Breezy period piece wrapped around a catchy song

Rating: 7/10 (19 October 2010)

When I saw this movie advertised in the theaters back in 1996, I rolled my eyes in great disdain. For one thing the advertising banner - "In every life there comes a time when that dream you dream becomes that thing you do" hit me the wrong way. After all, 95% of us never wind up doing the dream we dream...there is no WHEN in our lives for this event. Plus, I just figured it was an attempt by Tom Hanks to go highbrow via a directorial debut after those back-to-back Academy Awards.
When I finally got around to seeing the film I really loved it. The first half is very upbeat as the band gets started out. They truly are the "One-ders", just like many other bands of the Beatles' transitional era. They wrote and performed one song that got them national attention, and then couldn't follow up with anything else. That's too bad, because the band does get one lucky break after another at the start. The guy in the camper that shoves a bowl of stew and a contract in front of them and tells them to "trust me" could have had them signing anything. They got lucky that he was legitimate and really did intend to get the record on the air and not steal it from them. That's what makes the disintegration of the band at the end so sad. One by one, they just walk away from their dream. To me, if the movie had any flaw, it was this - the band members just acted like the whole thing was one big amusement park ride rather than a once-in-a-lifetime life changing opportunity.
Finally, I also loved all of the authentic looking stage designs. The home appliance store really brought back memories. These type of family owned appliance stores were all over the place back in the 1960's before the big box stores gradually made them extinct. Plus, the appliances being sold looked just like what was available in 1964 right down to the brand names and the styles.