The Tom Hanks Comedy Favorites Collection

Rating PG-13 Formats DVD Genre comedy Starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, Rick Ducommun, Corey Feldman, Shelley Long, Alexander Godunov, Maureen Stapleton, Joe Mantegna, Dan Aykroyd, Christopher Plummer, Harry Morgan, Alexandra Paul Directed by Joe Dante, Richard Benjamin, Tom Mankiewicz Publisher Universal Studios External Links Official Univeral Studios Website

Before winning back to back Best Actor Oscars and being anointed one of the finest actors of his generation, Tom Hanks paid his dues making comedies. When someone asks you to name a Tom Hanks film, The Money Pit, The 'Burbs, and Dragnet are not likely to be among the first that roll off your tongue. While they may not be the defining moments of his cinematic career, this collection does provide a number of laughs and remind us that Tom Hanks knows comedy quite well. The three films have been packaged together in the new Universal DVD release, Tom Hanks: Comedy Favorites Collection.

The first film in the collection is The Money Pit. Released in 1986, the film stars Hanks and Shelly Long, who was at the height of her "Cheers" fame. Cast as Walter and Anna Fielding, the two play a young married couple who take on the task of turning a run down house into the home of their dreams. Made in an era before home improvement shows became popular viewing on cable channels, the film suffers from a paint by numbers plot but it greatly strengthened by the chemistry shared between Hanks and Long. The dialogue is sharp and at times is truly laugh out loud funny. Throw in a couple of strong character performances from the likes of Joe Mantegna and Yakov Smirnoff and we have the makings of an overall funny film. If you can clearly remember Yakov Smirnoff, feel free in taking pride of being a child of the '80's.

The Burbs is not your typical, run of the mill comedy. The 1989 release gives you the sense that Hanks has more to offer as an actor and comedian. This black comedy leaves little room for one to feel indifferent. The film is the type that a viewer will either love and praise or feel like it was an unfunny mess. One thing that if for certain is The Burbs was ahead of the times. Dark without apologizing, this film was foreign in the landscape of big Hollywood releases at the end of the '80's. It's almost a wonder that it even got a green light. If the film was relased today, it would likely be greeted with better reviews and take a larger bite out of the box office. The plot is thin but serves the film well enough to allow Hanks to shine. He plays Ray Peterson, your average man living in your average suburban community. When a new family moves into town, Peterson is sure they belong to a cult and enlists the rest of his neighbors to find out the truth about the new members of their quaint town. Hanks plays the overstressed Peterson with passion and Bruce Dern turns in a fine performance as the old military war dog sidekick out to prove the truth about the cult.

When Dragnet was released in 1987, Hanks took second billing to co-star Dan Aykroyd. The film, based on the classic television series, is the story of a by the book cop named Joe Friday (Aykroyd) who gets a new easy going, laid back partner named Pep Streebeck (Hanks). Yes, you read that correctly. The name of the character is Pep Streebeck. The two cops get assigned a puzzling case taking over the city of Los Angeles and the only clue they have are the mysterious cards turning up at the crimes scenes featuring the word "Pagan." While the film is the weakest of the three, Hanks does well playing next to his straight man Ackroyd. The film serves as a decent spoof to the popular show and seems to pride itself on never taking things too seriously. Suspension of disbelief is key here and the movie works best when you just give in and go along.

The special features included in the collection are slim to say the least. The theatrical trailers for each film are included, along with an alternate ending for The Burbs and a feature titled The Making of The Money Pit. While the three films may not be the crowning achievements in the career of Tom Hanks or even his best comedic performances, they do provide enough laughs for a night at home on the couch. You could do much worse than taking a first or second look at these films from yesteryear. The affordable price only makes the collection more appealing.