That Thing You Do! (1996) review

During the mid-60's, several friends from the little town of Erie, PA - drummer Guy (Tom Everett Scott), singer Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech), bassist Tobias (Ethan Embry), guitarist Lenny (Steve Zahn) and Faye (Liv Tyler), their muse - enter a talent show and win, record "That Thing You Do!" in a church, it catches the attention of Mr. White (Hanks) who offers to manage them, they appear on The Hollywood Television Showcase ... and inevitably the in-fighting starts and it's over.  For Tom (in his directorial debut) it's a personal project - he wrote the script, some songs and cast his family in it - and it clearly evokes memories of his early childhood, although its good-naturedness is an issue: it's largely nonconfrontational, leisurely paced (I saw the Extended Cut) and it's pretty clear from the very beginning where it's going to go the entire time (the most startling piece of information is in the closing credits: that jerk Jimmy goes back to Play-Tone Records).  I sure do hope you like the title track because it gets played repeatedly: you'll find it buzzing in your head long after you've forgotten the rest of the movie.