That Thing You Do! is a 1996
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
writtenScreenwriters or scenarists or scriptwriters are people in a film crew who write/create the screenplays from which films and television programs are made....
and directed by
Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
. Set in the summer of 1964, the movie tells the story of a
one-hit wonderA one-hit wonder is a person or act known mainly for only a single success. The term is most often used to describe music performers with only one hit single.-Characteristics:...
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
band, called The Wonders, following their whirlwind rise to the top of the pop charts, and just as quickly, their dissolution. The film also resulted in a real life musical hit with the song, "
That Thing You Do"That Thing You Do" is a 1996 song that appears in the film That Thing You Do!. The song is performed by the fictional 1960's band The Wonders, who are the focus of the film.-In the film:...
".
Plot
The film follows the career of an
Erie, PennsylvaniaErie is an industrial city on the shore of Lake Erie in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth largest city , with a population of 104,000...
, rock band that formed at the beginning of the
British InvasionThe British Invasion is used to describe rock and roll, beat and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States from 1964 to 1966. The Second British Invasion refers to MTV and New Wave acts of the 1980s...
in 1964. Former peacetime army serviceman Guy Patterson (
Tom Everett ScottThomas Everett Scott is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his starring role as drummer Guy Patterson in the 1996 movie That Thing You Do!.- Early life :...
), who now works at his father's appliance store in Erie, Pennsylvania, is a good drummer who idolizes jazz and is involved in a shallow relationship with Tina Powers (
Charlize TheronCharlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She became an American citizen in 2007....
in one of her first major motion picture roles.)
Guy is asked by rhythm guitarist/singer Jimmy Mattingly (
Johnathon SchaechJohnathon Schaech is an American actor, writer, and director. His last name is pronounced Shek.-Career:Schaech's career in movies and television dates back to 1993...
) and lead guitarist/singer Lenny Haise (
Steve ZahnSteven James "Steve" Zahn is an American comedian and actor of both film and stage. He has appeared in many films, usually playing the role of a goofy comic relief sidekick.-Early life:...
) to substitute at that night's annual
Mercyhurst CollegeMercyhurst College is a Catholic liberal arts college in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA.-History:On September 20, 1926, Mercyhurst College opened its doors just a few blocks away from the city's southern boundary. It was founded by the Sisters of Mercy of the Erie Diocese, who were led by Mother M. Borgia...
talent show, for their unnamed beat group's regular drummer, Chad (
Giovanni RibisiGiovanni Ribisi is an American actor. His film credits include Perfect Stranger, Heaven, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Saving Private Ryan, That Thing You Do!, Boiler Room, subUrbia, The Gift, Basic, Lost in Translation, Flight of the Phoenix, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, I Love Your Work, The...
) - who has broken his arm. Rounding out the group is the
bassThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
player (
Ethan EmbryEthan Embry is an American actor.Embry was born Ethan Philan Randall in Huntington Beach, California, the son of Karen and Charles Randall. He started acting in 1991, at age thirteen. He married Amelinda Smith on November 14, 1998. They had one child together, Cogeian Sky Embry, born December 10,...
), whose character is never named, even in the movie's credits. (He is known simply as "The Bass Player" or "T. B. Player", an in-joke on the anonymity of session musicians.) They are to play a ballad written by Jimmy (and as Jimmy admits, by Lenny, uncredited) titled "That Thing You Do," which they rehearse in Jimmy's parent's garage. At the suggestion of Jimmy's "sort-of" girlfriend Faye Dolan (
Liv TylerLiv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...
), inspired by a comment from Guy, they adopt the name "The Oneders" (pronounced "ONE-ders"), but it is almost always mispronounced as the "oh-NEE-ders."
At the talent show, Guy sets up a pounding beat substantially faster than its original ballad tempo. Although the rest of band struggles at first to keep up, the crowd instantly gets up to dance to it, and the band adjusts quickly. They overwhelmingly win the $100 top prize, and within minutes they get their first paying
gigGig is a term commonly used by musicians with reference to their performances.The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians describes it as "A term commonly applied to a musical engagement of one night’s duration only; to undertake such an engagement." The first documented use of this term in this...
