‘That Thing You Do!’ Is The Music Flick That Hates Its Resident Genius

“It’s a very common tale,” clucks Tom Hanks at the end of his effervescent 1996 writing/directing debut, That Thing You Do! As Mr. White, A&R man and de facto manager of fictional Erie, PA band the Oneders, he’s shepherded the group to national fame. Now, nearly overnight, the Oneders have splintered. The death blow is delivered by frontman Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech), who memorably croons “I quit!/I quit!” into a vintage studio mic.

You’d think Mr. White might be just a little upset by Erie’s Newest Hitmakers imploding (as they’re still topping the charts, no less). Maybe he’d even plead with his singer to give it another shot? Instead he shrugs, relieved to be done dealing with “the talent,” as he refers to Jimmy with an eyeroll.

Hanks’s love letter to the mid-’60s music scene, That Thing You Do! was a modest box office and critical success that quickly turned into a cable TV mainstay. Coming off a white-hot run with Forrest Gump, Apollo 13 and Toy Story, he devised the story of the Oneders as a time-capsule morality tale where a small-town garage band captures lightning in a bottle and rides a regional hit song to national fame — albeit at grave cost to their personal relationships.

The magical title tune is written by Jimmy, the group’s swarthy, handsome lead singer/songwriter. Played by Schaech as an obsessive musical purist, his aspirations power the Oneders to thrilling heights; yet the movie portrays him as a brooding buzzkill who incessantly spoils the ride for the others.

Jimmy’s treatment rankled even back in the late ’90s when I first saw the film. Revisiting it today in the wake of Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman, A Star Is Born and other recent movies that glorify their driven creative wunderkinds, it seems positively cruel in its treatment of its perfectly cheekboned pop savant.

We’re encouraged to scorn Jimmy as he politely inquires whether they can re-record their one-take masters before they’re released nationally. His bandmates laugh off his concerns about signing a sketchy management contract. “The point of all this is to make more records,” he tells his distracted fellow Oneders, who can barely be bothered to show up for their sold-out appearances.

“Do we have a Top 10 record? Then we shouldn’t be here,” Jimmy wisely surmises as Mr. White pimps the Oneders’ miming services to a trashy beach movie. Today, we know Beyonce’ would fire her management for less; however, the rest of the band scoff and insist he should be happy for a West Coast vacation.

Remember the scene in Bohemian Rhapsody where Freddie Mercury and the rest of Queen walk out en masse on the record-label head played by Mike Myers (disguised for some reason as Jeff Lynne)? The Oneders do the exact opposite, so blinded by the star treatment they argue down Jimmy’s concerns about their label’s ineptitude: “They put us up in a nice hotel, all expenses paid!” Note to self: Don’t ask these guys for career advice.

Soon, the Wonders’ bassist (Ethan Embry) bails on the band’s big national TV appearance. Guitarist Lenny (Steve Zahn) blows off their long-promised studio time for a Vegas trip with a bouffanted blonde. It’s the biggest rock & roll betrayal since that *other* Jimmy quit and Jody got married back in the Summer of ’69.

Our Jimmy’s heel turn comes when he blows up at his devoted girlfriend Faye (a luminous Liv Tyler), the only person in the film who has recognized his gifts. “His standards are way up there because he’s so smart. He tested in high school at genius levels,” Faye tells his bandmates after another group meeting ends in a flareup. “If Jimmy’s a genius, I’m U Thant,” responds drummer Guy (Tom Everett Scott), a deep-cut shout-out to the then-Secretary-General of the UN.

Turns out Jimmy *is* kind of a genius; the end cards reveal he went on to have 3 gold records with another band before becoming a successful music producer. The movie strangely exults the glories of its title song —itself Oscar-nominated and penned by a real life pop savant, Fountains of Wayne’s Adam Schlesinger— while punishing its creator for putting music above all else. But in the parlance of 2019, isn’t this just Jimmy being his best self? Following his dream, sharing his gift with a world desperately in need of joy?

Harsh treatment of its golden goose aside, That Thing You Do! remains a winning look at a bygone time with an infectious soundtrack. It took Hanks another 15 years to write and direct a second film (Larry Crowne) while racking up more acting credits and becoming an expert photobomber. Maybe the lesson is that being a tortured artist like Jimmy isn’t nearly as much fun as showing up and performing another person’s work.

Todd Wicks haunts the Detroit suburbs picking through the bones of movies and music he was raised on. He currently writes and releases songs as “Todd Wicks Dream Cruise.”

Where to stream That Thing You Do!