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That Thing You Do!

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That Thing You Do!
original movie poster
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
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

For the song featured in this film, see That Thing You Do (song).

That Thing You Do! is a 1996 film, written and directed by Tom Hanks. Set in the spring of 1964, the movie tells the story of a fictional one-hit wonder rock band from Erie, Pennsylvania called The Wonders, that broke up shortly after their only hit single. The name 'Wonders' was originally spelled 'One-ders', an intentional pun.

1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Music
4 Beatles references
5 Cameos
6 Original DVD
7 Extended Edition DVD
8 Trivia
9 References
10 External links

Plot

The plot summary in this article or section is too long compared to the rest of the article.
Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot.

It's 1964, and Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) has been home from an army stint in Germany for more than a year. He is a proficient drummer, but spends his days reluctantly helping his father run the family's appliance store in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. Friends Jimmy Mattingly (Jonathon Schaech) and Lenny Haise (Steve Zahn) approach Guy about filling in for their drummer who broke his arm prior to a talent competition at Mercyhurst College. Guy agrees, and the band rehearses a ballad written by Jimmy called "That Thing You Do." After rehearsal, Guy then asks the group to confirm that they'll just be performing the one song, and when they do, he responds, "Wonderful!" Jimmy's girlfriend, Faye Dolan (Liv Tyler), responds by suggesting that as their band name, "The Wonders". The band takes on Jimmy's version with word play, "The One-ders". The name's routine mispronunciation, as the O'Neders, creates the film's most prominent running gag. At the contest Guy starts the song at a much faster tempo than rehearsed. The band maintains the tempo, and the audience dances and responds positively. They win first place and are offered a paid gig at Villapiano's, a pizzeria near the airport. Guy's uncle, Bob (Chris Isaak) who records for churches, records their first record. The record, sold at Villapiano's performances, is purchased by Phil Horace (Chris Ellis), a local band manager-promoter, who promises them regional radio airplay if they'll contract with him as their manager. Horace gets their song on the radio and schedules their appearance at a battle of the bands theater show in Pittsburgh. After a disastrous performance, Horace introduces Guy to Play-Tone Records' executive Mr. White (Tom Hanks). White, who was in the Pittsburgh audience but who likes their "snappy" record, meets with Guy about signing them to the "Play-Tone Galaxy of Stars." Guy introduces White to the band, and they sign with Play-Tone to record and join The Galaxy of Stars on a summer tour or grandstand shows at the large state fairs of the Midwest. Faye joins the band's tour as a costumer. The group's bassman, T. B. Player (Ethan Embry), had previously enlisted to join the United States Marine Corps and must leave the Play-Tone summer tour in August to report for duty. White also simplifies the Band's name to "The Wonders." Their first tour performance at the Ohio State Fair impresses a Columbus DJ who plays "That Thing You Do!" on WCOL, a 50,000-watt Top Forty station. "That Thing You Do!" is re-released by Play-Tone Records and climbs the Billboard Hot 100 as the fastest-rising single in the history of Play-Tone. When their record breaks the Top Ten, White pulls them from the tour to California to meet label owner, Sol Siler (Alex Rocco) and record their first album. White arranges their appearance in "Weekend at Party Pier," a B-grade beach movie. While in LA, Guy takes off to a local jazz club, where he meets his musical idol, Del Paxton (Bill Cobbs). Scheduled for a live performance on The Hollywood Television Showcase, T.B. Player never arrives for the performance, having headed off to Disneyland with a group of Marines he met in the hotel coffee shop. White replaces Player with Scott "Wolfman" Pell (Larry Antonino), a Play-Tone studio player who the remaining Wonders quickly approve after an impromptu bass solo. Their television performance is successful, but Faye breaks off her relationship with Jimmy because of his callousness and insensitivity. Staring to record their album, Jimmy angrily leaves the band because their album was contractually predetermined by White and the label. Lenny who has run off to marry Play-Tone receptionist, Kitty (Lee Everett) is absent from the session. Wolfman leaves since Guy is the only remaining member. Guy remains in the studio with the permission of White, practicing aimlessly until Del Paxton enters for an impromptu jazz jam session. Guy meets with Faye, and decides to stay in California as a musician. Faye is leaving to return to Pennsylvania. Lamarr (Obba Babatundé) the concierge encourages Guy to go after Faye as a love interest. Guy finds her and kisses her, and she reciprocates his newly declared feelings. Among enjoyable subtleties of the plot include Hanks' character––the super-cool music industry insider who also serves as the group's mother hen––gradually emerging as a gay man (see movie-set scenes and additional scenes in the Extended Edition DVD). And beyond Zahn's obviously goofy comments throughout the film, some of the funniest dialogue pops up in throw away lines such as when Zahn announces to Scott on the plane to California, "Skitch: band meeting with Herr Play-Tone". Also, in an inane interview, KJZZJ DJ (Clint Howard) surprises the band by asking "Which artists popped their (musical) cherries?" to which Embry responds quickly (and quite literally), "The Chantrellines", a female triio on the Play-Tone tour with whom his character became intimate.

