One-derful!(the soundtrack rocks too!)

Rating: 10/10 (18 July 2001)

An excellent story about a better time with better music. A small band from Erie, PA in 1964 are about to perform their ballad "That Thing You Do" at a local talent show. With less than a day to come up with a name, (they decide on the One-ders) their drummer breaks his arm. The replacement: "Erie's lone beatnik" lovable Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott). Starting the song at the talent show, Guy gets a catchy beat in his head and starts playing it. The more upbeat, "snappier" version of the song becomes an instant hit and the newly-named Wonders are signed to Play-Tone Records and led to huge success by their manager, Mr. White (Tom Hanks). Jimmy (Johnathon Shaech), the band's serious lead singer and songwriter insists for quite some time that it's still "too fast". Also in the band are Lenny (Steve Zahn), the hilarious guitarist who takes nothing seriously and is probably just in the band to meet girls. Then there's the cute bass player (Ethan Embry) who doesn't really say much and enlisted in the Marines before the band's success (he sadly has to report to South Carolina at the end of August but ends up in Disneyland). One of the running jokes of the film is that the bass player was never given a name. Liv Tyler gives a wonderful performance as Faye, Jimmy's girlfriend and the band's hugest fan (She's allowed on the tour as their "costume mistress"). With this sudden success and a record literally climbing the charts, not to mention a part in a major motion picture, how long will the band stay together to continue doing that thing they do?