, at a pizza parlor near the airport named Villapianos.
After a fan requests their record, The Oneders enlist the help of Guy's Uncle Bob (
Chris IsaakChristopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak ) is an American rock musician and occasional actor.-Personal life:Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy , a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver. Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa...
), who records songs and sermons for churches and choirs, to record and cut the song on vinyl, which Faye subsequently sells at their gigs. Talent scout Phil Horace (
Chris EllisChris Ellis is an American actor with parts in movies such as My Cousin Vinny and Days of Thunder as well as countless television programs.Ellis always wanted to be an actor because of television...
) sees them play, buys a copy of their record, and introduces himself to Guy at the appliance store. Based on Horace's promise that he will get them radio airplay and performance bookings in big cities like
PittsburghPittsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and the second largest city in the state. Its population was 334,563 at the 2000 census; by 2006, it was estimated to have fallen to 312,819. The population of the seven-county metropolitan area is...
and
Steubenville, OhioSteubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border in the United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County and is largely considered part of the Pittsburgh Tri-State area, unofficially as a suburb despite its own individual identity...
, The Oneders sign his standard management contract, despite Jimmy's initial reluctance to assign rights to his music.
Horace is successful: "That Thing You Do" is played three times in one day on local Erie station WJET to the band's shocked pleasure, as they riotously celebrate in Guy's father's appliance store. The Oneders are booked at a major gig in Pittsburgh, sponsored by well-known mattress salesman and pompous rock music promoter "Boss Vic Koss" (
Kevin PollakKevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of ten and touring professionally at age twenty...
). Although their first set is a failure due to a series of technical mishaps, Horace has secretly arranged for a record company
A&RArtists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
man, Mr. White (
HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
) to see the show. Mr. White is impressed by their record, and he buys the band's contract, signs the band to his employer (the Play-Tone record label), changes the spelling of their name to 'The Wonders', and decides that Guy should always wear sunglasses on stage and be known as "Shades" as his "trademark". He also arranges for Faye to accompany the band as "wardrobe mistress." As the Wonders go on tour and start to make it big, Tina, Guy's girlfriend, (not very impressed with Guy's newfound semi-stardom) falls in love with her handsome new dentist and without telling Guy, dumps the drummer for her new infatuation.
Alongside other Play-Tone artists, the band tours
state fairA state fair is a competitive and recreational gathering of a U.S. state's population. It is a larger version of a county fair, often including only exhibits or competitors that have won in their categories at the more-local county fairs....
s across the Midwest. Their single enters and climbs the
BillboardBillboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Top 100. As the tour progresses, The Wonders go from being the opening act to the feature attraction, even earning band-specific stage decorations. Throngs of teenage girls mob the band at one tour stop. While on tour, the movie implies that Jimmy engages in a secret affair with aging siren Diane Dane (Chaille Percival). When "That Thing You Do" hits the Top 10, the band is ordered to leave the tour in Wisconsin and head for Hollywood to meet Sol Siler (
Alex RoccoAlex Rocco is an American actor. His roles have ranged from comedy to playing gangsters in Mafia movies.-Early life:...
), the owner of Play-Tone, for a promotional photo shoot. While leaving the Wisconsin state fair, a security guard stops Faye from accompanying the group (similar to a real incident that happened to
Cynthia LennonCynthia Lennon was the first wife of musician John Lennon. She grew up in the middle-class section of Hoylake, on the Wirral Peninsula, and gained a place at the Liverpool College of Art, which Lennon also attended....
in August 1967), but Guy comes back for her. On the airplane, White announces that the band also will be appearing in a major motion picture and, at Jimmy's urging, doing a recording session for an album, while Faye comes down with a severe cold, much to Guy's concern. Meanwhile, in Erie, original drummer Chad has taken Guy's place as a salesman at Patterson's Appliance.
The Wonders then appear as "Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters" in a film,
Weekend at Party Pier, that is actually a
beach movieBeach party movies were an American 1960s genre of feature films created by American International Pictures with their surprise 1963 hit, Beach Party, and copied by virtually every other studio...
