"That Thing You Do!" Review: The Most Underrated Movie Ever

Tom Hanks' fun-filled ode to fleeting stardom remains a rollicking cult classic.

August 3, 2024

On August 16, 1996, 50,000 people assembled at Old Yankee Stadium not to cheer on the Bombers as they took on Ken Griffey, Jr. and the Seattle Mariners but to do something far more worthy:

‍

break the record for the most people to perform the Macarena simultaneously.

‍

It was the year of a Presidential election and the Summer Olympics. The Chicago Bulls won an NBA-record 72 games, the Menendez brothers got convicted of murdering their parents, Independence Day and Twister dominated the summer box office, and the Nintendo 64 got released.

‍

Yet, the year’s most vital moment occurred that night in the heart of the Bronx, where Los del Rio’s global super smash, amid its record-tying run atop the Billboard Hot 100, brought together those 50,000 people to perform the whitest dance ever, the phenomenon that arrested the world, let old people recapture a moment of fleeting youthfulness as they “danced” to a song they couldn’t understand, and made us feel unified.

‍

But by early 1997, the craze had dissipated, and Los del Rio and the Macarena, as quickly as they had appeared, were gone.

‍

Where did they go? Well, they were around for 32 years before “Macarena” conquered the universe and have continued making music in the 30 years since its initial release, but who knows that? We only have memories, but what about the people? What of their memories, their story?

‍

In Tom Hanks’ directorial debut, a band in Erie, Pennsylvania meets on a public sidewalk. As lead singer Jimmy talks with guitarist Lenny about the band’s name ahead of a local talent show (I’m partial to The Heardsmen), drummer Chad and the bass player hop the parking meters in the background. When Chad mistimes his jump, he falls, breaking his arm.

‍

Enter Guy Patterson, the most charismatic man in the world, who gets asked by Jimmy and Lenny to sub for Chad so they can win the show and claim the cash prize. Guy agrees, the band settles on “The Oneders,” and, during the gig, Guy speeds the song up, enrapturing the crowd and inadvertently beginning a national phenomenon that eventually reaches the top 10 of the Hot 100 chart.

‍

Jimmy wanted the song slow, but he was wrong. Oh, boy, was he wrong.

‍

The brilliance of That Thing You Do! is that its magic extends beyond Jimmy being wrong. Sure, he was wrong, and the song is a banger, but despite the quality of its soundtrack, the movie’s magic exists outside the banging of drums or strumming of a guitar.

‍

Conceptually, Jimmy is identical to any narcissistic pseudo-intellectual, but Schaech lends him an edge that balances comedic and dramatic substance and being a classic pain in the ass. Faye, who easily could’ve been a manic pixie dream girl, is written with enough warmth to be a genuinely beautiful soul and the best girlfriend on the planet. And Guy, gorgeous Guy, the greatest friend and drummer a person or band could ever have.

‍

Considering how many actual biopics have treated their subjects with the nuance of an after-school special, it’sastounding that Hanks created such a light atmosphere while giving his fake characters subtle depth, the kind that lets the big moments resonate. We’ve all endured heartbreak and seen it on screen, but Faye, after defending Jimmy’s “genius" and supporting him as The Wonders rocketed to stardom, gets skewered by her man after a cutesy fake TV announcement of their “engagement,” and delivers the coup de grâce:

‍

“Shame on me for kissing you with my eyes closed so tight.”

‍

People have said many things about broken relationships and the resulting regrets experienced in their wake, but thinking about such an intimate act with such dismay hits hardest.

‍

It’s in those minor details, whether comedic or dramatic: a father complaining about his business’ lights getting left on as he crosses in front of the headlights he forgot to turn off; Guy’s mother urging her silent family to quiet down so she can hear her son’s televised performance, not realizing the sound is coming from the studio audience; the natural chemistry between Faye and Guy as she teases him about an admirer at Villapiano’s; Faye’s mouthing the words to “Dance With Me Tonight,” celebrating the band’s music even if it’s not her boyfriend singing. They all build to something memorable that’s earned the fanbase it possesses nearly 30 years after its release.

