As you or even anyone might know, this is without a doubt my first classic review I have ever done on this blog. This section will tribute and also honor the films that have significance in my eyes as one of the best or celebrate an important event, anniversary, or birthday that will encompass around a film which will be significant towards myself to that event alone. (For example, Robert Zemeckis is celebrating his 69th birthday on May 14, therefore I must do a review of Forrest Gump on that day.)
The very first classic review I am going to do would none other than be the uproarious directorial debut of Tom Hanks released in 1996, That Thing You Do!. The society of the film industry back then in the mid-1990s would not perspect Tom as a legit director since he has been doing popular movies back then like Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, Philadelphia, A League of Their Own and Sleepless in Seattle. Well, the interesting thing would be that Tom Hanks chose to direct that film because most of his childhood was listening to the good ol’ days of rock n’ roll like Chuck Berry and obviously The Beatles.
The film tells the story of an aspiring Pennsylvania-originated drummer (Tom Everett Scott), whom is interested in playing drums in a smooth jazz band. He gets asked by two people at a talent show to be seated as a replacement for their original drummer since he broke his arm for trying to jump over a parking meter. That immediately leads them to call themselves “The Oneders”, where people can mistakenly call them “The O-nee-ders” since the wording can look goofy to them. Eventually, their act became an instant success in the talent show therefore the band winning the talent show competition. The rest of the film itself showcases themselves being a one-hit wonder band showing both their fame and fortune with the fictional mega-smash hit “That Thing You Do!”, then also showing their massive down sides after that as well.
With the overall perspective of Tom Hanks, people mention films like Toy Story, Forrest Gump, Big, Saving Private Ryan, and Cast Away. Despite of myself thinking Forrest Gump is my all-time favorite film EVER, I would definitely think that this is probably, in my humble opinion, the most underrated Tom Hanks film ever. This is definitely a film that people never mention nor talk about when talking particularly of Tom Hanks. I can go far as saying as this is one of my all-time favorite music-based films ever. It would be up there with School of Rock and Mr. Holland’s Opus, that good.
What makes “That Thing You Do!” such a marvelous achievement in filmmaking is how Tom Hanks perceives the environment of rock and roll in the 1960s. That would involve beautiful, teenage girls, jukeboxes, records, the way people dress, or anything you would expect during the year of 1964. Having said that, this film has an extremely clever and ingenious soundtrack which would be in charge of Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger, who wrote almost every one of the original songs including the title track. Starting from the jolly “Lovin’ You Lots and Lots”, you can tell for yourself this is going to be not just a jukebox musical, but also as original as you would expect.
Of course you have actors like Liv Tyler, Tom Everett Scott, and Steve Zahn, whom amazing in the film as three-fourths of the band members while sharing worthy chemistry towards each other, that are starting to reach successful careers themselves while that film was out back in ’96. The other actors that have justifying supporting roles in the film would be the people that play the band managers that assist The Oneders’ career played by both Chris Isaak and surprisingly Tom Hanks because he is the true star and genius of the film.
The most interesting thing about this film as well is that The Oneders’ recording label is called Play-Tone, a tribute name and also a word play of classic ’60s record labels like Vee-Jay and Decca. It soon got transferred as Tom Hanks’ own personal film company the year after that film got released in 1997 producing films like Charlie Wilson’s War, The Polar Express, Larry Crowne, and much more. It is still active by Hanks himself today 21 years later.
Another thing this makes this movie so entertaining and engaging to watch is that Tom Hanks himself honors such a beautiful tribute and respect to the career of The Beatles. That would involve their rise to fame, their break-ups of making themselves a solo career, and their relationships between their loved ones. Not only is Tom Hanks passionate about this formula, but he also prefers to research on other ’60s rock and roll bands like The Animals, The Kinks, and Herman’s Hermits to see what they have gone through as well in order to not rip-off The Beatles’ entire accurate career.
I am telling you. If there is anyone who is needing a film that pays tribute and honors the holy days of rock and roll or is a fan of ’60s rock and roll in general, witness this masterpiece immediately because this film does it right on many different scales of filmmaking. It executes sympathy for every character when it needs to, engages you into the fictional world and manages you to believe in it, and has some hard-hitting moments when needed. Overall, That Thing You Do! is a must see creative blast from start to finish that must be seen from both music and film buffs alike.
Grade: 10/10
