Tom Hanks performs 'Full House' slam poetry on 'Late Night'

By Meredith Blake

Oct. 24, 2012 12 AM PT

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that before he started winning lots of Oscars, Tom Hanks was primarily known as a funny man -- something he reminded viewers of Tuesday on “Late Night.”

During a visit to promote his latest high-minded, Oscar-baiting film, “Cloud Atlas, Hanks performed a spot-on slam poem about “Full House,” the late ‘80s/early ‘90s sitcom that unleashed the Olsen twins on the world.

Dressed in a simple black turtleneck, Hanks delivered a poem that reimagined “Beach Boy Bingo,” the classic episode in which young DJ scores tickets to see Uncle Jesse’s favorite band in concert, as a feminist parable about growing up in a patriarchal society. (What? You never thought of it that way?)

“And the men become boys, Beach Boys, as they go to the show where they sing ‘Kokomo, Kokomo, there’s where I want to go, to get away from it all,’” Hanks said, referring to this scene. But, he wondered, from what were they trying to escape. “From this male-dominated world, this testosterone-soaked full house. This house full of men.”

“Full House” fans will appreciate Hanks’ references to Kimmy Gibbler and “Good Morning, San Francisco,” and especially his command of the show’s numerous catchphrases, including “Have mercy,” “How rude!” and “Cut it out!”

Man, that Hanks sure is one heavy cat.

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