Customer Reviews

Saturday Night Live - The Best of Tom Hanks

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A great collection of skits! Although I must say, this dvd differs from the usual "Best of..." collection. While Hanks does have a lot of funny characters here, I'd say a good chunk of the stuff is just Hanks being funny in an ensemble piece. For example, this dvd includes the Waynes World skit with Aerosmith. A classic sketch, but not one that shows off Hanks at all. Jew, Not a Jew, is another good example. It's just a funny sketch, but not because of Tom Hanks' acting.

So I'm not really complaining. This is a solid solid collection of great sketches.

Run down of what is included:
1. Tom Hanks as the cowboy ice-skater in the '88 Olympics
2. The 5-timers Club with Mr. Steve Martin
3. Waynes World with Aerosmith
4. Mr. Short-term memory - the restaurant one, not the one with Tony Randall
5. Spartan Cheerleaders - not sure why this is on here. Its a funny sketch but it barely features Hanks.
6. Tales of Ribaldry - again, not sure why this is here because it is mainly a skit to laugh at Jon Lovitz, Hanks just plays a straight forward character.
7. Wilson the Volleyball on Update - This also does not belong on here. It is a Will Ferrell piece that features a Hanks cameo right at the end
8. The Losers - on the street corner picking up ladies
9. Big the movie outtakes. Not hilarious, but good.
10. Roxbury guys
11. The Guy Who Played Mr. Belvedere Fan Club - Brocktoon! I was very happy to see this sketch!
12. The Stand Up Comedians Backstage
13. Sabra Price is Right
14. Hanks confessing to his wife (Joan Cusack)how he fantasizes her death.
15. Jew, Not a Jew gameshow
16. Bean Cafe - hilarious skit with all fart jokes.
17. 25th Anniversary piece - Another bit that features Hanks, but the punchlines belong to Chris Walken, Jon Lovitz, etc.

Also, the dvd features 2 dress rehearsal sketches. My mind has drawn a blank with one of them, but the other one is the CLASSIC Nude Beach sketch that aired on the Mathew Broderick episode in 1988. Apparently they had tried this with Hanks when he hosted the week before, but it was cut. I think the Broderick version might be a little better, but I am SOOO glad to have this sketch immortalized on dvd.

This volume features Tom Hanks' work on Saturday Night Live, from his first appearance on the ill-fated '85-'86 season through the late nineties, but the majority of the material deals with the Hartman-Lovitz years, my personal favorite cast. Hanks and Lovitz, in particular, are paired quite often, especially in their frequent "Girl Watchers" sketches and an audience interview segment with Lovitz asking Hanks who his favorite performer on the show was (and he doesn't stop until he hears Jon Lovitz). Some of the stuff is familiar--the Wayne's World represented here is the Aerosmith one, and that and "Jew, not a Jew" were available on the videotape. However, there are a LOT of sketches here that will likely not see the light of day again, like Hanks, Damon Wayans, and others playing stand-up comics who deliver every line in their lives like a stand-up act, the really funny "Five-Timers" sketch, which centers around an exclusive club where five-time hosts reside (with SNL poking a little fun at its rarefied image), and a sketch where Hanks plays a loving husband that occasionally fantasizes that his wife is dead. As far as these compilations go, this is one of the best I've seen, on the same level as Phil Hartman's and Eddie Murphy's, and certainly worth a buy. And for the person who left the message about there not being a "Best of" for Gilda Radner, or others, I agree, but then again, Hanks deserves a DVD more than Tracy Morgan and Chris Kattan, need I say more. I'm jumping off a building when they release The Best of Fred Armisen. Just kidding, it will hopefully never happen. Hopefully.

Some pretty weak stuff, along with some absolute classics. The out-takes from BIG are the funniest thing on this DVD. Im saddened by the choices of sketches that they put on these SNL DVD's. They left off the "Drunken Asses" sketch, and the Mr Short term memory with Tony Randall, along with many other classic Hanks moments. Its almost as tragic as leaving off the "Get off the shed" sketch on the Will Ferrel DVD's. Thumbs down to the SNL family, as the show itself is now unwatchable, and they cant even do the right thing for the older cast members (you know the ones from when the show was actually funny) on the DVD. Wait for the price to come down on this one...

