Let Tom Hanks Get You Through Your COVID-19 Self-Quarantine
Ken Jones, Chief Film Critic
Has the surrealness of the coronavirus, COVID-19, got you down? Maybe you’ve actually had to self-quarantine because of exposure to the virus and have to stay isolated for up to 14 days. That’s a lot of time to be by yourself.
Well, a famous actor knows what you’re going through: Tom Hanks. The world was shocked to learn on Wednesday, March 11, that Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson had tested positive for coronavirus while filming on location in Australia. All reports are that they are doing fine and are receiving quality care and should make full recoveries.
Lucky for us, we live in a highly connected world with streaming resources at our fingertips and we’ve got movies to help pass the time. And Tom Hanks has made a lot of them over the years. And maybe some of those movies have some lessons we can glean or little nuggets in them that can help with this COVID-19 pandemic. So, if you find yourself quarantined like Tom Hanks, here are 14 Tom Hanks movies, one for each day of self-quarantine, to help you make it through your period of isolation.
(These are listed in chronological order. Feel free to jump around at your own discretion.)
Day 1. The Money Pit (1986) – This 80s comedy with Hanks co-stars Shelley Long where the two pour money in a fixer-upper that they just bought. The connection, of course, is that if you’re going to be confined to a place for a while, make sure you’re comfortable in it.
Day 2. The ‘Burbs (1989) – Let’s be honest, everybody’s probably got some kooky neighbors. Some we like, some we don’t. So maybe it’s not so bad that you can’t mingle with all of them for a while. They may be hiding something.
Day 3. Turner & Hooch (1989) – Putting this one on here for all of the dog lover out there, and pet owners in general. Pets are a good source of companionship during trying times. There’s a reason dogs are called “man’s best friend.”
Day 4. Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) – Being shut up in quarantine may feel a lot like being adrift in the ocean. When the waters are raging and it looks like you’re in for a blow, or if you find yourself shot out of a volcano and surviving a sinking island, it’s good to have something reliable and dependable as a touchstone. Like Joe’s trunks.
Day 5. Sleepless in Seattle (1993) – It’s good to have a little love in your life. It’s tough to have love blossom without contact, but in Sleepless in Seattle, Hanks and Meg Ryan basically spend the entire movie apart. Sometimes distance makes the heart grow fonder. Just think how much fonder your love may be after 14 days of self-quarantine!
Day 6. Forrest Gump (1994) – Forrest Gump experienced A LOT. But he was never overwhelmed, whether it was meeting President Kennedy, fighting in Vietnam, meeting President Johnson, protesting the war in Vietnam, playing on the US national ping-pong team, meeting President Nixon, or jogging across America, he stayed grounded because of his family and friends and kept it simple.
Day 7. Apollo 13 (1995) – There are probably few things as isolating and sobering as being up in space millions and millions of miles away from civilization and sharing cramped quarters with two other people when something goes horribly wrong. Luckily, this is based on a true story and is about the indomitable human spirit and ingenuity of American scientists to solve problems. Ed Harris’ saying, “I believe this is going to be our finest hour” is the inspiration we need right now.
Day 8. You’ve Got Mail (1998) – Yes, all three Hanks/Ryan movies made this list. There’s a bit of comfort food feel to putting them on this list, but this also one of the early movies that incorporated the internet, with two people who can’t stand each other in real life becoming secret pen pals via email and not knowing they’re in love with the person they can’t stand. A modern update of The Shop Around the Corner by Ernst Lubitsch, we can still create connections from a distance.
Day 9. Cast Away (2000) – Probably the most obvious movie to make this list, but it had to be on here. Hanks as Chuck Noland is a busy FedEx exec who ends up surviving a plane crash at sea and is stranded on an island by himself for several years. So if you are having to isolate yourself for a bit, just tell people “I’ll be right back.” I would not recommend getting a toothache during time, but if you need to take a ball and make up an imaginary friend for two weeks to pass the time, so be it. And keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring.
Day 10. The Terminal (2004) – Look, even if you’re in one of the busiest places in the world, like JFK airport, you may still find yourself stuck in one place. Hanks’ Viktor Navorski is stranded and forced to take temporary residence in the airport when he can’t enter the US and can’t go home because his government was overthrown by civil war and his papers are no longer valid. There can be an existential angst about being confined or stuck between a rock and hard place in this case. But it’s important to find ways to persevere.
Day 11. Captain Phillips (2013) – Another real-life story, of Captain Richard Phillips and his harrowing capture by Somali pirates. A high stress situation and caught up in something that is bigger than him, Phillips’ story is a taxing one, but the end is an important reminder that sometimes it’s ok to not be ok.
Day 12. Sully (2016) – Maybe you’re having to work at home or maybe the pressure of being confined to home is starting to get to you. Sully is all about being cool and level-headed in a pressure situation. Also, a reminder that what you are doing, even if it’s something small like staying away from others to prevent the spread of disease, is saving lives.
Day 13. The Post (2017) – The reporting that the Washington Post did on the Nixon Watergate scandal is probably the most famous moment of investigative journalism that has ever happened. This movie is about the big story they covered before that, which was about the massive cover-up of how the war in Vietnam was actually going. Tom Hanks got to portray Ben Bradlee in this Spielberg movie. This is here not to flesh out cover-ups or conspiracies, but to remind us to cut through the noise and seek out the truth and the facts in every situation; in this case, what to do and what not to do during a pandemic and not breaking quarantine..
Day 14. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) – Lastly, we have Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers. As we’re all cooped up, it’s a reminder that it’s the good, neighborly thing to do for the greater good of the community. And it’s important to show kindness to others and goodwill because we’re all in this together. Most importantly, isolation can be tough to handle, so know that you are loved and capable of loving.