That Thing You Do!
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| That Thing You Do! | |
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 original movie poster |
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| Directed by | Tom Hanks |
| Written by | Tom Hanks |
| Starring | Tom Everett Scott Liv Tyler Tom Hanks Steve Zahn Johnathon Schaech Ethan Embry |
| Music by | Howard Shore |
| Distributed by | Fox |
| Release date(s) | October 4, 1996 |
| Running time | 108 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
That Thing You Do! is a 1996 film, written and directed by Tom Hanks. Set in the summer of 1964, the movie tells the story of a fictional one-hit wonder rock band from Erie, Pennsylvania called The Wonders, who break up shortly after the release of their first hit single.
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[edit] Plot
The film follows the career of a fictional Erie, Pennsylvania rock band formed in the wake of the British Invasion. Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott, in his debut feature film role), a good drummer who idolizes jazz players such as the fictional Del Paxton, is asked by Jimmy Mattingly (Johnathon Schaech) and Lenny Haise (Steve Zahn) to fill in in their unnamed beat group, for their regular drummer Chad (Giovanni Ribisi), who broke his arm leap-frogging over a parking meter. The group's big chance is a battle of the bands. They are to play a ballad written by Jimmy and Lenny, "That Thing You Do", and at the suggestion of Jimmy's girlfriend Faye Dolan (Liv Tyler), from Guy's comment, they adopt the name "The Wonders". Initially they spell it "Oneders" (as a play on the Beatles), but it is often mispronounced as the "oh-NEE-ders."
They win the $100 top prize in the competition at Mercyhurst College, mainly because Guy sets the beat at several times its original ballad tempo . . .the rest of band fights to keep up, while everybody gets up on the dance floor and dances to it. They get their first paying gig, at a pizza parlor, and at the request of a fan they enlist the help of Guy's Uncle Bob (Chris Isaak), who records songs and sermons for churches, to cut the song on vinyl.
The records sell well, and record producer Phil Horace, (Chris Ellis) buys one and then introduces himself to Guy. On Horace's promise that he will get them radio airplay and performance bookings in big cities like Pittsburgh and Steubenville, Ohio they sign him as their manager, despite Jimmy's initial reluctance to assign rights to his music.
The song is played three times in one day on WJET (then the real-life Top 40 radio station in Erie), and Horace gets them a gig in Pittsburgh sponsored by a prominent mattress salesman, Victor Kosslovich, A.K.A. "Boss Vic Koss" (Kevin Pollak). Although the gig is a failure and they are booed off stage after a series of technical mishaps during their first set, a record company executive, Mr. White (Hanks) sees the show and, impressed, buys out Horace's contract, signs the band to his record company, Playtone, and changes the spelling of the name from The Oneders to The Wonders. He also has a talk with Boss Vic Koss to make sure there won't be any technical problems during their evening set. From then on, under White's guidance, the Wonders are progressively successful. Homages to various of the groups of the era appear, such as a Monkees-style vignette in which the band clowns across a map of the United States and races a horse, and the performance style changes to resemble the Dave Clark Five (a group admired by producer Hanks).
Alongside other Playtone artists, the band tours the country, and the single is released by Playtone, entering the Billboard Top 40. By the time it hits the Top 10, the band is ordered to leave the tour and go to meet Sol Siler (Alex Rocco), the head of Playtone, in California, for a promotional photo shoot. On the journey, White announces that the band will be appearing in a major motion picture. At Jimmy's urging, he also agrees to a recording session for the Wonders to make a complete album.
They appear as "Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters" in a film that turns out to be a low quality beach movie. Jimmy becomes disillusioned and grows apart from the band and from Faye. T.B. Player also quits the band around this time to join The Marines. At a live performance on the "CBS Television Showcase" with Troy Chesterfield (Peter Scolari), 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 Show, an event which is referred to in the film). After the show, Jimmy is upset and he tells Faye that they are not engaged. Hurt by Jimmy's callousness and insensitivity, Faye tells him to stay away from her.
At the recording session, the band learn that they are to record songs from the company's catalog. White promises Jimmy one cut per side of the album, but makes it clear that any material less than the caliber of "That Thing You Do" will not be acceptable. Jimmy quits. Lenny disappears and turns up later in Las Vegas having married a Playtone secretary. With the absence of Jimmy and Lenny, there are no more Wonders. White declares the group in breach of contract and The Wonders' meteoric rise is over.
