By Michael Horowitz
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Tom Hanks is almost a freak.
In his directorial debut, the two-time Academy Award winner
created a world of niceness, where people are so damn nice that the
only conflicts arise when people who are just nice can’t be nice
enough for the likes of the really nice.
Not like it’s a surprise. Hanks has never been thought of as
anything but nice, but you’d think even Forrest Gump would realize
you can’t have much of a movie with only nice people.
There’s a minimum of conflict and there’s a minimum of drama,
but mostly there’s just two hours of people yelling "Woohoo! Yeah!
That’s our song!" in "That Thing You Do!"
Johnathon Schaech, last seen blowing people’s heads off in "Doom
Generation," plays the nice singer of the band. Tom Everett Scott,
who looks and sometimes acts so much like Tom Hanks that it’s
eerie, plays the even nicer drummer. Hanks himself gets into the
on-screen action as their only sort of nice manager, unleashing a
few sardonic one-liners before becoming really nice.
If you haven’t heard by now, the film is about a ’60s band’s
search for stardom. The band in question is The Wonders, that group
behind that song you’ve heard, "That Thing You Do!" The film starts
quickly, as the band forms for a small-town Pennsylvania talent
show and never looks back. Each subsequent level of success is a
landmark, loudly celebrated by the four bandmates and their
down-to-earth hanger-on, played by Liv Tyler. From the first
frames, she’s dating Schaech’s singer, but their relationship never
feels lasting (there is a reason for this).
It should be no surprise to anyone that helmsman Hanks was able
to recruit a fine cast and an impressive set of cameos. Witness the
resulting "Tom Hanks! This is your life!" feel: We’ve got his wife
Rita Wilson, a few close relatives in Colin and Elizabeth Hanks,
his director friend (also this film’s producer) Jonathan Demme,
retro crooner Chris Isaak, even his bosom buddy Peter Scolari shows
up to play emcee.
There are only three moments of drama in this film, out-numbered
easily by plays of "That Thing You Do!" the song. We get to hear it
10 times. These moments of drama are slightly uneven (save a
soul-searing monologue by Tyler that redeems her somewhat thankless
part), but it’s tough to blame writer/director Hanks.
He succeeds perfectly in capturing his feel-good universe of
1964. He squeezes more laughs and more excitement out of this
band’s rise to the top then one would think possible. Perhaps after
other directorial efforts, this good-feeling niceness will be
dubbed the "Tom Hanks brand" of comedy, but for now it’s fun to
just enjoy it for what it is.
Another band-trying-to-get-a-break film is in the wings, one
that should definitely appeal to fans of the film in discussion. It
even got a head start on "That Thing You Do!" by premiering at last
year’s Sundance festival. But no distribution later, low-budget,
high-energy "Bandwagon," directed by John Schultz, sits on the
shelves, and Hanks’ film is opening nice and wide. The latter’s
hype can hardly be resented, and hopefully some doors will open for
the former.
Grade: B+