That Thing You Do! (1996)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Tom Hanks

Writer (WGA):

Tom Hanks (written by)

Release Date:

4 October 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

In every life there comes a time when that dream you dream becomes that thing you do.

Plot:

A Pennsylvania band scores a hit in 1964 and rides the star-making machinery as long as it can, with lots of help from its manager.

Plot Keywords:

Band | Pennsylvania | Jazz | Appliance Store | Drummer

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Tom Everett Scott	...	Guy Patterson
Liv Tyler	...	Faye Dolan
Johnathon Schaech	...	Jimmy Mattingly
Steve Zahn	...	Lenny Haise
Ethan Embry	...	T. B. Player
Tom Hanks	...	Mr. White
Charlize Theron	...	Tina
Obba Babatundé	...	Lamarr
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Chad
Chris Ellis	...	Phil Horace
Alex Rocco	...	Sol Siler
Bill Cobbs	...	Del Paxton
Peter Scolari	...	Troy Chesterfield
Rita Wilson	...	Marguerite
Chris Isaak	...	Uncle Bob

MPAA:

Rated PG for some language.

Runtime:

108 min | USA:149 min (Director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:L | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Chile:TE | Finland:S | Germany:6 (w) | Netherlands:AL | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:Btl | UK:PG | USA:PG | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Ambassador Hotel - 3400 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Clavius Base

Trivia:

Tom Hanks named his production company Play-Tone after the fictional record label in the movie.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When leaving the Wisconsin State Fair and learning that their record has hit #7 on the charts, Lenny asks if they get a gold record. Guy tells him they need to sell 500,000 copies. In 1964, 500,000 copies was the sales plateau for an LP to go Gold, but the sales plateau for singles was 1,000,000 copies. It was not until 1989 that the sales plateau for singles was lowered to 500,000 copies.

Quotes:

Jimmy: [after their gig at "Weekend at Party Pier"] Hey, do we have a Top 10 record?
Mr. White: You sure do.
Jimmy: Well then, we shouldn't be here.
Mr. White: Jimmy, you'd rather be back on that state fair tour? They're playing in North Dakota this week.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "South Park: Guitar Queer-o (#11.13)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

Sad Sad Boy

A Refreshing Throwback

I remember when I first saw this in the '90s and thinking, "Wow, what a shock: a modern-day movie with no no villains, no nasty people and nary a cuss word." I kept waiting for that stuff, and it never appeared. It also has a nice sentimental ending.

The story is a simple one about a group of average guys who form a band and become one-hit wonders.

Tom Everett Scott, a young Tom Hanks-lookalike, is an appealing lead and Liv Tyler looks very, very pretty in the female lead role. The band in this almost-old-fashioned musical, is good to hear, too. They are a throwback to the old movie musical days of Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. Yes, you hear the same song (the movie title) over and over but's a great song which is very catchy. The rest of the music is decent, too.

Speaking of Hanks, he plays the promoter of the group. It's not a huge part but Hanks, as always, is entertaining. The whole film is, and, is refreshing to see.