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Julia, Sandra, Reese—the best romantic comedies are dominated by queens, but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for a king. Enter Tom Hanks, who has been making moviegoers chuckle and swoon for decades thanks to his classic romantic comedies, several of which partnered him up with another member of rom-com royalty, Meg Ryan. Sure, his dramatic turns in films like Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, The Green Mile and Castaway have garnered the actor deserved acclaim, but it’s charming titles like Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and Joe Versus the Volcano that has solidified Hanks’ status as one of America’s Sweethearts. Those funny, dreamy flicks are full of memorable lines, and here are our 32 favorite quotes from Tom Hanks romcoms.
“It Was A Million Tiny Little Things That, When You Added Them All Up, They Meant We Were Supposed To Be Together, And I Knew It. I Knew It The First Time I Touched Her. It Was Like Coming Home, Only To No Home I’d Ever Known. I Was Just Taking Her Hand To Help Her Out Of A Car And I Knew It. It Was Like Magic.” – Sleepless In Seattle
In the 1993 Nora Ephron-directed Sleepless in Seattle, Hanks plays a recently widowed architect whose son takes to a talk radio program to source a new love for his grieving dad. One of the most moving moments of the flick is when Hanks’s character recounts the moment he met his late wife Maggie.
“I Think You Have The Gift For It. That Was A Perfect Blend Of Poetry And Meanness.” – You’ve Got Mail
One of the best tropes in the rom-com genre is the enemies-to-lovers dynamic, and the chemistry between Tom Hanks’ Joe Fox and Meg Ryan‘s Kathleen Kelly in You’ve Got Mail is a textbook example. Well before they fall for each other, the banter between the rival bookstore owners is deliciously barbed, as in one scene where Kathleen manages to drop the perfect insult against Joe.
“I Saw The Moon When We Were Out There In The Ocean, Shining Down On Everything. I’ve Been Miserable For So Long, Years Of My Life Wasted, Afraid. Been a Long Time Coming Here To Meet You, A Long Time, On a Crooked Road. Did I Ever Tell You? The First Time I Saw You, I Felt Like I’d Seen You Before.” – Joe Versus the Volcano
Directed by John Patrick Shanley, the 1990 fantasy-comedy Joe Versus the Volcano was the first big-screen collaboration between Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks and it’s a cult-favorite one thanks to its screwball energy and sweetness. Proof: This declaration of love from Hanks’s title character is uttered right before he flings himself into a tropical volcano.
“I Don’t Understand. All My Life I’ve Been Waiting For Someone And When I Find Her, She’s…She’s A Fish!” – Splash
In this fittingly titled fantasy-romance from Ron Howard, Hanks plays Allen Bauer, a young man who falls in love with a mysterious woman (Daryl Hannah), not knowing that she’s secretly a mermaid. Fun fact: though he ended up playing the lead, Tom actually auditioned for a different part entirely for the 1984 film.
“Don’t You Love New York In The Fall? It Makes Me Wanna Buy School Supplies. I Would Send You A Bouquet Of Newly Sharpened Pencils If I Knew Your Name And Address.” – You’ve Got Mail
With all of its lush, lovely autumnal shots of New York City — not to mention that dreamy Cranberries soundtrack — the Nora Ephron-directed fan favorite You’ve Got Mail is one of our favorite movies to watch in fall. Heck, we’d buy it a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if we could.
“It’s A Glow-In-The-Dark Compass Ring. So You Don’t Get Lost.” – Big
Sure, yes, on paper, there is something a bit icky about a grown woman dating — albeit unknowingly — a 12-year-old stuck inside of the body of a thirtysomething toy executive. But the “romance” between Josh Baskin (Hanks) and Susan Lawrence (Elizabeth Perkins) in the 1988 Penny Marshall comedy Big is dotted with enough innocently sweet quotes like this one that it feels cute and less creepy.
For some movie couples, it’s love at first sight. But for Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly in You’ve Got Mail, it’s love at first click. Hanks’s character doesn’t even know that it’s the one and only Meg Ryan on the receiving end of those digital correspondences and yet he’s already positively smitten through the computer screen.
“I’m Not Looking For A Mail-Order Bride. I Just Want Somebody I Can Have A Decent Conversation With Over Dinner Without It Falling Down Into Weepy Tears Over Some Movie!” – Sleepless In Seattle
Ironic given the quote, Sleepless in Seattle is a movie that’s been known to make us a little weepy, especially the scenes of Tom Hanks’s character Sam Baldwin trying to move on from the death of his beloved wife. (And, if you remember, Sam’s tearjerker of choice is The Dirty Dozen. Trini Lopez!)
“You Say You Are Waiting For Something. And I Say To You, ‘Yes, Yes. We All Wait’…You. I Wait For You.” – The Terminal
If you have to get stuck in John F. Kennedy Airport for months on end due to governmental restrictions, at least you can fall in love with Catherine Zeta-Jones while you wait — at least you can if you’re Viktor Navorski in Steven Spielberg’s 2004 dramedy The Terminal. CZJ plays Amelia, a United Airlines flight attendant that Hanks’s Viktor sweetly woos during his long stay at JFK.
“Hey, You Want To Bump Into Me On, Say, Saturday Around Lunchtime? Over There?” – You’ve Got Mail
Sure, his big-box bookstore was going to sadly put her sweet little Shop Around the Corner out of business but You’ve Got Mail‘s Joe Fox still had enough charm and charisma — plus a smooth pick-up line or two — to ultimately win Kathleen Kelly over.
“What Is ‘Tiramisu’?…Some Woman Is Gonna Want Me To Do It To Her And I’m Not Gonna Know What It Is!” – Sleepless In Seattle
Any script written by the late, great Nora Ephron — whom Hanks has praised for her strong, singular vision — is seasoned with delicious little nuggets of humor, and that’s certainly the case with the entire “tiramisu” scene from Sleepless in Seattle. Having been out of the dating scene for a while, Tom Hanks’s recently widowed character frets that “tiramisu” is some trendy intimate act he never learned about, rather than a creamy Italian dessert.
“Oh, No, She’s Beautiful, But She’s A Pill.” – You’ve Got Mail
Even though they spend much of You’ve Got Mail butting heads, Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) can still concede to his gym mate Kevin (Dave Chappelle) that his bookstore rival Kathleen Kelly has considerable charms. How could he not? She’s played by Meg Ryan, for crying out loud!
“I Love You, Too! I’ve Never Been In Love With Anybody Before, Either! It’s Great! I’m Glad! But The Timing Stinks. I’ve Gotta Go!” – Joe Versus the Volcano
A case of bad timing has been a roadblock for many a rom-com hero. but Joe Banks’s was especially bad: after being diagnosed with an incurable disease called a “brain cloud,” he let a wealthy industrialist named Samuel Graynamore (Lloyd Bridges) pay out the rest of his life, so long as Joe jumped into a volcano within 20 days. He agreed, but only because he hadn’t fallen in love with Patricia (Meg Ryan) yet!
“I Never Did. I Mean, The Whole Idea Of An Afterlife…But Now, I Don’t Know. ‘Cause I Have These Dreams. About Your Mom. And We Have These Long Talks About You And How You’re Doing, Which She Sort Of Knows, But I Tell Her Anyway. So What Is That? That’s Sort Of An Afterlife, Isn’t It?” – Sleepless in Seattle
In one scene of Sleepless in Seattle, Sam’s young son Jonah (Ross Malinger) asks his father if he believes in heaven and the afterlife, an especially poignant question since the boy recently lost his mother. Sam’s response is a touching meditation on grief, a topic that isn’t explored all that often in romantic comedies.
“Wouldn’t It Be Wonderful If I Could Pass All My Zingers To You? And Then I Would Never Behave Badly And You Could Behave Badly All The Time, And We’d Both Be Happy.” – You’ve Got Mail
Much of the connection between Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly in You’ve Got Mail is actually between their e-mail alter egos “NY152” and “Shopgirl.” And despite having never met in person (or so they think), their digital correspondences get deep, like this one when they delve into the “Pandora’s box of all the secret, hateful parts” of themselves.
