (five of which earned him nods from the Academy), it’s easy to forget that Tom Hanks is also a gifted comedic performer. During his TV days, his timing and commitment could salvage the broadest of Bosom Buddies plots; an appearance on the 10th season Happy Days episode “A Little Case Of Revenge” demonstrates that if he hadn’t become the Jimmy Stewart of his generation, he could have very well been its Jerry Lewis. In an attempt to right perceived childhood slights done to him by one Arthur Fonzarelli, Hanks’ Dwayne Twitchell uses his black-belt martial-arts skills to systematically destroy the strangely flimsy furnishings of Arnold’s Drive-In—an establishment that, at that point in the show’s run, was co-owned by the rapidly maturing Fonzie. But even a Mozart-loving version of The Fonz is still too cool to actually put up his dukes against Dwayne, which causes Hanks to do a dance of physical-comedy devastation across Arnold’s. Maybe if he added some moves like that to his Oscar-nominated turn in Big, Philadelphia wouldn’t have been the first film to net Hanks an Academy Award.
2. Tom Hanks, Happy Days (1982)
Thirty years and numerous dramatic roles later (five of which earned him nods from the Academy), it’s easy to forget that Tom Hanks is also a gifted comedic performer. During his TV days, his timing and commitment could salvage the broadest of Bosom Buddies plots; an appearance on the 10th season Happy Days episode “A Little Case Of Revenge” demonstrates that if he hadn’t become the Jimmy Stewart of his generation, he could have very well been its Jerry Lewis. In an attempt to right perceived childhood slights done to him by one Arthur Fonzarelli, Hanks’ Dwayne Twitchell uses his black-belt martial-arts skills to systematically destroy the strangely flimsy furnishings of Arnold’s Drive-In—an establishment that, at that point in the show’s run, was co-owned by the rapidly maturing Fonzie. But even a Mozart-loving version of The Fonz is still too cool to actually put up his dukes against Dwayne, which causes Hanks to do a dance of physical-comedy devastation across Arnold’s. Maybe if he added some moves like that to his Oscar-nominated turn in Big, Philadelphia wouldn’t have been the first film to net Hanks an Academy Award.