Cast

Members of The Wonders

Tom Everett Scott as Guy "Shades" Patterson, drums
Johnathon Schaech as James 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)

Major characters

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

Minor characters

Larry Antonino as Scott "Wolfman" Pell, the replacement bass player
Obba Babatundé as Lamaar, the doorman at The Ambassador Hotel who befriends The Wonders, calling them "young squires"
Chris Ellis as Phil Horace, the band's first manager
Chris Isaak as Guy's Uncle Bob
Holmes Osborne, Jr. as Guy's father
Claudia Stedelin as Guy's mother
Dawn Maxey as Darlene Patterson, Guy's sister
Giovanni Ribisi as Chad, the band's original drummer (leaves the band after breaking his arm after a fall)
Rita Wilson (Tom Hanks' wife) as Marguerite, barmaid
Lee Everett as Kitty, Play-Tone's receptionist/secretary who becomes Lenny's girlfriend

The Play-Tone Galaxy of Stars

Robert Torti as Freddy Frederickson; a Jack Jones sound-alike
Kennya J. Ramsey, Julie Harkness, and Darlene Dillinger) as The Chantrellines; a female trio modeled after The Supremes
Chaille Percival as Diane Dane; a Leslie Gore-style blond soloist siren

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.

Beatles references

Mr. White (Hanks) and the band.

Aside from the music being very similar to that of the Beatles, there are several references to the Beatles, such as the names that were originally thought of, the Oneders and the Heardsmen, misspelled "just like the Beatles"; the drummer being replaced on the verge of the band's stardom, à la Pete Best; their hit song being a sped-up version of a slower ballad, like the Beatles' "Please Please Me"; the owner of "Villapiano's", the restaurant where they were discovered, called the drummer "Ringo" at one point when he wanted them on stage; their manager making them all wear matching suits, "nice suits, because you are nice boys"; Mr. White being closely compared to Brian Epstein in his control of the band and their looks as well as Mr. White's suggested homosexuality in the flirtation with the extra during the Weekend at the Pier scene; their manager giving the drummer a gimmick, as "Shades" wore sunglasses, just as Ringo wore many rings; the band frolicking on a map of the USA; Jimmy throwing up before their TV debut, as George Harrison did before The Ed Sullivan Show. Once the group meets with national success and gets new instruments, Jimmy plays a sunburst Rickenbacker guitar similar to John Lennon's and Guy has a new set of Ludwig durms configured just like those of Ringo Starr. When Chad asks Mr. Patterson how many people would be watching, he replies, "How many people saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show?"; the setup for The Hollywood Television Showcase; the host of the Showcase introducing the band as "the latest rock-and-roll group to challenge the Beatles to a hair-combing contest! (just what we all need)"; the caption under Jimmy reading "Careful girls, he's engaged!," just as John Lennon on The Ed Sullivan Show had the caption "Sorry girls, he's married!"; referring to the Beatles in the movie A Hard Day's Night; Alex Rocco's character saying that the Wonders would invade the UK, referring to the British Invasion. Paparazzi asking why the band doesn't have long hair like The Beatles, and the radio host saying "I've got some exciting guests today! Makers of a hit record, visitors from the east! NO NOT THOSE MOP TOPS!"; in one scene of the "Tom Hanks' Extended Edition" DVD Jimmy mentions that the new upbeat tempo makes them sound like The Beatles, Lenny replies with a quip about sounding "like the lads themselves".

Cameos

This film marked the on-screen debut for Colin Hanks, Tom Hanks's son. He plays a cameo role as a male page escorting Faye at The Hollywood Television Showcase. (In an extended scene from the 2-disc Director's Cut, the page brings Faye all the way to her seat in-studio, and lingers for a moment by her side in a sort of lovesick daze).
Many of the employees at local Los Angeles television affiliate KTLA had small or cameo roles in the film.
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.

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.

