10/4/96
MOVIE REVIEW: That Thing You Do!
The Wonders are buoyant doing that thing they do

By MICHAEL JANUSONIS
Journal-Bulletin Arts Writer

**** (out of five)
Starring Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, Ethan Embry, Tom Hanks, Charlize Theron, Obba Babatunde. A 20th Century Fox picture written and directed by Hanks. Rated PG, contains mild profanity. Running time: 107 minutes.

Tom Hanks does his spin on the ups and downs of a hot new rock 'n' roll band, circa 1964, in That Thing You Do!

Hanks wrote and directed (and plays a small role in) this homage to what may be his own youth - a bunch of kids from small-town America making it to the big time of recording contracts, radio rotation play, and movies and TV in Hollywood.

It's pleasant and peppy and PG . . . which means that it's often pretty funny in a sort of post-Eisenhower way, though it doesn't have the edge of Rob Reiner's more flamboyant This Is Spinal Tap, about a rock band on the road.

The Beatles had just made a dent in American teenage consciousness at the time That Thing You Do! is set. And although the boys in this band, who eventually call themselves The Wonders, seem pretty tame considering what followed them in the name of rock 'n' roll, they are in the mold of such then- popular chart toppers as Chad and Jeremy, Peter and Gordon and Herman's Hermits, all of whom wore nice little suits when they performed.

Although there are four Wonders, the plot focuses mainly on how success affects Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) of Erie, Pa. Guy wants to get out from under the thumb of his father, who runs Patterson's Appliance Store as though he were Captain Bligh. When a chance comes to fill in as drummer with a new band, Guy jumps at it, much to the consternation of his bubble-headed girlfriend and his parents.

But soon the band - first called the Oneders (which people are forever mispronouncing as the Oneeders) - is winning local talent shows. Their one big song gets local airplay, which gets them a spot at a Pittsburgh talent show, which wins them a contract with Playtone Records plus a savvy new manager (Hanks) who calls all the shots and pushes them on to Hollywood, where there are movies to shoot and TV shows to broadcast.

It's a galloping few months, although Hanks (the director) lets it all start slowly and build gently as the plot is set up and we have to listen to a couple of cornily bad acts before That Thing You Do! finally shows signs of life.

The spark comes in the moment when Faye (Liv Tyler), the girlfriend of lead singer-songwriter Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech), hears their song playing on her transistor radio and bounds into the appliance store where Guy starts screaming and leaping and turning up all the store radios full blast. They're soon joined by the other band members, leaping, hugging and bouncing in the film's happiest, most buoyant moment.

There's never again anything to match it in That Thing You Do! At one point Hanks has the Wonders romping across a giant map of the United States, a la The Beatles in A Hard Day's Night, but it seems forced.

Nevertheless, from then on the film picks up steam as the guys hop from state fairs to Hollywood while their song - That Thing You Do! - soars up the Billboard charts . . . and we hear it for what seems to be about 35 times. Eventually, son of a gun, it actually seems catchy.

Guy, who loves jazz music and seems to have more smarts than the other band members, is the only fully developed character. The other three are just types. Schaech is the good-looking one, who thinks of himself as a serious songwriter, although just about the only thing that sounds interesting is the title tune. Steve Zahn plays the fun-loving, skirt-chasing Lenny, who is the film's comic relief. Ethan Embry is the puppyish bass player who joins the Marines and only wants to go to California so he can visit Disneyland. He's so anonymous that he's the only character without a name.

Because of this, one doesn't get as good a handle as one should have on these characters, particularly Schaech's Jimmy, who is subdued and serious and tries to make the rules even though Hanks's Mr. White is pulling all the strings. Filling in this character would have helped later when friction develops.

That leaves it to Scott, who is originally from East Bridgewater, Mass., and bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Tom Hanks, to carry the film. His Guy is the only character who seems to have a soul and a conscience. Although he becomes one of the band's stars, after he's given dark glasses by Mr. White and becomes known as Shades, Scott makes him sensitive and thoughtful. One likes him, which is why another of the movie's buoyant moments - when Guy's folks back in Erie watch proudly as he plays on national TV - is so affecting.

And when romantic problems strike, it's up to Guy to solve them in what may be one of the most romantic moments in the movies this year.

Hanks is perfect as the no-nonsense, all-business, somewhat mysterious Mr. White who knows how to solve problems with a snap of his fingers. He has been around the block and knows all the angles and how to work on the young band members' weak points. There's a scary, Machiavellian side to the character that makes him interesting.

Obba Babatunde shines as a hotel bellman who can solve all the guests' problems. Tyler is effervescent as the girlfriend-groupie who helps push them in the right direction.

And effervescent and cheerful are just what That Thing You Do! is all about.