, and Siler turns out to neither know nor care anything about the record business, preferring to discuss himself. Jimmy becomes disillusioned and sulks. During an off day, the bass player abandons the band to visit Disneyland with a group of
United States MarinesThe United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, whose ranks he had previously committed to join. Alone, Guy goes to a jazz club, where he meets his idol, jazz pianist Del Paxton (
Bill CobbsWilbert "Bill" Cobbs is an American film and television actor. He has starred in over 120 television programs and movies....
), and drinks with him until closing time. The next day, experienced studio bassist Scott "Wolfman" Pell (Larry Antonino) joins The Wonders for a live performance on
The Hollywood Television Showcase. During the nationally televised prime-time show, the words "Careful girls, he's engaged!" are captioned on the screen beneath Jimmy's image (an homage to "Sorry girls, he's married!" to John Lennon on
The Ed Sullivan ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show was a popular American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from June 20, 1948 to June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan.-History:...
). After the show, an angry Jimmy rudely tells a stunned Faye and the rest of the band that he is
not engaged and that he doesn't intend to marry Faye. Hurt by Jimmy's shocking callousness and insensitivity, Faye denounces Jimmy and ends their relationship.
At the recording session the next day, The Wonders learn that they are to record songs from the Play-Tone catalog for their album. White promises Jimmy one original song per side of the album but makes it clear that he wants "snappy" material, not ballads. Jimmy promptly quits the band and walks out. Lenny never shows up for the session, having driven to Las Vegas with a Play-Tone secretary/
Playboy BunnyA Playboy Bunny is a waitress at the Playboy Club. The Playboy Clubs were originally open from 1960 to 1988. The Club re-opened in one location in The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas in 2006...
after the previous nights televised show and married her. White thanks Wolfman for coming, and Wolfman leaves. With the departure of everyone but Guy, White declares the group in
breach of contractBreach of contract is a legal concept in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance.- Minor breaches :...
. White expresses to Guy that Lenny is "the fool" and Jimmy is "the talent" but Guy is "the smart one," and asks about Faye (whom White says "is special"), then leaves. Guy remains in the recording studio alone — his first time in one — and his impromptu drumming catches the ear of Del Paxton, who is recording next door. The two record a
jam sessionA jam session is a musical act where musicians gather and play without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements; improvisation....
where Guy plays a drum routine titled "I Am Spartacus" while Del improvises an accompanying piano part.
Back at their L.A. hotel, Guy tells Faye that Del thinks he can make it as a session musician in L.A., and Faye and Guy finally declare their love for one another. (In the "director's cut" of the film, the jam session results in a job for Guy at jazz radio station KJZZ, which had earlier interviewed the Wonders. That's how Guy becomes a "permanent West Coast-er.")
In a written epilogue, Guy and Faye remain in Los Angeles, marry the following year and raise four children before moving to
Bainbridge Island, WashingtonBainbridge Island is an island-city in Kitsap County, Washington, United States, located in Puget Sound. The population was 20,308 at the 2000 census but is now estimated at over 26,000....
, where they found a music conservatory where Guy teaches jazz composition. Jimmy rejoins Play-Tone and records three gold albums with a new band called The Heardsmen (which was Jimmy's original choice to name The Wonders) and eventually becomes a music Producer. Lenny manages a casino in
Laughlin, NevadaLaughlin is a census-designated place in Clark County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2000 census, the population was 7,076. Laughlin is a port located on the Colorado River 94 miles south of Las Vegas...
, and he is "currently single". The Bass Player is awarded the
Purple HeartThe Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
for wounds sustained at
Khe SanhThe Battle of Khe Sanh was conducted in northwestern Quang Tri Province, Republic of Vietnam , between 21 January and 8 April 1968 during the Vietnam War...
while serving in the Marines and eventually becomes a building contractor in
Orlando, FloridaOrlando is a major city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan region...
.
