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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

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.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 2.1 Members of The Wonders 2.2 Major characters 2.3 Minor characters 2.4 The Play-Tone Galaxy of Stars 3 Music 4 Beatles references 5 Cameos 6 Original DVD 7 Extended Edition DVD 8 Trivia 9 References 10 External links

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's (Tom Everett Scott) life is good, but it could be better. He has been home from his stint as a soldier in post-war Germany for more than a year, is a proficient drummer, has an apartment and a girlfriend, but spends his days reluctantly helping his father run the family's appliance store in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. He often closes the store for the evening and routinely forgets to turn-off the store's neon light signs. Returning to the store, he plays his drum kits to the records of jazz musician Del Paxton.

Friends and guitarists Jimmy Mattingly and Lenny Haise approach Guy at work about joining their band. Their unnamed band has entered a talent competition at Mercyhurst College and they need a drummer. Their current drummer, Chad, recently broke him arm. The Bass Player's name is never revealed. 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, responds by suggesting that as their band name, "The Wonders". The band takes on Jimmy's version with word play, "The Oneders". The Oneders take stage at the contest and Guy plays the song at a much faster tempo than rehearsed much to the band's surprise. The band maintains the faster tempo, and the audience responds positively by dancing along. They win first place at the contest and are offered a regular paid gig at Villapiano's, a pizzeria near the airport. Guy's uncle, Bob who records for churches, records their song at a local church for their first record. The record is sold at Villapiano's during their performces. Phil Horace purchases one of these records and offers them a deal. He promises them radio air-play in different areas of the country if they'll accept him as a manager to which they agree.

Horace gets their song on the radio and it receives regular airplay to the delight of the band. Phil also schedules them to play a battle of the bands contest in Pittsburgh, PA sponsored by a local businessman. The performance turns into a disaster as they find their microphones off, the drum kit falls apart, and the audience boos them off stage.

Play-tone Records executive Mr. White, who was in the audience, meets with Guy and Horace later about signing to his label. He tells Guy that he would like to buy the band out from their contract with Horace and to sign them onto the "Play-Tone Galaxy of Stars". Guy initially refuses the offer, but Horace pressures him to rethink it. Guy introduces Mr. White to the band, and they decide to sign with Play-tone. Faye joins the band's tour as a costumer and The Bass Player joins the United States Marine Corps. The Bass Player must leave the band in August to report for duty. The band's name is changed to the "The Wonders" by Mr. White to avoid confusion.

The Wonders join the The Play-Tone Galaxy of Stars on a nationwide tour covering county fairs and small venues. Their first performance at the Ohio State Fair impresses a local DJ who plays "That Thing You Do!" with much more power than their previous airplays. They re-release the song as a single for Play-Tone records which begins climbing the Billboard Hot 100 quickly. "That Thing You Do!" is eventually declared the fastest-rising single in the history of the Play-Tone label.

When their record breaks the Top Ten, Mr. White takes them to tour California and meet label owner, Sol Siler. While in California they are also scheduled to record their first full-length album and appear in a major film, Weekend at Party Pier. The film is a a B-grade beach movie where The Wonders are cast as "Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters" that Jimmy finds disillusioning and distasteful. After a day of radio-show appearances, Guy takes off to a local jazz club, where confusion and homesickness lead him to drink too much. He meets his musical idol, Del Paxton (Bill Cobbs), and fears that he has made a fool of himself. The band is scheduled for a live performance on The Hollywood Television Showcase. The Bass Player never arrives for the performance. He instead abandons the group earlier than expected and goes to Disneyland with a group of Marines he met in the hotel coffee shop. White turns to a Play-Tone studio musician, Scott "Wolfman" Pell, to replace him. The remaining three Wonders quickly and nonchalantly approve after seeing Wolfman perform an incredible bass solo.

Their performance on the television is successful and during the instrumental break, the names and nicknames of each of the Wonders comes on. Jimmy is caught by surprise on camera when the words "careful girls, he's engaged" flash with his name. After the show, Jimmy angrily tells Faye that they are not engaged. Hurt by Jimmy's callousness and insensitivity, Faye breaks off their relationship.

While recording their album, Jimmy angrily leaves the band because he lacks any creative control. Their album was predetermined by the label and continues to revolve around their single. He is also discouraged by Mr. White from recording his songs unless they are marketable pop-hits. Lenny has left the band to marry Play-Tone receptionist, Kitty. Wolfman leaves since Guy is the only remaining member of the band. Guy remains in the studio with the permission of Mr. White, practicing aimlessly until Del Paxton enters for an impromptu jazz jam session.

Guy meets with Faye, and decides to stay in California to continue as a muscian. Faye is leaving to return to Pennsylvania. Lamarr the concierge encourages Guy to go after Faye as a love interest. Guy chases her down and kisses her, and she reciprocates his newly declared feelings for her. They head back to the hotel.

Guy and Faye married the next year and have four children together and start the Puget Sound Conservatory of Music, where Guy teaches Jazz Composition. Jimmy re-joins Play-Tone and goes on to record three gold albums with a new band called the Heardsmen; after his recording career ends, he becomes a record producer in Los Angeles. Lenny manages a casino in Nevada, but his marriage to Kitty didn't work out, as he is currently single. The unnamed bass player, T.B. Player, is awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in the siege of Khe Sanh, and later becomes a building contractor in Orlando, Florida.

• 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)

• Tom Hanks as Mr. White, the band's manager
• Liv Tyler as Faye Dolan, Jimmy's girlfriend
• Charlize Theron as Tina Powers, Guy's girlfriend
• Bill Cobbs as Del Paxton, Guy's favorite jazz musician and mentor

• 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

• 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

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.

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 George Harrison's. 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".

• 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.

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.

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 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 the only cast member to have a connection to the music industry.

• 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.

• That Thing You Do! at the Internet Movie Database
• The Wonders' Home Page - Unofficial
• The Oneders - Music from the Motion Picture
• The Wonders - "That Thing You Do!" video at YouTube
• Shaka Labbits - "That Thing You Do!" video at YouTube
• Review of Tom Hanks' Extended Edition DVD at CriticalMess.net