That Thing You Do! (DVD, 2007, 2-Disc Set; Director's Cut)

First, let me say that I LOVE this movie! I saw That Thing You Do the day it opened in theaters and thought it was great. I considered it a home run for Tom Hanks as a first time writer and director. He had said he wanted people to leave the show feeling like they'd had a nice breath of fresh air from Hollywood. And, that's EXACTLY how I felt about it.

There were a few plot questions I had, though. For example, did Mr. White INTENTIONALLY orchestrate the breakup of the Wonders (the band formerly known as the One-ders)? And, if so, why? What about the Jimmy and Faye relationship? Did he break them up on purpose, too? (That "Careful Girls, He's Engaged!" comment didn't appear on the Hollywood Television Showcase by itself.) Maybe he saw the potential for a much better romance between Faye and Guy Patterson.

So, when I found out there would be an extended cut of this wonderful movie released on DVD, I really looked forward to finding out the answers to these and other questions.

I WAS DISAPPOINTED.

Instead of answering the questions, the extended version takes the opportunity to undermine much of what I love about the story. There are suggestions of sex throughout... Guy making out with Tina at his apartment (in the original, Tina WAS an almost Stepford-esque, social climbing, dumb blond - but she wasn't a slut and we could assume that Guy was too much of a gentleman to take that kind of advantage of her even if she had been), T.B. Player actually taking one of the Chantrellines into his hotel bed (in the original, we see only good clean fun between them, eating cotton candy and enjoying the rides on the county fair midway - sexualizing this character only cheapens him) and there is even a scene in which the suggestion is made that Mr. White may be gay (a tuxedo clad Hanks is seen getting into a flashy red convertible on his way to what appears to be a date with Howie Long - but not before Howie gives Guy Patterson a long, lustful look of his own).

There are a few nice additions... extended scenes with Guy and Faye and a few with Guy and his musical idol, Del Paxton. But, overall, I thought the story was NOT well served by the additional material.

Thankfully, the producers of this set were smart enough to include the original theatrical cut of the movie with the new extended version. So, you can safely replace your old copy with the new one. The benefits of this are some really cool featurettes on the second disk and a crisper, higher quality picture on the film you already know and love on disk one.

I saw the movie on HBO originally and was so taken in by its snappy beat and fluidity of plot that I decided I had to have it in my personal library. This is one movie that will transport you back to the sixties. Two thumbs up