Cast
- Tom Everett Scott
Thomas Everett Scott is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his starring role as drummer Guy Patterson in the 1996 movie That Thing You Do!.- Early life :...
as Guy "Shades" Patterson, drums
- Johnathon Schaech
Johnathon Schaech is an American actor, writer, and director. His last name is pronounced Shek.-Career:Schaech's career in movies and television dates back to 1993...
as James "Jimmy" Mattingly II, guitar and lead vocals
- Steve Zahn
Steven James "Steve" Zahn is an American comedian and actor of both film and stage. He has appeared in many films, usually playing the role of a goofy comic relief sidekick.-Early life:...
as Leonard "Lenny" Haise, guitar and backing vocals
- Ethan Embry
Ethan Embry is an American actor.Embry was born Ethan Philan Randall in Huntington Beach, California, the son of Karen and Charles Randall. He started acting in 1991, at age thirteen. He married Amelinda Smith on November 14, 1998. They had one child together, Cogeian Sky Embry, born December 10,...
as "T. B. Player," a.k.a. The Bass Player (character's name is never mentioned).
- Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
as Mr. White, the band's manager
- Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...
as Faye Dolan, Jimmy's girlfriend and the band's "wardrobe mistress"
- Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She became an American citizen in 2007....
as Tina Powers, Guy's girlfriend
- Bill Cobbs
Wilbert "Bill" Cobbs is an American film and television actor. He has starred in over 120 television programs and movies....
as Del Paxton, Guy's favorite jazz musician
- Giovanni Ribisi
Giovanni Ribisi is an American actor. His film credits include Perfect Stranger, Heaven, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Saving Private Ryan, That Thing You Do!, Boiler Room, subUrbia, The Gift, Basic, Lost in Translation, Flight of the Phoenix, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, I Love Your Work, The...
as Chad, the band's original drummer
- Obba Babatundé
Obba Babatundé is an American actor of stage and screen, known for his Emmy-nominated performance in the television movie Miss Evers' Boys, a NAACP Image Award-nominated performance in the TV movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and a Tony Award-nominated role for his performance as C.C...
as Lamarr, the Ambassador Hotel bellman
Music
The movie features original music by
HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
,
Adam SchlesingerAdam Schlesinger is an American songwriter, composer and record producer. He is the bassist for the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy and Tinted Windows. He is an owner of Scratchie Records and Stratosphere Sound, a recording studio in New York City...
,
Rick EliasRick Elias is a Nashville based singer and songwriter.From 1993 to 2002, Elias was a member of Rich Mullins' A Ragamuffin Band.Rick was a founding member of Rich Mullins and a Ragamuffin Band. Today Rick spends his time writing and producing music in Nashville TN., and continues to perform solo...
, Scott Rogness,
Mike PiccirilloMike Piccirillo is a music producer, songwriter, and musician who began working professionally in the Los Angeles music business in 1976. In conjunction with production partner George Tobin, and subsequently Gary Goetzman, Piccirillo co-produced 31 albums between 1976 and 1992...
,
Gary GoetzmanGary Michael Goetzman is an American film and television producer, and is perhaps best known as co-founder of Playtone with Tom Hanks. Born in Los Angeles, Goetzman began his career as a child actor...
and
Howard ShoreHoward Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, orchestrator, conductor and music producer. He was the first band leader on Saturday Night Live. He composed the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and the scores to most of David Cronenberg's films...
. In the movie, The Wonders rise to brief stardom on the strength of "
That Thing You Do"That Thing You Do" is a 1996 song that appears in the film That Thing You Do!. The song is performed by the fictional 1960's band The Wonders, who are the focus of the film.-In the film:...
", a song written as a wistful ballad but which becomes an uptempo rocker during the band's first performance at a talent show. Written and composed for the film by
Adam SchlesingerAdam Schlesinger is an American songwriter, composer and record producer. He is the bassist for the bands Fountains of Wayne, Ivy and Tinted Windows. He is an owner of Scratchie Records and Stratosphere Sound, a recording studio in New York City...
,
bassistA bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
for
Fountains of WayneFountains of Wayne are an American power pop band formed in 1996 and known for such singles as "Radiation Vibe", "Too Cool For School" and their international hit "Stacy's Mom".-Early years:...
and
IvyIvy is a New York City band composed of a trio of musicians, Adam Schlesinger, Dominique Durand, and Andy Chase.-Lately and Realistic:...
, and released on the film's soundtrack, the song became a genuine hit for The Wonders in 1996 (the song peaked at #41 on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, #22 on the Adult Contemporary charts, #18 on the Adult Top 40, and #24 on the
Top 40 MainstreamPop Songs is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay charts...
charts). The track was nominated for the 1996
Golden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in motion pictures and television...
as well as the
1996 Academy AwardThe 69th Academy Awards were dominated by movies produced by independent studios, financed outside of mainstream Hollywood, leading to 1997 being dubbed "The Year of the Independents". All but one of the nominees for Best Picture were low-budget independent movies The 69th Academy Awards were...
for Best Original Song.
Mike Viola-Overview:Michael "Mike" Viola is an American singer-songwriter best known as singer, songwriter and the "musical architect" of a team he called the "Candy Butchers," a highly regarded pop-rock band from New York City that recorded three critically-acclaimed albums for Sony, including Hang On Mike,...
of
The Candy ButchersCandy Butchers are an American band headed by singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist Mike Viola, featuring a rotating cast of musicians. The band plays upbeat Beatles-inflected pop rock....
provided the distinctive lead vocals for the Wonders.
In the film, the title song is referenced with "All My Only Dreams" as the B-side. The actual 45 RPM single, released to record stores in North America, features "Dance With Me Tonight" as its B-side. The song has since been
recordedIn popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by
The KnackThe Knack is a Los Angeles-based rock quartet that rose to fame with their first single, "My Sharona", an international hit in the second half of 1979....
and Bubblegum Lemonade.
The soundtrack album (released under the Play-Tone name in conjunction with Epic Records) was also a hit, peaking at #21 on the Billboard Top 200. The CD artwork is a replica of the fictional Play-Tone label used in the movie, and the liner notes are done in a
mockumentaryMockumentary or mock documentary is a genre of film and television, or a single work of the genre. Although a mockumentary may be one of the comedy genres, serious mockumentaries also exist. The mockumentary is presented as a documentary recording real life, but is actually fictional. It is a...
style, as if the Wonders had been a real group and the events of the film had actually happened.
The song that plays during the film's
opening creditsIn a television program, motion picture, or videogame, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
, "Lovin' You Lots and Lots", is credited to the
fictitious "Norm Wooster Singers" but was actually written by Hanks. This song is a good-natured
parodyA parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of
Ray ConniffJoseph Raymond Conniff was an American musician. He was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and learned to play the trombone from his father. He studied music arranging from a course book.After serving in the U.S...
,
Mitch MillerMitch Miller is an American musician, singer, conductor, record producer, A&R man and record company executive. He was one of the most influential figures in American popular music during the 1950s and early 1960s, both as the head of Artists & Repertoire at Columbia Records and as a best-selling...
, and other practitioners of proto-
muzakMuzak Holdings LLC is a company based in metro Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States, just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, founded in 1934, that is best known for distribution of background music to retail stores and other companies....
.
Soundtrack listing
- Lovin' You Lots And Lots - Norm Wooster Singers
- That Thing You Do - The Wonders
- Little Wild One - The Wonders
- Dance With Me Tonight - The Wonders
- All My Only Dreams - The Wonders
- I Need You (That Thing You Do) - The Wonders
- She Knows It - The Heardsman
- Mr. Downtown - Freddy Fredrickson
- Hold My Hand, Hold My Heart - The Chantrellines
- Voyage Around The Moon - The Saturn 5
- My World Is Over - Diane Dane
- Drive Faster - The Vicksburgs
- Shrimp Shack - Cap'n Geech & The Shrimp Shack Shooters
- Time To Blow - Del Paxton
- That Thing You Do! (Live at the Hollywood Television Showcase) - The Wonders
The tour and TV appearance are done in the authentic style of rock bands of the mid-1960s, including
Go-Go girlsGo-Go dancers are dancers who are employed to entertain crowds at a discotheque. Go-go dancing originated in the early 1960s when women at the Peppermint Lounge in New York City began to get up on tables and dance the twist...