“Don’t You Think I Know That, Frank? Don’t You Think I Am Aware There Is A Woman Here? I Can Smell Her, Like, Like A Flower. I Can Taste Her, Like Sugar On My Tongue. When I’m 20 Feet Away I Can Hear The Fabric Of Her Dress When She Moves In Her Chair!” – Joe Versus the Volcano
Meg Ryan plays three different characters in Joe Versus the Volcano, one of whom is DeDe, the coworker of our titular Joe, who not only quits his job in dramatic fashion when told he only has a few months to live, but also finally reveals his true feelings about DeDe — and the terrible office coffee.
“I Don’t Ask For Much. I Don’t Ask To Be Rich, And I Don’t Ask To Be Famous, And I Don’t Ask To Play Center Field For The New York Yankees. I Just Want To Meet A Woman, And I Want To Fall In Love, And I Want To Get Married, And I Want To Have A Kid, And I Want To Go See Him Be A Tooth In The School Play!” – Splash
Allen’s life goals are pretty simple in Splash but get significantly more complicated when the woman he meets and falls in love with isn’t an ordinary woman at all, but a magical mermaid who looks like the extraordinarily beautiful Daryl Hannah and just happens to have saved his life from drowning as a boy.
“I Am Not Going To New York To Meet Some Woman Who Could Be A Crazy, Sick Lunatic. Didn’t You See ‘Fatal Attraction?’” – Sleepless In Seattle
The rom-com genre is riddled with romantic grand gestures, the kind of thing that most ordinary people wouldn’t even consider doing in real life — which is why it’s doubly funny that Tom Hanks’s character rants about that very trope in Sleepless in Seattle, a movie that features one of the best big gestures of the genre.
“I Came Home Tonight And Got Into The Elevator To Go To My Apartment. An Hour Later, I Got Out Of The Elevator, And Brinkley And I Moved Out. Suddenly, Everything Had Become Clear. It’s A Long Story, Full Of The Personal Details We Avoid So Carefully. Let Me Just Say There Was A Man Sitting In The Elevator With Me Who Knew Exactly What He Wanted, And I Found Myself Wishing I Were As Lucky As He.” – Youve Got Mail
Anyone watching You’ve Got Mail knows that Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) and Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) are ultimately meant for each other, but as is rom-com tradition, both characters are in other relationships before they realize who they’re really meant to be with. For Hanks’s Joe, that realization about his superficial and self-absorbed girlfriend Patricia Eden (Parker Posey) occurs after a chance elevator encounter.
“You, don’t chit. She’s a nice girl. She won’t take your chitting.” – The Terminal
The cute flirtation between Tom Hanks’s wayward traveler Viktor Navorski and Catherine Zeta-Jones flight attendant Amelia Warren isn’t the only romance to be found in The Terminal. Diego Luna stars as the airport’s food service deliverer Enrique Cruz, who harbors feelings for immigration officer Dolores Torres (Zoe Saldana). In one funny scene, a heavily accented Viktor warns Enrique never to “chit,” or cheat, on his crush.
“I’m Gonna Get Out Of Bed Every Morning…Breathe In And Out All Day Long. Then After A While, I Won’t Have To Remind Myself To Get Out Of Bed Every Morning And Breathe In And Out. And Then After A While, I Won’t Have To Think About How I Had It Great And Perfect For A While.” – Sleepless In Seattle
Throughout Sleepless in Seattle, Meg Ryan’s Annie and her friends are all transfixed by the love story of Sam (Tom Hanks) and his late wife Maggie, which the widower has been recounting on a radio talk show. When asked by the host whether Sam could love again after losing his wife, he offers up this touching response about dealing with grief.
“Oh, Madison. All The Time We Were Together, You Always Knew How I Was Feeling. Can’t You Tell Now?” – Splash
Some rom-coms jokingly touch on relationship dealbreakers, those things that automatically disqualify a potential dating partner. But sweetly, in the movie Splash, the reveal that Daryl Hannah’s character Madison is actually a mermaid doesn’t automatically disqualify Tom Hanks’s Allen from loving her.
“How Can You Forgive This Guy For Standing You Up And Not Forgive Me For This Tiny Little Thing Of Putting You Out Of Business? Oh, How I Wish You Would.” – You’ve Got Mail
In one memorable scene of You’ve Got Mail, Meg Ryan’s “Shopgirl” and Tom Hanks’s “NY152” finally plan to meet in real life but the latter stands her up — well, sort of. Joe Fox, the man behind the NY152 email address, does show up, but Kathleen doesn’t know that the pen pal she’s falling for is also her bookstore rival. Thankfully, when the realization hits in the third act, Kathleen forgives Joe for both of the above grievances.