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. The extended cut expands on the collapsing relationship between Guy and Tina and the budding romance between Guy and Faye. Mr. White's driver, Lloyd (Howie Long), is also revealed and it is implied that Lloyd and Mr. White are homosexual partners. Most of the added scenes are in the first half of the film, however, showing more of the band's rise to the top. It also offers an alternate reason for Guy to remain in Los Angeles. In the original theatrical cut, Guy decides to stay to pursue a career in music at Del's suggestion; however in the extended cut, Guy's connections with Del Paxton and his associates helps him land a job at KJZZ Radio hosting a jazz music/interview show late at night. 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

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Hanks included several references to the space program. For instance, two of the band members have the same surnames as astronauts in the original crew of Apollo 13: Fred Haise and Ken Mattingly; astronaut Gus Grissom (played by actor Bryan Cranston of Malcolm in the Middle fame, who also later played Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin in the Hanks-produced HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon); and the marquee of the theater in Pittsburgh shows bands called Marilyn Lovell and the Geminis and The Saturn 5 (whose song on the soundtrack is called "Voyage Around The Moon").
Hanks is also a devoted Star Trek fan, and wanted very much to play Zefram Cochrane in the film Star Trek: First Contact. However, this would have conflicted with his acting and directing duties for this film, and he reluctantly withdrew. James Cromwell replaced Hanks as Cochrane for the Trek film.
Liv Tyler is the daughter of Steven Tyler, lead singer of Aerosmith, a prominent rock and roll band. She is only one of two cast members to have a connection to the music industry. The other is Larry Antonino, who plays the replacement bass player Scott "Wolfman" Pell.
The fictional City of Broadcasting in Santa Monica where the band is on The Hollywood Showcase was based on CBS Television City and was filmed at Ambassador Auditorium in Pasadena.
Towards the end of the movie, when the bass player leaves the band and goes to Disneyland, he rides the Matterhorn and is clearly seen in a dual-car bobsled. The Matterhorn appeared in Disneyland for the first time in 1959; however, the attraction only featured a single, four-passenger car. When it was remodeled in 1978, a second car was added in order to decrease the wait time and to increase the number of riders each time. Because the movie takes place in the 1960s, it would be impossible for the bass player to ride in a dual-car bobsled.^[1]
Tom Hanks is an Oakland Raiders fan and named the pizza place (out by the airport) "Villapiano's" where the band is the house band after former Raider linebacker Phil Villapiano. Howie Long makes an appearance in a deleted scene as Mr. White's driver. Long played Defensive End for the Raiders.
The song "All My Only Dreams" which was written by Scott Rogness and Rick Elias for That Thing You Do! was later used in the soundtrack to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which Tom Hanks produced.
During the talent competition at Mercyhurst College, the school colors shown are maroon and gold. The actual colors are white and green. Maroon and gold are actually the colors of Gannon University (also in Erie).
When Faye goes into the Ambassador Hotel's diner at the end of the movie for some food, a cereal display can be seen behind the lunch counter. Some of the cereal boxes, such as Corn Pops, are not of the style for the 1960's era.
The Wonders Lead Guitarist, Lenny Haise, received his name from The Dave Clark Five's guitarist Lenny Davidson. Tom Hanks is a big Dave Clark Five fan and was reported to have consulted with Clark before beginning work on the film. Also, there is a scene in the film where a record executive comments that the Wonders "look like the Dave Clark Five."
Hanks' wife Rita Wilson portrays a cocktail waitress named Marguerite, who, in the director's cut, main character Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) drunkenly calls Margarita (a play on Wilson's real-life first name).
The street scenes of "Erie" were actually filmed in Orange, California, which has an authentic Old Towne area. Some notable Erie landmarks were "added" into the background, such as the Boston Store. The facades were slightly altered so it would resemble the mid 60's era the film needed. Some empty stores were even used for certain sets. The soda fountain scene was shot in Orange's oldest establishment, Watson's Drug & Soda Fountain, which is still open daily.
A 45-rpm single ("a record-record record") for "That Thing You Do!"/"Dance With Me Tonight" was made available as a promotional item for the movie and soundtrack. In the movie, the b-side for "That Thing You Do!" is "All My Only Dreams."
Pop-Punk Band New Found Glory covered That Thing You Do on their 2000 E.P From the Screen to Your Stereo
WCOL, where K.O. Bailey is said "to put 50,000 watts behind (the single)", at 1230 AM, was and has always been a 1,000 watt local radio channel, not reaching much further than the suburbs of Columbus. However, this was a legendary Top 40 station in its heyday.
WJET (AM 1400) was Erie's de facto Top 40 station in real life. It is a news-talk formatted station today.
Scenes of the Wonders' escape from their final state fair concert on the Play-Tone tour, filmed at the Wisconsin State Fair grounds, use a vintage Ford Fairlane police squad car of the type used in the early sixties by the State Fair Police.