Philadelphia

There ARE good kinds of garbage (e.g. Gigli) that are so, so bad that they actually become watchable. But Philadelphia is the kind of garbage that is so, so bad in a BAD way. The movie just takes itself so seriously it's simply laughable. The director likely believes that the film is a humanitarian message. Let's get this out of the way: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington gave GREAT performances, especially Denzel. . Now, to the movie: the movie is so overly indulged in 'emotion' and musical cues that it becomes so embarrassingly sappy and unwatchable. I take solace in knowing that there are OTHER innocent people who were abused by such cringe-inducing scenes like the opera/red light scene, which counts as one of the most hideous abuses of "director's privileges" ever; an utterly embarrassing scene to watch any way you look at it. The movie is literally STUFFED with rubbish like that, like the defense attorney looks at Becket for a couple of seconds before saying, "Andrew Becket is dying", or the whole scene near the end where Becket has to take his shirt off to show the jury his lesions. The music, the bosses turning their heads away, the look on Hanks' face, Wow. The director is begging us to cry. Oh, I did feel like crying, but for a completely different reason. The only reason I feel content giving this movie one star (as opposed to the much sought-after zero stars, which exists in review titles only) is because of Denzel's performance. Avoid this piece of feces at all costs.

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source: Philadelphia

I like the bit where he read some books in the library

PHILADELPHIA (1993) ***1/2 Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas, Joanne Woodward, Charles Napier. Moving courtroom drama about an AIDS afflicted gay lawyer (Hanks perfect in his Oscar-winning role) who is unceremoniously fired from a blue-nosed firm and decides to sue for discrimination. A benchmark in filmmaking for being the first major studio produced film about AIDS it suffers only in its watered-down approach to its gay protagonist yet avoids being condescending in its theme of societal bigotry. Kudos for director Jonathan Demme, screenwriter Ron Nyswaner and the haunting Best Song, "Streets of Philadelphia" by Bruce Springsteen. Cameo by filmmaker Roger Corman and the film's producer Kenneth Utt (a stern faced juror; he died after film's completion).

Superb movie. Moving, intelligent, insightful, and very socially relevant. The central plot may be predictable, but the sub-plots, moral, legal and ethical issues, and pure human drama are far from unoriginal. Moreover, director Jonathan Demme's telling of the story is very sensitively done. Direction is perfect - camera angles (lots of facial close-ups), pacing, editing (no excess scenes, and no spoon-feeding of information) - all are spot-on. Casting is perfect, and the cast delivers in spades. Tom Hanks delivers probably the performance of his life, and considering his incredible acting talent and body of work, that says a lot. He well deserved his Oscar. He is well supported by Denzel Washington, Jason Robards and Antonio Banderas. Surely one of the most socially relevant movies of the 90s, if not of all time.

This piece of Hollywood trash is totally worthless in terms of presenting any truth about gay life and dealing with AIDS. Now I can see why a director like Spike Lee would object to Spielberg making 'Amistad'. He just doesn't know or understand anything about the subject matter, and I doubt the director here knew much about gays or AIDS. At least he didn't demonstrate to me that he had any more knowledge or empathy than Denzel Washington or his character did. And as for Hanks playing a gay man, well, it was much like Jimmy Stewart in 'Rope'. He had no idea what he was doing. Banderas, who has played a gay man in his films with Almodovar, at least seemed to have some idea. All the other 'gay' men were simply the usual Hollywood stereotypes.

DENZEL and HANKS at their very best in a gripping courtroom drama.

One of the most poignant movies you will ever watch that, unless you don't have a heart or a soul, will make you cry. Tom Hanks 10/10. Dentil Washington 10/10. Antonio Banderas 10/10. Only spoilt by some repetitive home videos near the end that could have been replaced by more time developing relationships between Hank's, Banderas, and Washington.