A familiar tale, but oh so fun...!

Rating: 9/10 (27 January 2003)

Sure the story of a one-hit wonder rock'n'roll band has been told before, but so what? This movie is fun, fun, fun!
One reviewer commented, upon first release of this movie, that "if you're going to feature a single song several times in a movie, it better be a damn good one" (or something along those lines...). 'That Thing You Do' certainly is a catchy song.
Kudos to Tom the director for making his actors learn their instruments and actually BECOME a real band for the movie. That way, the titular song doesn't become repetitive because we get to hear the 'evolution' of the song's arrangement over the course of the story. Starting of course with the simplified garage version all the way to the slick and assured rendition on the television showcase appearance.
Lest we forget, they had other songs in their repertoire as well. Many of them were co-written by Mr. Hanks. Is there no end to this man's talents?
This movie was obviously a labour of love for Tom Hanks, and it shows. I don't think he had any illusions about it becoming a blockbuster or having it significantly add to his income in any way. I think he just wanted to give us a glimpse into what could have been had he taken a slightly different career path in his life. And for that, I for one am grateful.