![]() ![]() When he dons sunglasses for the act, he acquires the nickname of Shades and becomes the band's main heartthrob. ![]() The performers are a sweet-natured bunch, particularly Scott (clearly a Hanks alter ego), who stumbles into this popularity thing, surprised but unfazed. The movie is playful, winning and surprisingly delicate. "That Thing You Do!," which Hanks conceived after watching a Beatles documentary, takes great care to reproduce the atmosphere and decor of the period. White (Tom Hanks), who charts their meteoric future: a tour of state fairs, a recording contract and a hit single. The crowd loves it, the group wins the show, and they realize they're on to a good thing. Putting an up-tempo beat on their signature song, "That Thing You Do!," he makes them sound like a million bucks. When a local rock band, led by songwriter Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech), needs to replace its drummer for a talent show, he agrees to fill in. Set during the mid-1960s, the story centers on Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott), a quiet jazz drum student who works at his father's electronic appliance store in Erie, Pa. The movie's also buoyed by the title song, whose Beatles sound is infectious enough to merit a real hit. First-time writer/director Tom Hanks stays about a half-beat ahead of the cliches with rim shots of boyish enthusiasm and deft comedy. But in "That Thing You Do!" the four neophytes who top the charts with their first single are so appealing, the familiarities are transformed. The moment you will fall in love with the film: When the band’s song first gets played on the radio.LET'S FACE IT: A pop band's rise to success is hardly the most original idea to grace a movie. It’s a forgotten gem this soundtrack and I’ve recently added it to my iTunes so I can get the songs stuck in my head all over again. All the fictional music bands in the film are based on bands from the early 60’s, taking inspiration from The Beach Boys, The Beatles, the Supremes etc. I remember going straight to the record store after watching this film to buy the soundtrack. I’ll always re-watch a movie if it has the added bonus of great music and That Thing You Do certainly delivers. As the film follows the band from local talent show to their appearance on the Hollywood Television Showcase, everything from the props to the typography to the music is spot on. With an endless supply of hilarious one-linerss, the film keeps you smiling all the way through. Hanks really captures the earnesty and innocence of a pre-LSD 60′s when bubblegum pop songs ruled the world. Tom Hanks plays Mr.White, the suave manager of a band who finds fame with their one-hit wonder “That Thing You Do!” and ironically, or not, the band is called ‘The Wonders’. The plot follows a small-town band that scores a hit in 1964 and rides the star-making machinery as long as it can and stars Tom Hanks himself, the lovely Tyler and even Charlize Theron and Giovanni Ribisi make early career appearances, plus musician Chris Isaak makes a cameo.įavorite movie quote: “ I want something peppy, something happy, something up-tempo. It’s totally safe for boyfriends (tried & tested: he loved it). What a time traveling treat! Infectious and completely loveable, this is the perfect Sunday night movie to watch with friends or your other half. Suddenly, all the kitschy 60s details, the colors and the music meant so much more. Despite barely being able to restrain myself from quoting the entire film word for word, in a way I felt like I was also watching it for the first time. Last night, some sixteen years after I wore out my childhood VHS copy, I watched the film again with someone else who hadn’t seen it. I wasn’t particularly interested in 60s culture at the time but this film, a tribute to the spirit of the music and culture at the height of Beatlemania, opened my eyes. In 1996, when I was about eleven years-old, (yikes, the mid-nighties was more than five years ago?) I went to the cinema one Friday night to watch Hanks’ directorial debut. So I’m hoping there are a few of you out there who missed this little-known Tom Hanks film called That Thing You Do. ![]() One of my favorite things in life is finding someone who hasn’t seen one of my favorite movies of all time. ![]()
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