In the wake of the disaster, Faye and Guy declare their love for one another. In an epilogue, Guy and Faye are married the following year and raised four children before moving to Bainbridge Island, Washington, where they found a music conservatory in which Guy teaches Jazz Composition. Jimmy rejoins Playtone and goes on to record three gold albums with a new band, called the Heardsmen. Lenny goes on to manage a casino in Laughlin, Nevada, but his marriage to the Playtone secretary fails. The Bass Player (never given a name in the film), who left the band to enlist in the Marines, was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained at Khe Sanh, and later became a building contractor in Orlando, Florida.
[edit] Cast
- Tom Everett Scott as Guy "Shades" Patterson, drums
- Johnathon Schaech as James "Jimmy" Mattingly II, guitar and lead vocals
- Steve Zahn as Leonard "Lenny" Haise, guitar and backing vocals
- Ethan Embry as "T.B. Player," a.k.a. the bass player (character's name is never revealed)
- Tom Hanks as Mr. White, the band's manager
- Liv Tyler as Faye Dolan, Jimmy's girlfriend and the band's "costume mistress"
- Charlize Theron as Tina Powers, Guy's girlfriend
- Bill Cobbs as Del Paxton, Guy's favorite jazz musician and mentor
- Giovanni Ribisi as Chad, the band's original drummer
[edit] Music
The movie features original music by Hanks, Adam Schlesinger, Rick Elias, Scott Rogness, Mike Piccirillo, Gary Goetzman and Howard Shore. The Wonders rise to brief stardom on the strength of "That Thing You Do", 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 by Adam Schlesinger, bassist for Fountains of Wayne and Ivy, 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 100, #22 on the Adult Contemporary charts, #18 on the Adult Top 40, and #24 on the Top 40 Mainstream charts). The track was nominated for the 1996 Golden Globe Award as well as the 1996 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Mike Viola of The Candy Butchers provided the distinctive lead vocals for the Wonders.
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 mockumentary style, as if the Wonders had been a real group and the events of the film had actually happened.
The tour and TV appearance are done in the authentic style of rock bands of the mid-1960s, including Go-Go girls, elaborate sharing of microphones, and formal clothing in various matching colors.
[edit] Reception
The film was well received by critics and currently holds a 91% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes, with a 93% Cream of the Crop rating from selected critics. However it was only moderately successful at the box office, grossing $25,857,416 domestically.
[edit] Cameos
- Director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs), one of the producers of That Thing You Do, has a cameo as the director of Weekend At Party Pier.
- Comedian Barry Sobel, who co-wrote Tom Hanks' stand-up material for and was featured in the film Punchline, has a cameo as "Goofball" in the beach movie "Weekend at Party Pier"
- Musician Chris Isaak has a cameo as "Uncle Bob", and would later appear as astronaut Edward Higgins White in Tom Hanks' From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries).
- Actress Rita Wilson (Tom Hanks' wife) has a cameo as "Marguerite" the waitress at The Blue Spot jazz club
- Tom Hanks' son Colin Hanks has a cameo as an usher at the CBS City of Broadcasting. He can be seen escorting Faye (Liv Tyler) from her car to her seat in the studio audience. He was also in an episode of his father's mini series Band of Brothers as Lt Henry Jones.
- Actor Peter Scolari, Tom Hanks' co-star on the 80s sitcom Bosom Buddies, has a cameo as "Troy Chesterfield", host of the Hollywood Television Showcase
[edit] Original DVD
The original DVD release of That Thing You Do! debuted on June 5, 2001. At the time, it included the featurette "The Making of That Thing You Do!," and 2 music videos.
[edit] 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.
An additional disc of extras in the "Extended Edition" include a “Making That Thing You Do” featurette, "The Story Of The Wonders” featurette, a That Thing You Do! Reunion, "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.
Easter Egg in 'Extended Edition': 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
[edit] 2007 DVD Repackage re-release
That Thing You Do was packaged with Bachelor Party and The Man With One Red Shoe 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.
