THAT THING YOU DO!
A film review by A. S. Lenahan
Copyright 1996 A. S. Lenahan
/1996/MPAA:"PG"
rating: 7.94 (of 10)
THAT THING YOU DO! is the latest Tom Hanks film (meaning that it will more than likely be box-office gold). Past that, it is a good, but not great, musical comedy. It is entertaining, fun, a crowd-pleaser, but also unoriginal and ultimately unmemorable. The largest stumbling block is the weak story, but the music, acting, and sets/costumes make THAT THING YOU DO! an enjoyable evening at the movies. However, I doubt any of that matters... this film will do well because of the involvement of Tom Hanks as writer, director, contributing songwriter, and actor. The plot is simple and eternally familiar. Set in 1964, a talented group of young musicians form a band, win a talent competition, and (what else?) rocket to instant stardom. A movie based on this formula comes out every two years or so, so if you miss this one, dont fret (although youll also miss Tom Hanks! Horrors!). The script is so reminiscent of so many other films, one wonders if screenwriter Hanks might have used some kind of fill-in-the-blanks screenplay template... sort of a Hollywood "Mad Libs". The band is named the Oneders (later the Wonders), the four lads play a catchy tune called "That Thing You Do", and the song is recorded as a record. Along the way, we learn all the expected lessons: music producers are sleazy, all glory is fleeting, the film industry is shallow, etc. Surprisingly, the film spares us the moral about eating all our vegetables, but not by much. All the characters are based on others from some other film or television show. The Wonders are the Beatles (the movie itself even hints at this). Theres a typical over-emotional girlfriend (played by Liv Tyler). The role Hanks wrote for himself is surprisingly unglamourous: hes a sleazy music producer, loosely based other similar shady charactersfrom other films. Theres even a philosophical Jazz musician, surely familiar to anyone who remembers Bleeding Gums Murphy from "The Simpsons". Actually, the plot is not a bad one, but certainly not original or fresh by any means. The acting is quite good, despite the small number of big names in the cast. All four of the Wonders have individual personality, and are all very likable. When I saw TTYD! in a theatre, the audience applauded after every big musical number, a good sign for a film obviously intended as a crowd-pleaser. Hanks gives a fine performance despite his stiff, unemotional character. Tyler is suitably whiny as well, but her character doesnt really become important until the end, although a better script could have changed that. On a trivial note, vigilant viewers may be able to spot the guy from the "Aaron Burr" milk commercial as a fan. Collectively, the acting adds a lot to the enjoyability of this movie. The most important aspect of TTYD! is the music. The title tune sounds as though it were pulled from some mid-sixties vinyl record. Its a catchy, memorable tune, so the audience might find it running over and over in their head even after the credits roll. The rest of the soundtrack is a mixed bag; the pop music might take you back, but the stilted, plastic jazz will leave any fan cold. Oddly enough, some of the music credit goes to Hanks (Im surprised he didnt try to be the gaffer or key grip as well...). TTYD! is a music film, so the expectations are high, but the movie never disappoints. Where the true charm of TTYD! lies is in the great nostalgic sets and costumes. Although the flashiest sets are the television studios and hotels later in the film, my favourite was the electronics store where it opens. The authenticity of that set alone enhanced the movie experience, at least for me. The glistening pastel appliances, the props, advertisement displays, even the overall washed-out look--if that scene doesnt take you back to the mid-sixties, nothing will. The costumes are equally well-crafted, although perhaps less spectacular. The visual look of TTYD! has a certain realness rarely seen in other period piece films. Obviously, TTYD! is not for those who demand a brilliant plot, but it remains a fun and engaging movie. Its intended as a fun film, and accomplishes just that. If only the plot offered *something* new. Anything...
Ratings on a 1.00-10.00 scale. 1.00=terrible; 5.00=average;10.00=great. A.S. Lenahan -- Camp Hill, PA USA 09/30/96 10:17 PM email:Ska999@worldnet.att.net website:http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/4195
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews