"That Thing" is wonderfully done with irresistible style and substance

Rating: 9/10 (5 February 2002)

That Thing You Do! (1996): There are so many great things about this film that it's impossible to single out just one. The script, the acting, the characters...to paraphrase that old car commercial, who could ask for anything more? Oh, and throw in some pretty darn addictive music to boot. Add everything together, stir well and the result is a terrific directorial debut for Tom Hanks. "That Thing You Do!" tells the tale of a (fictitious) band, The Wonders, who literally become an overnight sensation after winning a talent competition and soon find themselves experiencing the highs  not to mention the lows  of becoming rock stars. The band members  Guy (Tom Everett Scott), Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech), Lenny (Steve Zahn), and the unnamed bass player (Ethan Embry) are perfectly cast, as are supporting characters such as Jimmy's girlfriend Faye (Liv Tyler), Guy's brusque father (Holmes Osborne), mattress tycoon Boss Vic Koss (Kevin Pollak), down-on-his-luck drummer Chad (Giovanni Ribisi), jazz great Del Paxton (Bill Cobbs), with the best being Lamarr the hotel doorman (Obba Babatunde). Despite Hanks' considerably large amount of screen time as the band's manager, his role is restrained enough so as not to overshadow the film's young players. The acting is superbly enhanced by the terrific script; the dialogue is razor-sharp and at times very humorous, with the funniest moments involving the conception of the band's name (spelled "The One-ders" early on as a gag on the Beatles, it's constantly mispronounced as "The O-neders" before finally being changed to the literal spelling). Nothing ever resorts to condescension, explicit language or sensuality, or forced comedy. You can't help but share in the Wonders' ecstasy when they hear their single on the radio for the first time. The title song never gets boring even though it's played a grand total of 11 times (yet only twice in its entirety). The production design is outstanding, especially Guy's father's appliance store (where did they find all those gadgets?). TTYD is recommended viewing for any budding rock band, or simply for those who want to travel back to a time when music wasn't polluted with countless no-talent, assembly-line boy bands, misogynist rappers, and the like. Finally, we have a feel-good movie that actually lives up to that otherwise overused title. 9/10