That Thing You Do – Tom Hanks’ Extended Cut (2-DVDs)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Film: C
So it has
been over a decade since Tom Hanks directed his first and still only film, the
1996 That Thing You Do. It hyped both Tom Everett Scott and Johnathon
Schaech as the next big stars, but that never worked out. It was supposed to recapture the excitement
of pre-Beatles Pop/Rock music for an up and coming band, but also did not quite
hit the mark. It is a film that has even
been lost in the shuffle as Hip Hop arrived, revisionist thinking has trashed
The Beatles and problems with this film are more glaring than before.
The tale
is about an Erie, Pennsylvania band called The Wonders (will that mean one hit
wonders?) who catch a break when a member has a substitute, but they play the
tile song and are suddenly on their way with a big 45. (That is the nickname for a 7” vinyl single,
running 45 revolutions per minute for those who only know digital downloads.) As the song climbs the charts, we watch to
see if they can hold it together or not.
Unfortunately, despite being a good-looking film, I never bought one
minute of it.
I give
Production Designer Victor Kempster credit for his amazing recreation of early
1960s businesses, promotional materials (all highly collectible now) and so
much of a density in all this that the old ads, colorfulness and designs of the
various stores became a star of their own.
Since some of the companies don’t exist anymore or are not in the same
businesses, this is not just ad placements, but a recreation of the time. Hanks’ script and directing never ties it
into the narrative except to passively say only this world of some plenty could
produce this happier music.
But then
there is that title song, which is remarkably forgettable. The song is so many generations down from the
kind of Pop is it trying to emulate that it has none of its heart or soul. Even as compared to similar tracks form Billy Joel’s 1983 retro Pop/Rock album
An Innocent Man (with Uptown Girl, The Longest Time, Keeping The
Faith, Tell Her About It, Leave A Tender Moment Alone and the
title song, all real top hits), the flaws and limits are more obvious. Some criticized Joel for not getting it
right, but at least he was not playing it like it was hip to be square. Being square all the way to the odd ending
(compare to American Graffiti, which
was more of a Rock film without any of the characters having a hit) is the
bi-polar opposite of the time, which is why it is set as The Beatles
arrive. The moment of The Supremes-like
“girl group” moment does not work either, especially as compared to the recent
film of Dreamgirls that really comes up with a richer (if also controversial)
take. The Wonders are relics in their
own time.
I give
Hanks credit for a visually and cinematically rich film with those who helped
him. He really was onto something, but
he needed to take far more risks than he does and this is why the film
fails. He should try again, because
despite the huge hits he continues to have as a star, he should not settle for
being a one-hit wonder director.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 is shot by Tak Fujimoto in some of his more
interesting post-Silence Of The Lambs
work. He does some close shots, but they
are not Demme-like in their directness.
Color is key here and this disc shows it with consistency, though
Blu-ray should reveal more. The Dolby
Digital 5.0 mix is not bad, but the lack of .1 bass is odd. Issued theatrically in DTS and Dolby, not
having .1 sound just because this is a period piece is not logical, but it is a
clean recording just the same. Howard
Shore’s instrumentals are decent, if not spectacular.
Extras include
the extended version and theatrical cut on DVD 1, while DVD 2 adds three
featurettes, trailers, TV spots, HBO
First Look episode on the film and “Feel
Alright” Music Video. There’s even a
few items not here I had seen during its release, but for this film, this is
more than enough.
- Nicholas Sheffo