‍

Few movies draw you in enough to want to experience their world instead of remaining an observer. How is the food at Villapiano’s? Is the pasta homemade? Is the pizza thin crust or deep dish? What about Mr. Downtown? Sounds like a role for a pre-Mission: Impossible Peter Graves to me. And Dave Gamelgard? What was it like to be kissed by him that New Year’s Eve? More importantly, what is it like to be kissed by Guy Patterson? How I’d give to be “chartreuse with envy” at a rising record a la Diane Dane, and although I’ve been to Wisconsin, I’d sure love to see it through Lenny’s eyes.

‍

Contemporary critics criticized its banality, but they were wrong. That Thing You Do! works because it embraces itself, thus finding something beautiful to reflect on, equally as worthwhile as all the incredible music, magnetic performances, searing romantic chemistry, and vivid ‘60s set pieces: sometimes, the most beautiful thing in the world can be that something doesn’t work out.

‍

That’s a near-impossible truth to accept, but when we reflect on the seminal moments in our lives, when the things that seemed important fell apart, we can recognize that things can go amazingly right when you’re along for the ride, wrong when your heart isn’t truly in it, and turn around for the best when the perspective that gives lets us see things for how they sincerely are.

‍

After all, it was only one year after The Wonders’ meteoric rise to stardom that Guy and Faye, free of Tina, Jimmy, and the band's collapse, got married. Guy loved the music, Jimmy loved himself, Lenny loved the fun, and The Bass Player loved Disneyland: none of them sincerely wanted what they got, but embarking on those journeys, the ones where we get swept up in something bigger than ourselves without asking whether we’re being true to ourselves, leads us to where we genuinely want to go and who we truly want to be.

‍

As devastated as Guy feels when Jimmy leaves, and Mr. White announces the band’s breach of contract, Dell Paxton’sarrival at the recording studio, followed by a brief jam session between Guy and his biggest fan, is more sincere to him than any moment since he took “That Thing You Do!” from that lover’s lament crap to a bona fide hit record.

‍

So when he kisses Faye, I mean, really, truly good-and-kisses Faye, it’s not just a heartwarming conclusion to The Wonders story: it’s a reminder that the best moments in life often emerge from those that seem darkest. Could the movie have captured that if it’d tried harder, done “more,” like some self-indulgent indie movie trying desperately to mean something it couldn’t comprehend if it slapped it in the face?

‍

No, because That Thing You Do! says more in its closing crawl, informing us what each band member did with their remaining years, than most movies, and it’s a damn shame we don’t get films like it.

‍

Everyone adores the ‘90s, when the world overflowed with joy and optimism, ignoring that no matter how dire things seem, the world is what we make of it. But if there was an argument that we should spend a couple of hours forgetting the present, stop worrying about the future, and live in the past, That Thing You Do! is arguably a more worthy one than anything else (even though it's set in the ‘60s).

‍

The writing is genius, from the construction of the characters, the narrative’s pacing matching the whirlwind nature of one-hit wonderdom, and the innumerable hidden gems discoverable on rewatches. The performances are pitch-perfect, the atmosphere vivid and nostalgic, and the songs are impeccable, from the opening “Lovin’ You Lots and Lots” to the closing version of the title song.

‍

But That Thing You Do! achieves the rare feat of being unbelievably fun and infectious without compromising its ability to be more than a pleasant memory and a perky, rainy day rewatch, a movie that, for every reason conceivable, makes you want to revisit it again and again, even if it means staying up way past midnight.

‍

It effectively conjures memories of Los del Rio’s worldwide stranglehold that manifested on that muggy August night in New York and answers the question of what happened to those we remember as flashes in the pan, fond memories we recall when our days get darkest: they’re going day-by-day, living their lives true to who they are, and even though we may consider their lack of follow-up success a failure, they’re arguably more successful than many of us.

‍

Why? Because they’re out there, happy, fulfilled, and content, just doing that thing they do.