“You Know, Horace Was Right About You, Guy; You Are The Smart One. Lenny Is The Fool, Jimmy Is The Talent, And Faye Is…Well, Now, Faye Is Special, Isn’t She? And You Are The Smart One. That’s What I Think, Anyway.” – That Thing You Do!
Sure, the 1996 fan favorite That Thing You Do! is more of a musical comedy than a traditional rom-com, but there are definitely sweet romantic elements throughout, particularly the relationship between drummer Guy (Tom Everett Scott) and costume mistress Faye (Liv Tyler), a chemistry that The Wonders band manager Mr. White (Tom Hanks) shrewdly picks up on.
Some of the most memorable scenes from You’ve Got Mail feature the e-mail musings between mystery pen pals Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) and Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan), and one of our favorites is this Joni Mitchell-related sequence. Of course, the folk legend has featured on many a movie soundtrack and has rom-com clout, thanks to that teary Emma Thompson breakdown in Love Actually.
“Amelia, Would You Like An Eat To Bite?” – The Terminal
A traveler from Krakozhia, Viktor Navorski isn’t entirely fluent in English when he gets detained at JFK for months on end. This makes it all the more charming when he practices over and over again how he’ll ask his crush, flight attendant Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones), out for dinner.
“I Would Have Asked For Your Number, And I Wouldn’t Have Been Able To Wait 24 Hours Before Calling You Up And Saying, ‘Hey, How About – Oh, How About Some Coffee Or, You Know, Drinks Or Dinner Or A Movie…For As Long As We Both Shall Live?'” – You’ve Got Mail
What would have happened, Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) wistfully wonders at the end of You’ve Got Mail, if he hadn’t been Fox Books and Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) hadn’t been The Shop Around the Corner, and they had just, well, met. The only thing they would fight about would be which video to rent on a Saturday night, he tells her.
“So How’s My Butt?…Is It Cute, Though?” – Sleepless In Seattle
In Sleepless in Seattle, Jay (Rob Reiner) is the source of much dating advice to his friend Sam (Tom Hanks). When Jay tells Sam that “women are looking for: pecs and a cute butt,” the latter gets hilariously self-conscious about the cuteness of his own derrière.
“Pride And Prejudice. I Bet You Read That Book Every Year. I Bet You Just Love That… Mr. Darcy, And Your Sentimental Heart Beats Widely At The Thought That He And…Well, You Know, Whatever Her Name Is, Are Truly, Honestly Going To End Up Together.” – You’ve Got Mail
You’ve Got Mail‘s Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) is correct in guessing that bookstore owner Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) — and every other woman, for that matter — loves the classic Jane Austen romance Pride and Prejudice. But it does seem like the Fox Books boss could have paid a bit more attention in those Lit 101 classes back at school, huh?
“Dear God, Whose Name I Do Not Know, Thank You For My Life. I Forgot How BIG…Thank You. Thank You For My Life.” – Joe Versus the Volcano
If you need a welcome reminder about the beauty of life, encountering a stunningly massive moon while being stuck on a raft in the middle of the ocean and slowly growing delirious from thirst will surely do it. Luckily, Joe Versus the Volano‘s titular character eventually drifts to land, but never loses that sense of gratitude.
“Mommy Got Sick. And It Happened Just Like That. There Was Nothing Anybody Could Do. It Isn’t Fair. There’s No Reason. But If We Start Asking Why, We’ll Go Crazy.” – Sleepless In Seattle
The 1993 rom-com classic Sleepless in Seattle follows Sam Baldwin (Tom Hanks), who has recently lost his wife and is now a single father to eight-year-old Jonah (Ross Malinger). In navigating his own heartbreaking grief, Sam offers up some hard-earned wisdom to his young son, as well as the audience.
“Don’t Cry, Shopgirl. Don’t Cry.” – You’ve Got Mail
The finale of You’ve Got Mail sees Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) and Kathleen Kelly (Meg Ryan) finally discovering the identity of each other’s e-mail soulmate. Thankfully, despite her tears, Kathleen is actually very happy at the reveal, telling Joe: “I wanted it to be you.”