Tom Hanks calls one of the ‘shittiest’ films ever made a blessing that also starred Morgan Freeman in an unforgettable role

Hollywood veteran Tom Hanks has primarily presented masterpieces for the enjoyment of viewers, with almost every one of his acting gigs holding a depth that perhaps no other actor could capture with such intensity. However, he was also involved in some of the most epic failures, like the critically panned 1990 comedy-drama, The fire of vanities.

Although it starred a group of stars in leading roles, including Morgan Freeman and Bruce Willis, the film was nonetheless a terribly forgettable disaster. But even though Hanks himself admitted that the film was “one of the shittiest films ever made” he seems to consider it a blessing at the same time because of the experience that cinema ended up giving him.

Tom Hanks considers The fire of vanities Shitty but a blessing too

With brutal reviews on Rotten Tomatoes ranking at 15% from critics and 26% from audiences, The fire of vanities will inevitably go down as one of the worst films based on a novel ever made, despite an incredibly strong main cast that included some very good A-listers.

This included Freeman as Judge Leonard White and even Bruce Willis as Peter Fallow.

That said, even Hanks, who played Sherman McCoy in the film, was quick to admit that the film was indeed rather trashy, as he said during his 2001 interview with Oprah Magazine:

This is one of the shittiest films ever made!

But while he admittedly considered it a disaster, he also thought that starring in this film was somewhat of a blessing for him as well.

According to what Tom Hanks continued to say in the same interview:

If I hadn’t had this experience, I would have lost something precious. This film was a fascinating undertaking from the start. It was larger than life, and for some reason a huge amount of attention was paid to it.

Well, if we look at it while recognizing the fact that bad decisions are also necessary to life, the Forrest Gump the actor’s criticism on this subject becomes simply understandable. But, surprisingly, that’s not all, as the film also apparently taught him that he “I couldn’t make a central connection.”

As the actor revealed when talking about the lesson he learned from the film:

I can go to Germany, even now, and people will say, “How come you don’t make good realistic films like The Fire of the Vanities anymore?” They have no idea what it means to be American and bring this film into the national consciousness. Bonfire taught me that I couldn’t make a core connection.

Needless to say, this is indeed a much more mature take on Hanks’ film, making it clear why his role in this disaster was so necessary.

But while the Shipwrecked The actor had this to say about the film, his co-star Freeman didn’t have a very positive approach and even claimed that he never even got a chance to see the film!

Meanwhile, Morgan Freeman ‘never’ got around to seeing the movie

On the one hand, while Hanks considers this satirical 1990 black comedy a blessing in disguise, on the other, his respectable co-star Morgan Freeman claims he didn’t even have time to see the film.

Initially presenting his views on the same topic during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said:

I knew this movie wasn’t going to work. I don’t think (director) Brian De Palma had any idea. It struck me that he hadn’t read the book or didn’t like it.

On top of that, Freeman even stated how he felt “This is the only time Hanks has been terribly miscast.”

But that’s not all, because the biggest regret The Shawshank Redemption The actor apparently had about the film that he considered someone else perfect for his respective role of Judge Leonard White.

Revealing how the original choice for this unforgettable casting was Alan Arkin, Freeman said:

I thought it was perfect casting. But then they thought they should be politically correct and make the judge black. So they fired Alan Arkin and hired me. This is not a good way to get a role. I was a bit of a sucker for not refusing it, but they weren’t going to give it back to Alan anyway.

Overall, he ended up scoring the role, and while he did his best to play it as epically as possible, he revealed that “I never had the chance to see the film.” Maybe it was only for the best, especially since the movie was such a forgettable disaster as this.

However, you can watch The fire of vanities on Prime Video.