An Impressive Directorial Debut for Tom Hanks

Rating: 8/10 (1 February 2007)

THAT THING YOU DO! was a warm and affectionate valentine to the world of pop music in the 1960's which marked the directorial debut of two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks. Hanks lovingly examines a phenomenon that was practically an epidemic in the music world in the 60's...the "One-Hit Wonder." This film is the story of a garage band in a small town who call themselves The Oneders who have perfected a nice little ballad called "That thing you do." The night they perform the song publicly for the first time, the drummer doubles the tempo and, as an up tune, the song is a smash. They record it and it even gets radio play. The group then meets a Mr. White (Hanks), who agrees to manage the group and get them national exposure. He changes their name to The Wonders because they keep getting introduced as "The Oneeders" and books them on tours of state fairs and even gets them on TV and in a beach party movie, all on the strength of this one song, but when the group pressures White to make another record, that's where the problems begin. This movie accurately portrays the way a musical act in the 60's was able to catapult to stardom on the strength of one record and then disappear forever. The film is beautifully mounted, with imaginative direction by Hanks and Oscar-worthy art and costume design. Tom Everett Scott lights up the screen as Guy, the drummer whose change of tempo changes the lives of the group forever. The film also features impressive turns by Jonathan Schaech as the arrogant lead singer, Steve Zahn as the fun-loving empty-headed guitarist and Liv Tyler as Schaech's girlfriend. Take note of my favorite scene in the film where the members of the group hear their song on the radio for the very first time...the joy depicted here is infectious as is this film, which proved to be an impressive directorial debut for Tom Hanks.