Tom Hanks is by far one of the funniest hosts of the program. There is so much material that they could choose from for a "Best Of SNL" and I'm shocked that was what they chose. What gives?!?!??

For one thing, there were three skits (Wayne's World Aerosmith,
Spartan Cheerleaders, and Wilson the Volleyball) where Hanks is hardly even a part of the skit. In fact, in the Wilson one he doesn't even have a line. And many of the other skits had Tom Hanks as a small role.

What I was hopeful of seeing was "Mr. Short-Term Memory," which I think is one of his best reoccurring roles, but the one they chose was not his best one. How disappointing! Are his other ones being saved for another DVD?

Anyways, most (not all) of the skits are fun and original. Unfortunately, some of them are real duds. I just wish they would choose better skits. Better yet, let the fans of SNL choose for them. Then we'd be getting better "Best Of..." DVDs.

My top three favorites are:
1) The Bean Cafe. This was very creative. And what makes it so funny is that not a single joke is told.
2) The movie, Big, before some script changes were made. There is one scene that shows several takes that is just plain hilarious.
3) Mr. Belvedere Fan Club. You might think you love Mr. Belvedere, but here are some people who are a little too obsessive about him.

If you love Tom Hanks, you still need to check this DVD out. The funny moments are worth it.

Tom Hanks is one of "Saturday Night's Live's" most beloved and talented hosts. Each of his seven episodes have produced a lot of classic moments, most if not all of which are included on the dvd "The Best Of Tom Hanks".

This dvd contains sketches from all seven of his hosting gigs between 1985 and 1996, as well as his appearance at the show's 25th anniversary special and a 2001 cameo special. The majority of the sketches are extremely funny. I especially enjoyed the Five Timers Club sketch and my personal favorite "Mr. Short Term Memory", which also featured a great performance by Phil Hartman. In fact, I enjoyed almost all of the sketches except for "Tales Of Ribaldry" and the one where he fantasises about his wife dying. I also agree that the Spartan Cheerleaders sketch was definitely a starring vehicle for Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri, but it's suffice to say that Hanks makes the most of his screen time.

However, the funniest sketch is the dress rehearsal sketch is the funniest thing on the entire dvd. It's the "Nude Beach" sketch with the "Penis Song". The aired version with Matthew Broderick is slightly funnier than the one on here, but this one is still very funny.

While it isn't perfect, this dvd is an excellent addition to the "SNL" catalogue. I would definitely recommend it.

I was impressed because, I had no clue how funny he could be. I probabbly like it so much because Conan O'brien wrote alot of the skits, and he appears on one of the skits a very funny dvd. I own all of them and this is in my top ten,I definetly reccommend buying it.

What a great ensemble of Mr. Hanks SNL moments....can anyone tell me where I can find the skit from the 1988 show 13.12 #245 aired on 2/20/1988 named "Apple Support Systems"? This is the funniest bit for folks in the IT support industry.....I am willing to pay for this if I can only find a copy.
Regards,
Tony Piacente

Tom Hanks is great and he really did some fun stuff with SNL, but this dvd left a lot to be desired. While most of the "SNL Best of" discs have me laughing out loud throughout the entire presentation, this particular collection just left me wondering why they didn't choose some better skits. The highlight of this dvd comes at the end when Christopher Walken appears for a few minutes. The rest is junk. You'd be better off buying another collection if you're looking for some good SNL fun.

Tom Hanks is a comedic genius! This DVD is hilarious and shows that Tom Hanks is one of the funniest people in show business. He totally lets go in this melange of funniness and I couldn't be happier with the results. This is by far the best SNL "Best Of" collections I have ever seen. I was out of breath from laughing by the time it ended.

My only complaint was that it wasn't long enough!

Look, Tom Hanks is a gifted comedic actor who must have done more on SNL than this DVD represents. As previously stated, the chosen skits are worth an occasional chuckle at best, and some feature very little of Mr. Hanks at all... This DVD was a major disappointment and a nearly-complete waste of money to me. I liked the "Best of Steve Martin" significantly better, and this DVD doesn't even hold a candle to "The Best of Alec Baldwin"... Having purchased those two DVDs prior to this one, and based on the reviews, I was expecting so much more, but obviously some people are more easily amused than I am...