 |
 |
By Craig Degel
Arizona Daily Wildcat
October 10, 1996
My biggest pet peeve about Hollywood is that when stars get really big, they make about one movie a year.You enjoy what they do, and you get used to seeing their work two or three times a year. Then, all of a sudden, they win back-to-back Oscars, and you're forced to wait for their projects.
I'm speaking, of course, of Tom Hanks. After spending about 10 years making great comedies like "Big," "Dragnet" and "Volunteers", Hanks went and became the biggest star in Hollywood.
Thankfully, the wait between Hanks' last effort - the wonderful "Apollo 13" - and his new project, "That Thing You Do!," was well worth the time. It is a four-star effort from a four-star performer.
Hanks wrote, directed and co-starred in the comedy-drama that tells the story of a one-hit wonder rock band from Erie, Pennsylvania known as "The Wonders."
Unlike other actors who have gone on to direct grand, sweeping epics like Kevin Costner's "Dances with Wolves" and Mel Gibson's "Braveheart," Hanks keeps things simple.
His movie is of a simple time in America where guys like The Wonders can cut a hit-record in a church, sign a guy who lives in a camper as their manager and make it big in music.
Hanks also gets laughs with a little help from his friends. With cameo appearances by his wife, Rita Wilson (Sleepless in Seattle), and his "Bosom Buddies" co-star Peter Scolari, you start to wonder who's going to turn up next. The "Aaron Burr" guy from the milk commercial makes a funny appearance as the group's first fan.
Tom Everett Scott plays the brains and heart of the group, Guy Patterson. He becomes the band's drummer after the original drummer breaks his hand hopping a parking meter. Guy soups up the ballad that is the movie's title, and the Wonders hit the big time. It is a good thing that the song is really good, because the band plays it in the movie about 40 times.
The Wonders win a local talent contest and begin playing at an Italian restaurant next to an airport. The manager brings the band to a Pittsburgh rock show emceed by Kevin Pollack ("The Usual Suspects"), who gives a wonderfully cheesy performance as Vic "The Boss" Koss, the local disc jockey.
Liv Tyler, who plays the neglected girlfriend of the band's lead singer, is gorgeous and talented. Not a bad combination.
It is in Pittsburgh where the band meets Hanks, a manager from Play-tone records. From there they begin their cross-country journey from oblivion to stardom and back to oblivion again.
Hanks' musical montage borrows liberally from the Beatle's "Help" which is a nice touch. The ending is straight out of "American Graffiti" but not as depressing.
Do yourself a favor and go see this movie. You don't want to have to wait for Hanks' next project do you?
|
|
|