"You fellas look great in gold, did I ever tell you that?"      

THAT THING YOU DO! (PG) 

There are just a handful of individuals in hollywood who are as hot as Tom Hanks is these days. His success in such recent hits as Forrest Gump, Philadelphia, and Apollo 13 has solidified Hanks' position as a true box office wonder. Well, with That Thing You Do!, Hanks steps into the writing/directing arena and, fortunately for us, the wonder has not ceased.

This fun, lively, and bright story follows the adventures of The Wonders, a band of four young musicians out of mid-sixties Eerie, Pennsylvania, who come up with a catchy tune that propels them onto the charts, into relative stardom, and eventually face-to-face with the pitfalls of success. Tom Everett Scott, Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, and Ethan Embry do excellent jobs playing the young teen heart-throb bandmembers, each of whom has his own very distinct but often interesting personality.  Hanks, who plays the manager of this merry bunch, also does a great job as usual, though in this film he lets his character take a back seat to the characters in the band.  Finally Liv Tyler, who plays the girlfriend of one of the bandmembers, turns in a charming performance as well, bringing together a charming cast in a charming movie set in the innocence of the mid-1960's.  

This is not, by far, one of your "Academy Award" caliber films.  The plotline's very vanilla, and the film really milks that catchy "That Thing You Do" tune.  Still, it's entertaining, and for Hanks fans, definitely worth a look.

IMPRESSIONS

Buddies forever: it was nice to see Hanks give Peter Scolari (remember the other Bossom Buddy?) a small part in this movie.  Hey, what are friends for, right?

Responses from cyberspace -- thanks for the input, folks!

Jen gives this movie  stars: "This is the best movie in the world!! And personally, 'I liked All My Lonely Dreams' better than 'That Thing You Do'. The Bass Player and Lennie rock!!" (2/2/01)

Christine gives this movie  stars: "This movie is the best movie! no other movie can compare to this! Tom Hanks is a genius! I LOVE SHADES!" (10/5/99)

Sklaw_Aras@yahoo.com says: "Tom Hanks is one of my favorite actors, and I think he did a wonderful job on this movie. This is my second favorite movie next to The Princess Bride, Simon Birch and Star Wars. -Sara" (7/21/99)

Jc7y@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "This movie is the best!! Almost 3 years later and its still the best... I listen the the album all the time... it was a great movie and is still awesome after watching it more than once... It deserves more than 5 stars... I give it "1,000,000 stars"! Deffinatly gotta keep making movies Tom!! It's at the top of my favorite movies of all time! Love it!!!!!" (6/1/99)

JoDeeWeiss@aol.com gives this movie  stars. (5/31/99)

JoshG123@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "The best movie about a band I've ever seen!" (5/30/99)

Paul Anderson gives this movie  stars: "This movie is one of the best movies i have ever saw!!!!!!!" (5/28/99)

anonymous entry gives this movie  stars. (5/18/99)

williesharp@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "verryy niccee.. for Tom Hanks first movie!!... "not I am spartacus but they are spartacus....." (12/13/98)

psyco_chic98@yahoo.com gives this movie  stars: "This is my favorite movie. I love Jonothan Schaech and I would watch this movie for hours, even days if I could." (11/27/98)

Sophie gives this movie  stars: "A great movie! I loved it so much, that I could watch it over and over and over and over and...... you get the picture!?!?!?! Good ol' Eth was great in it!!!" (10/23/98)

gidget_59@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "This movie, besides Gidget, is probably the funnest movie I have ever seen. I love the actors the script and the music. I only wish ethan's character got to have a name! This movie is also very clean and the best movie I've seen hollywood put out for us teens in a while. Just give me a fun movie! p.s. Tom Everett Scott is the cat's pajamas. My dream is to meet him!" (9/10/98)

vampckik19@aol.com gives this movie  stars: "I thought Tom Hanks did a wonderful job directing! The cast was wonderful, and I loved the plot of the movie. Kudos to Tom for such a wonderful job!" (9/5/98)

orangecrush@AlloyMail.com gives this movie  stars: "I gave this 5 stars mostly because of Ethan Embry, the perfect guy. It was a good movie but I bought it to see him. I wish he had had a name and a lot more lines becuse the movie would have been even better." (6/29/98)

Misty Garretson gives this movie  stars: "I really LOVE this movie and I really LOVE Ethan Embry. He was too cute in this movie. I watch it all the time. Mostly for Ethan. I hate it when after their Wisconsin performance, Ethan is running up the stairs with the rest of the band and a girl KISSES HIM. Did any one else notice that?? Watch for it next time you see it!!" (6/16/98)

dyuob@yahoo.com gives this movie  stars: "watch them as they play their instruments, this is the best job of faking it i have ever seen, its incredible." (4/22/98)

nazza@rocketmail.com gives this movie  stars: "if anyone knows where to find the soundtrack for That thing you do please send it to me at: nazza@rocketmail.com : better if it's on real player.. thanx" (4/16/98)

John Barnsley gives this movie  star: "It was dumb and witless." (1/6/98)

Cynthia Moore gives this movie  stars. (12/31/97)

mefscrim@vh.net gives this movie  stars: "This movie was really good. I didn't see it in the theaters, but my best friend made me watch it and she wouldn't let me leave untill it was finished. I'm glad she did that. It was great!!!!." (9/22/97)

Ernestln@ix.netcom.com gives this movie  stars: "It was the coolest movie. I bought the soundtrack and so did my friend." (8/12/97)

penguin16@hotmail.com gives this movie  stars: "I loved this movie. It was so funny and Ethan made it even funnier I just wish that he would have gotten more credit." (8/5/97)

Erin gives this movie  stars: "My dream is to meet Tom Everett Scott.  I don't think they gave Ethan Embry (the bass player) enough attention.  I loved him!!!" (1/8/97)

Anonymous entry for  stars. (1/7/97)

campau@newnorth.net gives this movie  stars: "It was pretty cool." (1/4/97)

Kelly gives this movie  stars: "This was by far the best movie I have ever seen. I would rate it 6 stars but it was not on the list. I bought the sountrack and I LOVE every song on it. At first I thought the movie was real too. 3 cheers for That Thing You Do, Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray, Hip Hip Hooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (1/3/97)

haake@plains.nodak.edu gives this movie  stars: "This movie is a triumph! I'm telling you, it is an accurate portrayal of what would actually happen to Rock and Roll bands. Everything that happened, happened by pure chance. It was a total triumph. And the soundtrack is great, too. I absolutely loved the movie. Yaaaay! for Tom Hanks and his glorious cast." (12/18/96)

jhb@awod.com gives this movie a  rating.  "I am Spartacus!" (11/17/96)