That Thing You Do!
That Thing You Do! is a 1996 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom Hanks, in his feature writing and directorial debut. Set in 1960s rock and roll culture, it chronicles the rise and fall of a fictional one-hit wonder pop band and stars Tom Everett Scott in his film debut along with Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, and Ethan Embry as the band's members, with Liv Tyler and Hanks appearing in supporting roles. Its production and music are key to its narrative, with original scores by a collaboration of artists including Hanks, Adam Schlesinger, and Howard Shore. The soundtrack peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, featuring a mix of diegetic and non-diegetic tracks. The cast practiced for weeks to perform convincingly on camera, blurring the lines between reality and fiction.
Plot
In 1964, aspiring jazz drummer Guy Patterson is working in his family's appliance store in Erie, Pennsylvania. His friends Jimmy Mattingly II and Lenny Haise ask him to perform a song Jimmy wrote at a talent show with their band, because their regular drummer broke his arm. They rehearse the song, a slow-tempo ballad called "That Thing You Do!" in Jimmy's garage. Jimmy's girlfriend Faye Dolan, inspired by the Beatles, suggests the band should be named "The Oneders" (pronounced "wonders").
Cast
- Alex Rocco
- Bill Cobbs
- Brittney Powell
- Bryan Cranston
- Carole Androsky
- Charlize Theron
- Chris Isaak
- Clint Howard
- Colin Hanks
- Ethan Embry
- Gedde Watanabe
- Giovanni Ribisi
- Holmes Osborne
- http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q708059
- Johnathon Schaech
- Jonathan Demme
- Kathleen Kinmont
- Kevin Pollak
- Liv Tyler
- Marc McClure
- Mars Callahan
- Obba Babatundé
- Paul Feig
- Peter Scolari
- Rita Wilson
- Robert Ridgely
- Robert Torti
- Robert Wisdom
- Sean Whalen
- Steve Zahn
- Tom Everett Scott
- Tom Hanks
- Tracy Reiner
- Warren Berlinger
More details
| author | Tom Hanks |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Pennsylvania |
| director | Tom Hanks |
| editor | Richard Chew |
| genre | comedy-drama |
| keywords | 45-rpm 45s a&r artists and repertoire bass guitarist beatles billboard billboard hot 100 disillusion dressing room help hot 100 hung over improvised las vegas los angeles marine corps married meet move music industry new album one-hit wonder orlando florida puget sound purple heart record producer recording session serve state fair talent show television show united states marine corps variety show vietnam vietnam war wash |
| musicBy | Howard Shore |
| producer | Edward Saxon Gary Goetzman Jonathan Demme |
| productionCompany | Clavius Base Clinica Estetico |
| publisher | 20th Century Fox |
| recordedAt | Malibu |
| theme | musical romantic comedy romantic musical |