As the Years Go By I Sympathize More and More With This Guy

[KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!!]

It you’ve never seen that Thing You Do!, the guy in the pink suit is a big time bigness exec. The guy in front of him is one of the main characters in the movie. He’s a songwriter and the movie is all about a group who has a one hit wonder and then tries to navigate the big time music industry.

Basically I sympathize more with the guy in the pink suit. A big part of the movie is the songwriter feels he’s much more than a one hit wonder and the band deserves to show all their talent. In this scene the guy in the pink suit is wolfing down a sandwich and the songwriter is giving him an elevator pitch about what the band can do. The guy in the pink suit flips out.

The impression on the surface could just be, “What an asshole!”

I see it differently. Sometimes it’s those little moments like wolfing down a sandwich that can be the only thing that even comes close to joy you have in a day. I just rewatched the scene after not having seen the movie for years and it just strengthened my belief.

In the scene the press is also hassling the business exec, asking him all kinds of personal questions. The business exec charismatically sidesteps everything then puts over the songwriter’s band HUGE. After doing this he then has to modify his eating habits into a performance as he throws together a sandwich, joking with press who is still bothering him. I’m sure he’d much rather tell the press to f*** off and eat his sandwich in peace but instead he puts on a friendly face and jokes with them. Right as this is going on that’s when the songwriter blindsides him.

You can see the whole scene here so judge for yourself: youtu.be/boH-sL67ocw