, elaborate sharing of microphones, and formal clothing in various matching colors. Homages to various groups of the era appear, such as a
A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night may refer to:*A Hard Day's Night , a movie starring The Beatles*A Hard Day's Night , an album that serves as the soundtrack to the movie**"A Hard Day's Night" , a song on the album...
-style vignette in which the band clowns across a map of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and races a horse, and the band's performance style changes to resemble the Dave Clark Five (a group admired by producer Hanks).
Reception
The film was well received by critics and currently holds a 91% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, increasing to 93% when narrowed down to the selected top critics. However it was only moderately successful at the box office, grossing $25,857,416 domestically and $8,728,000 foreignly for a worldwide gross of $34,585,416.
Cameos
- Director Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter.-Personal life:Demme was born in Baldwin, New York, the son of Dorothy Demme and a public relations executive father. Demme has three children: Ramona, Brooklyn, Josephine. He is a graduate of the University of Florida. He...
(The Silence of the Lambs), one of the producers of That Thing You Do, who directed Tom Hanks to his first Oscar for PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia is a 1993 film. The film's subjects include HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia. It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme. The film stars Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Joanne Woodward, Jason Robards, Antonio Banderas, Mary Steenburgen, Anna Deavere Smith, Lisa...
, has a cameo as the director of Weekend At Party Pier.
- Comedian Barry Sobel
Barry Sobel is an American actor and comedian.-Biography:Sobel grew up in Brooklyn, New York.During the 1980s, Sobel toured the comedy circuit heavily...
, who co-wrote Tom Hanks' stand-up material for and was featured in the film Punchline, has a cameo as "Goofball" in Weekend at Party Pier.
- Tracy Reiner
Tracy Reiner is an American actress. She's had appearances in more than 30 movies, among them Apollo 13 and A League of Their Own.She's Penny Marshall's daughter and Gary Marshall's niece. Her mother was married for 10 years to Rob Reiner, when Tracy adopted his last name....
, who played "Betty Spaghetti" Horn in A League of Their OwnA League of Their Own is a comedy-drama film that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League . Directed by Penny Marshall, the film stars Geena Davis, Tom Hanks, Madonna, and Lori Petty...
and Mary Haise in Apollo 13Apollo 13 was the third manned mission by NASA that was intended to land on the moon, but a mid-mission technical malfunction forced the lunar landing to be aborted. The crew members were commander James A. Lovell, command module pilot John L. "Jack" Swigert, and lunar module pilot Fred W....
, in both of which Hanks co-starred, has a cameo as "Anita", the co-star of Weekend at Party Pier.
- Musician Chris Isaak
Christopher Joseph "Chris" Isaak ) is an American rock musician and occasional actor.-Personal life:Isaak was born in Stockton, California, the son of Dorothy , a potato chip factory worker, and Joe Isaak, a forklift driver. Isaak's mother is Italian American, originating from Genoa...
appears as "Uncle Bob", and would later appear as astronaut Edward Higgins WhiteEdward Higgins White, II was an engineer, United States Air Force officer and a NASA astronaut. On June 3 1965, he became the first American to conduct a spacewalk...
in Tom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James...
' From the Earth to the Moon miniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a pre-planned limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
.
- Actress Rita Wilson
-Early life:Wilson was born Margarita Ibrahimova in Los Angeles, California. Her father, a Pomak who worked at a racetrack, was born in Greece; he later converted to Orthodoxy. Before emigrating to the U.S., he had lived in Bulgaria and Turkey; her mother, Dorothy, was born and raised in an ethnic...
(Tom Hanks' wife) has a small part as "Marguerite" the waitress at The Blue Spot jazz club.
- Tom Hanks' son, Colin
-Personal life:Hanks was born Colin Lewes Dillingham in Sacramento, California, the eldest son of Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks and his first wife, the late producer and actress Samantha Lewes , who died of bone cancer on March 13, 2002. His name was changed to Hanks after his parents married in 1978...
, appears as a page at the City of Broadcasting. He can be seen escorting Faye (Liv TylerLiv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and model. She is the daughter of Aerosmith's lead singer, Steven Tyler, and Bebe Buell, model and singer. Tyler began a career in modeling at the age of 14, but after less than a year she decided to focus on acting. She made her film debut in the 1994...
) from her car to her seat in the studio audience. His role is slightly expanded in the extended edition DVD.
- Actor Peter Scolari
Peter Scolari is an American television, film and stage actor best known for his roles in the television shows Bosom Buddies , Newhart and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids: The TV Show....
, Tom Hanks' co-star on the '80s sitcom Bosom BuddiesBosom Buddies is an American sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari created by Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller and Chris Thompson. It ran from 1980 to 1982 on ABC and in reruns in the summer of 1984 on NBC....
, plays "Troy Chesterfield", host of The Hollywood Television Showcase.
- Football player/commentator Howie Long
Howard Michael "Howie" Long is a former American football player and actor. Long, who played as a defensive end, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000.-High school:...
appears as Mr. White's driver/"partner" Lloyd in the extended cut of the movie, released on DVD in 2007. His part was entirely cut from the theatrical release.
- Bryan Cranston
Bryan Lee Cranston is an American actor, voice actor, writer and director. He is best known for his roles as Hal in the FOX situation comedy Malcolm in the Middle and Walter White in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad, for which he has won two Emmy Awards. Other notable roles include Dr...
, who would later star in the sitcom Malcolm In the MiddleMalcolm in the Middle is an American comedy television series created by Linwood Boomer for the Fox Network. The series was first broadcast on January 9, 2000, and ended its six-and-a-half-year run on May 14, 2006, after seven seasons and 151 episodes...
and AMC's hit Breaking BadBreaking Bad is an American television drama series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television and broadcast in the United States and Canada on the cable network AMC. It premiered on January 20, 2008, and completed its first seven-episode season on...
, appears as astronaut Gus GrissomVirgil Ivan Grissom, more widely known as Gus Grissom, was one of the original NASA Project Mercury astronauts and a United States Air Force pilot. He was the second American to fly in space...
during The Hollywood Television Showcase scenes. Interestingly, he also appeared as Buzz AldrinBuzz Aldrin is an American mechanical engineer, retired United States Air Force pilot and astronaut who was the Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, the first lunar landing...
in From the Earth to the Moon.
- Clint Howard
Clinton E. "Clint" Howard is an American film and television actor. He is a seasoned character actor with numerous brief appearances on television and films, usually noted for his unusual appearance. He has played many bit parts in movies directed by his brother, actor-turned-director Ron Howard...
, the brother of Ron HowardRonald William "Ron" Howard is an American film director and producer, as well as an actor. Howard came to prominence in the 1960s while playing Andy Griffith's TV son, Opie Taylor, on The Andy Griffith Show , and later in the 1970s as Howard Cunningham's son and Arthur Fonzarelli's best friend,...
, appears as a KJZZ Disk Jockey. Howard played EECOM "Paul Lucas" in From the Earth to the Moon, and as Sy Liebergot in Apollo 13. Both characters were EECOM for the Apollo program, with Paul Lucas being a fictional character.
- Kevin Pollak
Kevin Elliot Pollak is an American actor, impressionist and comedian. He started performing stand-up comedy at the age of ten and touring professionally at age twenty...
appears as Victor 'Boss Vic Koss' Kosslovich. He also played Apollo Program Manager Joe Shea in From the Earth to the Moon.
Initial release
That Thing You Do! was first released in mid-1997 on VHS. In 1998, the film became exclusively available (digitally) on the
DIVXDIVX was a failed attempt by Circuit City and the entertainment law firm Ziffren, Brittenham, Branca and Fischer to create an alternative to video rental in the United States.-Overview:...
format (as with all
20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation , also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox, is one of the six major American film studios...
films). DIVX would quickly fail, and the film was finally released onto conventional DVD on June 5, 2001. At the time, it included the featurette "The Making of
That Thing You Do!," and two music videos.
