That Thing You Do!" is a light-hearted musical comedy set in the mid-1960's, in the days of rock "n" roll bands like "The Beatles". This film follows the rise & fall of a fictitious band known as "The Wonders". Tom Hanks directs & stars in this enjoyable romp down memory lane.

Although Hanks' film starts out strong, it finishes on shaky ground. That Thing You Do! is mostly a serio-comedy/fantasy whose light dramatic arc can't support the awkward and unnecessarily melodramatic ending. For most of the movie, the first-time director lets things move forward in an unforced manner, but, as the running time approaches the ninety-minute mark, he appears uncertain how to wrap things up cleanly. The result is an imposed climax. Two of the band members split on a whim and the lead singer decides that the commercialization of The Wonders offends his artistic integrity. If the film had adequately built to this moment, it might have worked, but, as it is, it feels manufactured and artificial.

On the other hand, the movie contains its share of magical moments. The sequence when the excited band members first hear their single on the radio is one (they run around an appliance store owned by Guy's father, shouting, dancing, and turning every radio on full blast). Another occurs when Guy's previously-doubting family clusters around the TV to watch his debut on the "Hollywood Television Showcase". 

From a romantic angle, That Thing You Do! is a disappointment. For most of the film, Faye (playes by Liv Tyler)  has little to do except tag along after the band offering support to her boyfriend, Jimmy, and silently longing after Guy. Had this triangle been developed, it could have created the kind of believable tension necessary to splinter the band, but we never see much in the way of affection between Jimmy and Faye, and Guy doesn't really come into the picture until Jimmy is effectively out of it. 

Most bands start in a garage and stay there, Wonders however with a mix of good fortune and charm made it big and it is believed that their hit number rose to # 7 on the bill board hot 100. Made a dlightful viewing on a boring monday night , "oneder " why i missed watching this earlier!!

Tags: movie, that thing you do, wonders
Current Mood: happy
Current Music: That thing you do

We all make choices - good and not so good .Sometimes in life we make wrong choices. And (sometimes), what you do stays with you.

The most number of wrong choices people make are in their careers - choosing jobs ( this is my blog and this is my view -  a disclaimer if you dont agree to the above statement). The experiences are far too different to learn from, for eg: if you made a wrong choice of a life partner, you at least ensure that same qualitties / attributes which led you to think it was a wrong choice is taken care of , should you choose another partner. 

But how does one ensure the same with jobs? The enivronment is dynamic, (includes peers, boss, super boss etc) role descritions are the same,(if you are s/w engineer at one place, unless moving to a higher role, you are a s/w engineer) .However one of the requirements (read environment) being dynamic / variable, what tools does one have to ensure you dont up making another wrong choice?

When all goes fine i.e environment and role description,then there's one fly in the ointment - stability of the organisation which is offering you the job.Imagine, you have moved jobs far too often in the past, in the search for the right setting(both environment & role) you land up a role that promises if not the moon,(read dream role)  but challenging assignments, growth and most important , being paid on time. After completing a couple of months you become the part of the rumour mill and hear the most dreaded thing - the company is up for sale and should there be no buyers, the writing is on the wall!

Part of the problem is when you dont research enough about the organisation you are going to be aprt of, however that said , its not possilble for one to know merger & acquisition plans of the rganisation, even if you did, there isnt  adequate proof . 

Having (or not) researched isnt that much of a significance, than the decision one should take after learning about the company' s plan to scale down. Should one look for another job? (would it be lead to a loop of wrong choices?) or wait , watch and stay positive about the company's future.  ( reminds me of a friend who survived the entire "shutdown cycle" of his previous company, being with the company even when it couldnt pay him for a few months!. dont know if it works if you have (huge) bills to pay)

The solution seems simple, Move on or stay put (as my friend did). To move on may not be simple as not all cherish the hellish experience of finding another job, not to forget , you havent yet got hold of tool which helps you make the right choice. To stay in the job would feel worse than walking barefoot over burning-hot, acid-covered with  broken glass and forcing yourself to do it (coming to work with no real task to do) anyway is a frustrating exercise and also futile 

Whatever maybe the outcome, one has to stay with the choices made. It could be a learning experience or a complete waste of time, whichever may be the case, the crucial thing is to make "wise" choices going forward. "on making wise choices" sounds like the next  probable journal :-)

Epilogue:

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature,
nor do the children of men
as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer
in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
To keep our faces toward change and
behave like free spirits
in the presence of fate is strength undefeatable." ------- Helen Keller

 

Tags: choices, dissatisfaction, jobs
Current Mood: numb

I am talking about a very famous comedy by BBC entertainment "ALLO ALLO". 

Set during world war II, the story is about René Artois, café owner in the Nazi-occupied French town of Nouvion, whose efforts to appease a range of opposing factions without being killed  gives way to a whole lot of hilarious episodes.

I wonder how i missed watching this during the 80's, not that i was hooked on to TV as much. Spent my weekend watching two seasons (14 episodes) of the sitcom. Must say havent watched anything as entertaining as this in a bit.

Picture the scene, a small french village, occupied by the Nazi's during World War 2.
A small cafe, run by portly frenchmen Rene Artois and his "wife" Edith.

Rene Artois is secretly a member of the French resistance, although he wishes he wasn't. As a front, he makes aquaintances with high ranking German army officers, in order to keep his head on his shoulders.

The Germans, General Von Strohm and Lieutenant Gruber, are a bit dodgy and have stolen plenty of paintings from Hitler, so they can become rich after the war. But Hitler has the Gustapo on their heels, which forces the General to make Rene keep his stash safe. Stash = more grief for Rene.

Many stories intertwine in this show, poor Rene, his two barmaids fancy the apron of him, neither of them know of the others feelings. Then he has Edith, who knows of the stolen painting (known as "The fallen Madonna with the big boobies") inside a large sausage (which provides many gags)

Then theres the two British Airmen who have crashed near by that Rene must hide until they can be rescued.
and not to forget the Gustapo, Herr Flick, who is catching up with the stolen art work.

There are plenty of cast members, ranging from Michelle of the resistance ("I shall say zis only once...") to Leclerc who is a forger, who's trademark is lifting his glasses and saying "It is I, LeClerc".
The other is Officer Crabtree, an Englishman who is masquerading as a French policeman. Unfortunately, his french is quite bad, hence "good morning" becomes "good moaning", "Bicycle" becomes "Bercircle" and other hilarious japes. 

Cant wait for ze next weekend and watch all the episodes, look this space for me for "i shall zis only one..."

Toodloo :-)

 

Tags: allo allo
Current Mood: awake