That Thing You Do! (1996)

Brief: After Chad (Giovanni Ribisi) breaks his arm, the Wonders (Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, and Ethan Embry) implore Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) to join their band in time for a competition. Guy's catchy drum beat helps propel them to stardom.

So cute! This film is light and charming, and I just love "That Thing You Do!", the song. I was singing it earlier, which is what inspired me to write about it.

Okay, so as you know, I am somewhat obsessed with commenting on directorial debuts, and this is Tom Hanks' first. He also wrote the script and co-stars as the Wonders' manager, Mr. White. Alright, truth be told, he directed some episodes of TV shows before this, but they aren't shows that I have ever watched, so I'm not going to concern myself with them. Hanks has always struck me as a charming and delightful everyday man, and he appears to be attempting, through this movie, to shape Scott in his image. Now, judging by some things that Scott has made after this film (e.g. An American Werewolf in Paris), Hanks doesn't seem very successful, but every good star has a laundry list of crap movies behind him.

I love, love, j'adore, Embry and Zahn, and their characters in this movie torture me. They are zany and fun and cute and sweet. Liv Tyler is also in the movie, although I didn't mention it before, and she is as lovely as ever. I think she is so beautiful, and she genuinely possesses some light that seems to shine from within her.

But, my favourite character in this movie is Lamarr (Omar Babatunde), one of the staff at the hotel in Hollywood that the Wonders end up at. I remember watching this movie with someone who said that they hated Lamarr, but he just kills me. He's hilarious and warm. He makes everyone feel special and welcome at the hotel, and I swear that feeling carries right across the screen and inside you.

This movie is so happy! It's fun and simple, like sunshine.

Pan: Picking Up the Pieces, with Woody Allen, David Schwimmer, and Kiefer Sutherland, sucks. There is one, just one, funny joke in that entire disaster.