Extended Edition DVD
On May 8, 2007,
Tom Hanks' Extended Edition was released on DVD. The film's theatrical cut and an extended cut with 39 additional minutes of deleted scenes are included.
Many of the deleted scenes are devoted to character development. A tastefully steamy look at Guy's "make-out" session with Tina at his apartment is included, as the movie "
Spartacus" plays on his television in the background. It is in this deleted scene that we see the origin of Guy's catch-phrase "I am Spartacus." (The deletion of this scene rendered his subsequent numerous repetitions of the phrase semi-senseless.) Other scenes further explore Guy's developing relationship with Faye via mild flirting, and his deteriorating relationship with Tina, while also showing more of Tina's budding relationship with her dentist, Dr. Collins.
Other extra scenes also include the band's post-talent show rehearsals in an Erie garage, Jimmy's pleading to get "All My Only Dreams" (the B-side of the single) recorded by Uncle Bob, a food fight - as three of the band members play wildly - at Villapiano's in which Faye (standing well to the rear of the club) squeals with laughter as her offended boyfriend Jimmy demands they leave, their awestruck response to first entering the Orpheum Theatre in Pittsburgh and their less-than-pleasant encounter there with "Boss Vic Koss", who is actually an obnoxious mattress store owner. During the Play-Tone tour, the bass player is seen in an interracial fling with a member of The Chantrellines. On the jet to L.A., we see that Mr. White has an interesting collection of pills, some of which he dispenses to Faye to help her "sleep like a baby." In L.A., Sol Siler falsely claims to the reporters at the photo shoot to have discovered the Wonders, while Mr. White is seemingly involved in a homosexual relationship with the previously-unseen Lloyd (Howie Long). It is also revealed that the Playtone Records secretary whom Lenny falls for is named Kitty.
In the Extended Edition, the most significant change is to the ending. After Guy records "I Am Spartacus" with Del Paxton, he calls KJZZ to tell the DJ (
Clint HowardClinton E. "Clint" Howard is an American film and television actor. He is a seasoned character actor with numerous brief appearances on television and films, usually noted for his unusual appearance. He has played many bit parts in movies directed by his brother, actor-turned-director Ron Howard...
), who interviewed the Wonders earlier and who is also a huge Del Paxton fan, about it. The DJ offers Guy a job as a KJZZ evening DJ and interviewer if Guy can bring back tapes of Del reminiscing, which KJZZ can sell to other stations. Guy is able to record such tapes with Del and his band. Thus, Guy stays in L.A., as he does in the original cut, but he isn't just depending on finding session work; he has an actual job.
An additional disc of extras in the "Extended Edition" include a “Making That Thing You Do” featurette, "The Story Of The Wonders” featurette, a 2007
That Thing You Do! Reunion (featuring Scott, Schaech, Embry and Theron together, and Zahn in a separate interview intercut with the reunion, Tyler and Hanks are not included) "The Wonders – Big in Japan” featurette, and “The Making of
That Thing You Do!” HBO first look. Also included are TV spots and theatrical trailers.
The Extended Edition contained an "
easter eggA virtual Easter egg is an intentional hidden message, in-joke or feature in an object such as a movie, book, CD, DVD, computer program, web page or video game. The term was coined – according to Warren Robinett – by Atari after they were pointed to the secret message left by Robinett...
": on Disk One's main menu using the directional keys on your remote you can highlight the SPEED DIAL for the LP to play the theme at all three speeds.
2007 DVD repackage re-release
That Thing You Do was packaged with
Bachelor PartyA bachelor party , stag party, stag night, or stag do , bull's party , or buck's party or buck's night is a party held for a bachelor shortly before he enters marriage, to make the most of his final opportunity to engage in activities a new partner...
and
The Man with One Red ShoeThe Man With One Red Shoe is a 1985 comedy film directed by Stan Dragoti. It's a remake of a 1972 French filmLe Grand Blond avec une chaussure noire starring Pierre Richard and Mireille Darc...
in the
Tom Hanks Triple Feature DVD anthology set. The actual DVD appears to be the original 2001 disc, with the featurette and music videos.
External links