Director Hanks and his producers, who include Jonathan Demme, must have realized that the narrative was undernourished and that some characters, particularly the women, were underdeveloped, for they have given their movie a wonderfully brisk tempo, shifting the story from one locale to another with great ease and panache. Pic’s first half relies too heavily on the kind of montages that have become not only familiar but obligatory. Miraculously, the energetic music and evocative settings manage to keep the slender yarn afloat whenever it threatens to reveal its hollow center. Indeed, all the emotional tensions, within and outside the group, occur in the very last sequence, including a heartfelt breakup between talented individualistic songwriter Jimmy and his g.f., Faye (Liv Tyler), who has been the band’s unofficial fifth member and its best audience. The exploration of what happens to a provincial rock band that has only one hit song is nicely executed, though it takes a whole reel for the story to begin gathering some momentum. Pic ends in dreamyland California, with the band appearing on the “Hollywood TV Showcase” and making a beach party movie before disintegrating, with two of its members quitting the music world altogether. Under his guidance, their song rockets to the top of the charts and they go on a national tour. White (Hanks), a tough but savvy record executive, who immediately changes their name to the Wonders and methodically instructs them on how to dress, how to deliver a song, how to behave like celebs on talkshows. What follows is an episodic chronicle that is as shallow as it is engaging, a collective portrait of the white boys in the band from the early days, when they were called the One-Ders and performed in local pizza joints, to their rise to fame and ultimate collapse all in a matter of months.ĭramatic turning point occurs when the band is introduced to Mr. Opportunity knocks when a local drummer breaks his arm and Guy is approached by songwriter Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech), guitarist Lenny (Steve Zahn), and the energetic Bass Player (Ethan Embry) to replace him. Clearly, though, his heart has been set on music ever since he listened to a jazz album by Del Paxton (Bill Cobbs). Set in Erie, Pa., yarn begins in Patterson’s appliance store, where Guy (Tom Everett Scott) helps his very conservative dad sell TV sets, washing machines and vacuum cleaners. Script was apparently inspired by a true incident from the Beatles chronicles when, during a tour to Japan and Australia, a sick Ringo was replaced with a guy named Jimmy Nichols. Hanks situates his tale shortly after JFK’s assassination, in February ’64, a month vividly remembered in pop culture for the landmark appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. While no threat in quality or appeal to “American Graffiti ,” still the quintessential end of innocence movie, and its many offshoots, “That Thing You Do” charts similar terrain, except that it’s set in l964, instead of 1962. The best thing to be said about Hanks’ feature debut is that it bears all the elements that have made him a movie star: boyish charm, natural ease, comic precision and, above all, generosity of spirit. At 39, with two consecutive Oscars and five blockbusters in a row to his credit, he’s probably Hollywood’s most gifted and popular star. It makes perfect sense that Hanks, who’s now in the prime of his acting career, would want to try his hand at directing. A feel-good movie that served as the fitting closing-night attraction at the 21st Toronto Film Festival, pic is a nostalgic crowd-pleaser that’s likely to win the hearts of both younger and older viewers, domestically and abroad.
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