Hanks has a true grasp of early 60's America

Rating: 9/10 (9 February 2002)

From the opening sequence introducing Guy Patterson's mundane life working in the family appliance business I knew that writer/director Tom Hanks knew this era like a pair of comfortable old shoes and slipped them on and took us on a too brief walk through small town America in the early sixties. The opening song "Loving You Lots and Lots" playing over the opening credits and establishing sequences really set the tone when "Safe" music could still be popular alongside "evil" rock-and-roll. I felt like I stepped into a time machine and what was really impressive to me was the fact that ALL the songs used in the movie were all originals! Not a single archive song was used to set the time frame. This little movie deserves more respect and I would love to have the Powers That Be issue a special DVD version sometime in the near future with a Tom Hanks commentary. So why a 9 and not a 10? Liv Tyler's role wasn't as solid a character as it could have been. No, not liberated as such but maybe a bit less whiny during the break up scene. I didn't really like her character untill right at the end when she and Guy get together. A very comfortable movie.