![]() The film's title track was written by Schlesinger, who was the Emmy-winning songwriter and bassist in Fountains of Wayne. ![]() GET YOUR COPY OF THE MOVIE READY, and at 4pmEST/7pmPST, THIS FRIDAY sign on to the YouTube channel LINKED IN MY BIO! (Photo credit to this image goes to the awesome !)Ī post shared by Ethan Embry on at 10:02am PDT As the grouchy manager with the heart of gold, Hanks himself does a nice backup turn.OH MY GOODNESS!! This Friday, April 17th at 4pm PST/7pm EST THE BAND IS BACK TOGETHER!! We are throwing a community watch party of #ThatThingYouDo and a live streamed YouTube commentary with myself and many more!! We are going to raise money for MusicCares #COVIDrelief fund, in honor of #AdamSchlesinger, who wrote and recorded the title song and sadly, passed away last week due to COVID-19. As the wide-eyed girl who tags along with the group, Liv Tyler is fetching and subdued, while Zahn’s performance as the clownish Lenny also is appealing. The chief wonder of this rock ‘n’ roll cast is Tom Everett Scott, whose easy charisma, dreamy smile and undersurface intelligence should shoot him up the acting charts like a bullet. Like Howard, he’s winningly middle-class in his values and just a tad off-center in his sensibility. Full of easy Monkees-like shines, it’s not surprising that first-time director Hanks’ major influence seems to be his former TV director and first big-movie director. There’s no dark side to this story, no devilish snarl about getting no “Satisfaction.” It’s upbeat and utterly predictable (in a positive way) but it’s also a bit pat and elemental, in large part owing to Hanks’ bland-band characters.Īlthough Hanks flashes a gentle satiric sensibility and even takes a run at a Richard Lester Hard Day’s Night sort of sequence, this rock ‘n’ roll roadshow is mostly akin tonally and aesthetically to early Ron Howard, namely Happy Days. It’s clearly Guy, with his laid-back savvy, who is the band’s catalyst, a fact clearly evident to the crotchet label man (Tom Hanks) who signs them up.īasically, this story tune is The Commitments set in mid-1960s white-bread America, and Hanks’ script is chorded in I-IV-V simplicity. The unspoken group leader and songwriter, Jimmy ( Johnathon Schaech), who sports Paul’s choir-boy gleam and couples it with John’s pugnacious, spread-legged stage stance, unfortunately has neither of their magical qualities, flashing no charm nor demonstrating any countercultural intelligence.įront man Jimmy, down to basics, is a drip, and, at best, the other players are nondescript, although Lenny (Steve Zahn) does flash some wry, Lennon-ish wit. Indeed, in this nostalgic romp, writer-director Hanks has done everything but outfit The Wonders in Beatle boots, and it’s fun to pick out the Beatle traits. You don’t have to read Billboard, however, to predict these bland Wonders will end up, like so many groups, as a “one-hit wonder.” And, with its zesty bass line and black-girl-group harmonies, “That Thing You Do!” is infectious. If you saw that Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, you’ll recognize that Hanks has propped up The Wonders in a basic Beatles alignment: Positioned on their separate circular stage islands with their sharp suits, smiley faces and non-threatening exuberance, they bubble forth with their kicky, happy tune. They’ve even decided on a name, The Wonders. In the grand, garage-band tradition, they win a local talent contest with their one original song, “That Thing You Do!” and from there it’s onward and upward to spaghetti joints and state fairs. More Joe Morello than Ringo Starr in his drumming, Guy nevertheless joins up with a local rock band when the regular drummer breaks his arm. ![]() Although Hanks doesn’t star, his spittin‘ image appears in the lanky and curly-trussed form of Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott), a twentyish drummer who toils away in his father’s Erie, Pennsylvania, hardware store.
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