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That Thing You Do! Customer Reviews (13 - 15 of 36 Reviews)

This is what movies are SUPPOSED to be
30 years ago this movie would have won the Oscar for best picture. It's clean, smart, upbeat, engaging, and uplifting. Sadly, Hollywood has forgotten that movies used to be about good people and good times. Well, thankfully, Tom Hanks shows that he both remembers what makes a great GREAT family movie, AND he knows how to make one. Go Tom! Would love to see a sequel.

Parallels to the Beatles and the music industry
This movie has many parallels to those fab four in Liverpool:
-Jimmy is John Lennon in he is the talented, moody one who is more into creative expansion than touring and making more fans.
-Lenny is Paul McCartney, the one who didn't care about expanding their horizons, but enjoyed being a rock star and the fun that it involved. He also never took anything too seriously.
-Guy is Ringo Starr, the popular drummer who everyone liked and was the one no one ever had too much of a problem with.
-Ethan Embry is George Harrison, the quiet loner one who was probably the furthest remove from the group and ultimately left the band first (like George did with the Beatles).
-Fay (A very beautiful Liv Tyler) represents Jimmy's girl who in the end loses him to other women and his music (like what happen to Lennon's first wife while he was with the "Beatles")
-Tom Hanks is Mr. White, the cut to the chase manager. Unlike the Beatles manager Brian Epstein, Mr. White is never preceived as having a close friendship/relationship with the band, unlike Epstein, who with producer George Martin did have a close relationship with the "Beatles".

There are other parallels to the Beatles:
-There hit song is a sped up version of a slow ballad, much like the Beatles "Please Please Me."
-Jimmy throws up before their TV appearance, like George Harrison did before "Ed Sullivan".
-Their TV appearance on "Hollywood Showcase" is like the one the Beatles had on "Ed Sullivan", complete with the dress and the stage set up.
-They are hounded by girls after a show, like "Hard Days Night".
-The initial drummer is replaced, like the Beatles did when they replaced Pete Best with Ringo Starr.
-The "careful girls he's engaged" quote for Jimmy was similar to Lennon's "Sorry girls he's married" on "Ed Sullivan".
-They go into making movies, like the "Beatles" did.
-Jimmy and Fay break up, much like John Lennon did with his first wife while with the "Beatles".
-Guy befriends Fay after the breakup, like Paul McCartney did Mrs. Lennon.


The other parallels has to do with being a "one hit wonder", like so many bands in the past. Also the movie has funny (but truthful) representations of record managers and executives. It also shows why it's very hard for a band to last a long time. With hilarious representations of artists such as Diana Ross, Tom Jones, and Petula Clark, this movie is a light hearted comedy of the fast turnaround from hit makers to has beens. Rent it today and get a good laugh. Oh, and the music is top notch, great original soundtrack!

'That Thing You Do!'(20th Century Fox)Running time:110 min.
Something you don't see that often anymore.A movie that isn't JUST clean,inoffensive,fun,charming and entertaining as such,but STILL decent/cool enough to appeal to maybe 90% of the mass movie going audience.If this movie would've come out,say 20-30 years earlier than it had,it would've probably become a classic.'That Thing You Do!' is about the rise and fall of a fictional 1964 rock&roll band,The One-ders(later changed to The Wonders) from Erie,PA that scores a major hit with their snappy single,"That Thing You Do!" I liked the other songs they played in the movie as well.The staff in this film include talent such as Steve Zahn,Tom Hanks,Tom Everett Scott(his 2nd movie),Liv Tyler,Johnathon Schaech among others.Chris Isaak makes a cameo appearance as a recording studio engineer.A warm-hearted drama that's fit for basically everyone.Recommended.

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