That Thing You Do!

"I've found that a hit record is like a stew.  All the ingredients have to come together just right.  Otherwise, it's just soup."

In 1964, Guy Patterson (Scott) works in his family's appliance store by day and dreams of being a jazz drummer by night.  His friends, Jimmy (Schaech), Lenny (Zahn), and T.B. (Embry), have a band called the One-ders and are preparing for their first performance. When their drummer, Chad (Giovanni Ribisi), breaks his arm, they ask Guy to fill in for the show.  At the show, Guy plays their original song "That Thing You Do" at a faster tempo, to roaring cheers from the audience.

They decide to make a record and have Jimmy's girlfriend Faye (Tyler) sell the records at their shows.  Eventually, their record is heard by Play-Tone records and Mr. White (Hanks) becomes their manager.  Under Mr. White's direction, they become the Wonders and begin touring.  As their record climbs the charts, will there love of music be enough to save the band and their friendship?

The film was written and directed (in his directorial debut) by Tom Hanks.  In addition, the songs performed by the band "That Thing You Do", "All My Only Dreams", "Dance With Me Tonight", and "Little Wild One" were written for this film.

The Good:

The title song is catchy (you hear the full song twice, but parts of the song play numerous times throughout) and gets stuck in your head.  The cast and the characters they portray are great.  This was the film debut of Tom Everett Scott and he is a solid lead.  The band has good chemistry and are believable as lifelong friends.

The film is upbeat and fun and leaves on a hopeful note.  It also holds a PG rating and is relatively tame for a film about a band in the 1960s.

The Bad:

No complaints

Other Comments: 

-The film holds up to repeat viewings and has aged well.

-Hanks' family - wife Rita Wilson, son Colin Hanks, and daughter Elizabeth Hanks - all have cameos in the film.

-Ethan Embry's bass character does not have a name (and is never called by name in the film).  In the end title card, he is listed as T.B. Player, which stands for "The Bass Player".

-Mike Viola provides Jimmy's vocals, backed by Adam Schlesinger (who wrote "That Thing You Do"). 

-The theme song "That Thing You Do" was nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song.  It was also nominated for American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Songs list.

-There is also an Extended Edition of the film that was released in 2007, it is 148 minutes.

That Thing You Do! (1996) 108 minutes

Director: Tom Hanks

Starring: Tom Everett Scott as Guy "Shades" Patterson

Liv Tyler as Faye Dolan

Johnathon Schaech as Jimmy Mattingly

Steve Zahn as Lenny

Ethan Embry as T.B. Player

Tom Hanks as Mr. White