The Shawshank Redemption of Mainstream Cinema: That Thing You Do (1996)

THAT THING YOU DO! (1996) - dir. Tom Hanks

Tom Hank's 1996 directorial debut "That Thing You Do!" is like manna from heaven to a rock music geek like me. It's a thoroughly-scrubbed but still fascinating and highly entertaining look at 60's rock music culture in the wake of Beatlemania and the explosion of girl groups, and the continued success of pop singers like Gene Pitney and Lesley Gore. At the center of a fine group of performances (as The Wonders, a Beatles-style band formed in Erie, PA) by actors like Tom Everett Scott (Tom Hanks's not-so-Mini-Me), Jonathan Shaech, Damn The Man's mascot Ethan Embry, Liv Tyler (in a heartbreaking role as Jonathan's girlfriend and the band's #1 Fan), and even bit parts by Charlize Theron and Giovanni Ribisi, stands Steve Zahn's energetic and sweet performance as the guitarist "Lenny," who just wants to play music and wants no part in the band's politics and personal snafus. He's kind of the optimistic, playful heart of the band, and it's a wonderful performance by an actor who is much more talented than his roles would sometimes have you believe.



Steve Zahn's performance in "That Thing You Do" is a sharp contrast to his role as a traumatized POW in "Rescue Dawn;" in fact, these characters are psychic opposites, but provide a nice glimpse into this fine actor's range. His ability to easily elicit joy, sympathy and grief in audiences is astounding. His role in That Thing You Do is a bit smaller than some in the rest of the cast, but he exuberantly and hilariously supports the ensemble, as is evidenced here in the trailer:



Please see this little gem of a film if you haven't already. If you are a Steve Zahn fan who hasn't caught up to this film, Netflix now. Here's a part of the "That Thing You Do" reunion interview featuring Steve Zahn:

When 90's Actors Collide: "Rescue Dawn"

RESCUE DAWN (2007) - Featuring Christian Bale, Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies

Yesterday I watched American film director Jonathan Demme interview German (or Bavarian, as he explained that he prefers in the interview) film director Werner Herzog on one of the special features of Herzog's strange and wonderful 2007 documentary about Anarctica, "Encounters at the End of the World." They discussed Herzog's terrific 2007 narrative film "Rescue Dawn" in depth, and it occurred to me that I had a Damn The Man moment on my hands.

I quite enjoyed the film "Rescue Dawn," and besides my love for the highly eccentric Werner Herzog, this movie also contains three formidable actors who found their strides in the 90's: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies. For the next few posts, I will talk about a favorite 90's film featuring each one of these actors.

Since "Rescue Dawn" is not a 90's film, I won't go on about it, except to say that if you haven't seen it, do. It is a very moving film based on Herzog's 1997 documentary, "Little Dieter Needs To Fly", which profiled Dieter Dengler, a German-American pilot. Rescue Dawn features a startling dramatic performance by a normally comedic actor, Steve Zahn. It is truly a shame that they didn't throw awards at this guy for his acting in this film. Check out the trailer, folks: