In the mid-1990s, Tom Hanks was on the top of the world. He had just won two Oscars in a row and starred in the innovative phenomenon Toy Story. Frankly, he could do just about anything he wanted. So he went ahead and made his directorial feature film debut, a love letter to an adored era, the explosion of pop music in the 1960s. That Thing You Do is a pretty routine but charming flick like an alternate Beatles fame tale. However, the story takes a pretty straight trajectory. It rises, rises, rises, keeps rises without much interruption, then there's the fall, then soft landing then credits. It suffers from lack of meaningful conflict, instead just showing the cracks til the inevitable explosion within the band. It's okay for mild entertainment, just a little bland. Wish he chose a better lead than someone who just looks like him. Steve Zahn is the only zany highlight who livens the picture up. But it all hinges onto its title song, which is very catchy, if quite 90s. The disappointing thing about the film is it doesn't explore the joy of discovery in this early pop music. Instead, kids just nod when things feel right. It needed much more energy and confidence, but it's a generally inoffensive film.
6/10
6/10