Tom Hanks's rock and roll fable That Thing You Do! is one of the more adorable movies the Crabster has ever seen in his life. Actually it's damn-near irresistible. All those cute guys in their little Beatles outfits strumming their guitars and singing their darling little songs. It's enough to make your heart go pitter-pat.
Well, That Thing You Do! is back, in a new extended version. Yes, Tom Hanks has given his button-cute homage to '60s pop the old director's cut treatment. He's put back in 30 minutes of previously unseen footage. Normally this is a terrible idea - when you see the discarded stuff, you usually just wish it would go away again. And, to be frank, I'm not certain the 30 minutes of extra footage does much to enhance this particular movie either. It's such a snappy picture - sharp and crisp and over before you have a chance to realize how silly and featherheaded the whole thing is. The extra footage, for the most part, just bogs the story down. But, if you've already seen it and are curious to know more about certain characters, you definitely have a treat in store.
I had no idea, for example, that Tom Hanks's slightly shady record company exec character was gay. Now there was a sub-plot that was entirely excised from the finished film. Along with a funny scene starring a big luggy football-player guy named Lloyd who drives off with Tom in a sportscar, leaving a drunken Guy Patterson to fend for himself at the Ambassador. Why not let Tom be gay? Did they cut it for time or was it too risque? Some other slightly naughty bits of dialogue were also cut from the film, it turns out. And so was a scene where Guy Patterson makes out with Charlize Theron while watching Spartacus. So that explains his fixation on Spartacus!
For those not familiar with the film...That Thing You Do! is the kooky story of a group of guys from Erie, PA who start a band, write a really catchy tune and become teen sensations. Their leader, Jimmy (Jonathan Schaech), is a prick with a Beatles cut who thinks he's the second coming of Brian Wilson. His girlfriend Faye (Liv Tyler) worships the ground he walks on, but to him she's nothing but the inspiration for some love songs. The guitar player, Lenny (Steve Zahn), is a goofball who can't get laid. Then there's the bass player, T.B. Player (Ethan Embry), and the drummer Chad (Scientologist Giovanni Ribisi) who breaks his arm vaulting over a parking meter. Chad's replacement is a wannabe jazz skin-smacker named Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott), whose spontaneous up-tempoing of Jimmy's earnest ballad sets off the band's meteoric rise to fame and fortune, and a starring role in a beach blanket bingo picture playing Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters.
The movie is permeated by Tom Hanks's particular brand of gently whimsical kookiness. Tom's best attribute as a director is his ability to get faintly off-the-wall performances from people like Steve Zahn and Tom Everett Scott. Remember how funny Tom used to be before he became a serious actor? There are echoes of the Hanks of The Burbs and The Money Pit in these performances - amusingly whiny line-readings and bits of nutty physical comedy. Hanks thinks like a comedian, always looking for laughs, and funny character quirks. He has also done a loving job of capturing something that looks and feels like the '60s of Motown, mop-tops and Bobby Darin-like crooners. The fake musical acts provide some of the movie's highlights - especially Robert Torti as Freddy Frederickson, who sings his hit "Mr. Downtown." And then there's the hilarious Kevin Pollack as Boss Vic Koss, the Pittsburgh mattress king and wannbe Alan Freed. And Holmes Osbourne in a memorable turn as Guy Patterson's father, the hapless appliance-store owner.
The extra footage ads new shadings to some of these characters. We find out more about what a jerk Boss Vic Koss is, and how frightened Guy's father is by his competitors at Telemart. Most of the added footage deals with Guy however. The extended cut becomes Guy's story to a greater degree than the original. There's a lot more material on his vapid, doll-like girlfriend Tina (Charlize Theron) and her relationship with a hunky dentist. Probably too much. And there's further elaboration on Guy's love of jazz, including a sequence where he surreptitiously records his idol Del Paxton yakking with some friends at a recording studio. The result of all this new material is a more leisurely, at times more thoughtful film - but a less entertaining one. The energetic musical performances seem sort of lost amidst all the character stuff, and the story loses a lot of its momentum. And frankly, the extra material does little to lend weight to what was already a fluffy affair. For full entertainment value, the stripped-down, cut-to-the-chase version is preferable. But, like I said, if you're already a fan of the movie, the extended cut is more than worth checking out.
(Crabbie received no compensation for the above review, beyond a free promotional copy of the DVD, which is available for purchase at FoxStore.com.)
