That Thing You Do!

365 Films

Entry #82

That Thing You Do (1996)

Directed by Tom Hanks

That Thing You Do! is a perfect example of the “Sunday Afternoon” movie.  Other examples of this phenomenon include The Shawshank Redemption, Casablanca, and any of the first three Die Hards.  These are movies that you can turn on during any Sunday afternoon and any plans you had for that day will become immediately null and void because you have been sucked into a story that you have seen thousands and thousands of times previously.  What makes That Thing You Do stand apart from the others in this field is that it has a keen sense of its own weightlessness.  It knows that it is just confectionary and it’s absolutely over the moon about that.  One of the many admirable qualities to the film is that writer/director Tom Hanks never uses his directorial debut as a platform for unburdening his soul with either the troubles of the world or the glory of being Tom Hanks.  It’s a trap far too many actors turned filmmakers fall into; that of making a film that essentially celebrates their own talent rather than tell a story.  First of all, That Thing You Do is a comedy, something incredibly brave for a non-comedian actor to attempt to pull off.  Obviously, whether or not it succeeds is up to one’s own personal sense of humor, but at least to these eyes, Hanks definitely has a good ear for goofy dialogue.  Perhaps more importantly, he has a good eye for casting innately likable actors to carry a lot of the weight as well (except for Jonathan Schaech, his character is an asshole from start to finish).  For example, we should all thank Mr. Hanks for introducing us to the many charming gifts that Steve Zahn has at his disposal.  And secondly, I think it’s also fairly honorable that Mr. Hanks only gives himself a tertiary supporting role in the piece.  One gets the impression that the entire project was based on a desire for Mr. Hanks to find new talent and expose them to the rest of the world.  His love of actors and performance definitely shines through nearly every frame of this film.  Just look at the positively gleeful way he films the sequence when the wonders hear their song on the radio for the first time.  His heart and soul are so completely in sync with these performers that his passion is certifiably contagious.  Sure the film is as Hanks’ Mr. White puts it towards the end, “a very common tale”, and it’s recollections about that particular scene of music from the early 60’s are vaguely nostalgic at best (Not Fade Away, this ain’t).  But one only has to look at Hanks’ fifteen-year later follow-up, Larry Crowne to see how his pleasantly inoffensive filmmaking dorkiness (excuse the term) can totally backfire.  That Thing You Do is bright, colorful, and never really strives to be anything more.  As I said, perfect for a Sunday afternoon.