Name: Retro Film Review: That Thing You Do! (1996)
Item: That Thing You Do!
Rating: 50
Author: @drax

(source: tmdb.org)

Tom Hanks is, by all criteria, one of the most successful Hollywood actors today – he won two Oscars in a row, audience flocks to his films and even the critics love him. However, like many of his colleagues, Hanks has decided to diversify his work and try his hand at screenwriting and directing, probably aware that such endeavour is not going to have same level of success as acting. Therefore, he had to choose his screenwriting and directorial debut very carefully and his choice was That Thing You Do!, 1996 period music drama.

The plot of the film begin in 1964, immediately after the famous British Invasion when every American rock band tried to emulate Beatles. Guy Patterson (played by Tom Everett Scott) is young man who works in his father's appliance store and practices drumming in spare time, prefering jazz to rock. He nevertheless accepts invitation to replace injured guitarist of The Oneders, local rock band, and his addition to band results in slow ballad "That Thing You Do" getting faster tempo and becoming instant hit. Onenders are quickly taken over by experienced Playtone Records manager Mr. White (played by Tom Hanks) and he guides them through quick rise on pop charts that would culminate in Hollywood. After becoming national stars, band members start having their own ideas about band's future, which results in inevitable and equally quick break-up.

Phrase "one hit wonder" is mentioned in this film, so some critics would be tempted to think of That Thing You Do! as Tom Hanks' satire of Hollywood hype machine and its ability to create instant deities out of thin air. Hanks, however, had something completely different in mind - to pay homage to the pop idols of his youth and give nostalgic portrayal of era not marred by things like Vietnam War, race riots, drugs or oil shortages. In doing so, Hanks sacrificed character complexity, but at least some period details are right, including the music. "That Thing You Do" is perfect song for this film - it is catchy enough and it could be played in different ways, so despite being presented to audience in 11 different incarnations throughout film, it is never annoying - fate that "Beautiful Maria" of Mambo Kings didn't escape. The acting of the film is good, although Liv Tyler's groupie character could have been left on the cutting room floor. Yet, despite all the talents involved and despite lame attempts to tell some kind of "truth" about 1960s "one hit wonders", That Thing You Do!, although generally entertaing, still lacks the affection displayed by makers of American Graffiti, another film that reminded Americans of some distant and presumably happier times.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on October 29th 2003)