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Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, Johnathon Schaech, Charlize Theron, Steve Zahn ... see more see more... , Ethan Embry , Tom Hanks , Obba Babatundé , Bill Cobbs , Paul Feig , Howie Long , Kevin Pollak , Alex Rocco , Peter Scolari , Sean Whalen , Rita Wilson , Chris Ellis , Chris Isaak , Giovanni Ribisi , Alphonse Philippe Mouzon , Gedde Watanabe

Tom Hanks made his directorial debut in this bright comedy set in the mid-1960's about a rock group and their brief fling with fame. Guy Patterson (Tom Everett Scott) works as a salesman at his father... read more read more...'s appliance store and plays the drums in his spare time, fancying himself a jazz musician. One day, a buddy of Guy's tells him a local rock band, The One-Ders (it's pronounced "wonders"), are in need of a drummer -- they have Battle of the Bands coming up and their usual timekeeper has broken his arm. Guy agrees to sit in, but when it's time to play their best original, a love ballad called "That Thing You Do," Guy lays in a sharp, driving beat that turns the tune into an uptempo pop-rocker. Lead singer Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech) isn't happy at first, but guitarist Lenny (Steve Zahn) and the nameless Bass Player (Ethan Embry) think the song sounds better that way -- and they notice the girls like it just fine. Soon people are actually requesting the song at their shows, and the One-Ders scrape together some money to press a single of "That Thing You Do" to sell between sets. A DJ puts the song on the radio, and opportunity knocks in the form of Mr. White (Tom Hanks), who works for the very major Play-Tone Records label. Play-Tone buys the rights to "That Thing You Do" and puts the band on the road as their song makes it way to the top of the national charts. But what can The Wonders (as Play-Tone have re-named them) do for an encore? And what should Guy do about his infatuation with Jimmy's girlfriend, Faye (Liv Tyler)? Real-life 60's obsessed rocker Chris Isaak has a small part as a recording engineer, and fans of real 60's garage bands will appreciate the wealth of small, accurately observed details (for example, halfway through the film, when a few "That Thing You Do" royalty checks have presumably kicked in, the band's inexpensive Danelectro guitars disappear and the Wonders are suddenly playing on brand new Fender gear -- the height of rock style in 1965). ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

69% liked it

114,029 ratings

Critics

92% liked it

52 critics

PG, 1 hr. 50 min.

Directed by: Tom Hanks

Release Date: October 4, 1996

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DVD Release Date: June 5, 2001

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Stats: 4,370 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (4,370)

  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    June 11, 2011
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    In every life there comes a time when that dream you dream becomes that thing you do.

    Good movie with a happy ending for everyone. The movie features one of my favorite actors of all-time Tom Hanks and even though he's not a big part of the film you can't help but feel his touc... read moreh in this movie and it was great. The film's plot is fairly simple, yet it doesn't veer off into the typical VH1 Behind The Music avenue of excessive sex and drugs. The cast was amazing, lots of good and funny actors, all contributing to fine piece of film.

    The film follows the career of the Erie, Pennsylvania, rock band that formed in the middle of the Britsih Invasion following the Beatles success. Guy Patterson, son of a local appliance store owner and a good drummer who idolizes jazz, is involved in a shallow relationship with Tina Powers.

    He is asked by rhythm guitarist/singer Jimmy Mattingly and lead guitarist/singer Lenny Haise to substitute for their unnamed beat group's regular drummer, Chad, who has broken his arm, at that night's annual Gannon College talent show in an attempt to win the $100 first prize. Rounding out the group is the band's never-named bass player T.B. Player. They are to play a ballad written by Jimmy, "That Thing You Do", which they rehearse in a garage. At the suggestion of Jimmy's girlfriend Faye Dolan, inspired by a comment from Guy, they adopt the name "The Oneders" (pronounced "ONE-ders"), but it is almost always mispronounced as the "oh-NEE-ders."

    At the talent show, Guy sets the beat substantially faster than its original ballad tempo. Although the rest of band struggles to keep up, everybody gets up to dance to it, they overwhelmingly win the $100 top prize, and they get their first paying gig, at a pizza parlor near the airport.

    After a fan requests their record, they enlist the help of Guy's Uncle Bob, who records songs and sermons for churches and choirs, to record and cut the song on vinyl, which Faye sells at their gig. Talent scout Phil Horace sees them play, buys a record and introduces himself to Guy at the appliance store. Based on Horace's promise that he will get them radio airplay and performance bookings in big cities like Pittsburgh and Steubenville, The Oneders sign him as their manager, despite Jimmy's initial reluctance to assign rights to his music.

    Horace is successful: the song is played three times in one day on WJET and they are booked at a gig in Pittsburgh sponsored by well-known mattress salesman "Boss Vic Koss". Although the first set is a failure due to a series of technical mishaps, Horace has secretly arranged for a record company A&R (Artist & Repetoire) man, Mr. White to see the show.

    He is impressed by their record, buys the band's contract, signs the band to his employer (the Play-Tone record label), changes the spelling of their name to The Wonders, and decides that Guy should always wear sunglasses on stage and be known as "Shades" as a gimmick. He also arranges for Faye to accompany the band as "wardrobe mistress." At the same time, Tina (not very impressed with Guy's newfound semi-stardom) falls in love with her new dentist and dumps Guy. Alongside other Play-Tone artists, the band tours state fairs across the Midwest, and the single enters and climbs the Billboard Top 100.

    As the tour progresses, The Wonders go from being the opening act to the feature attraction, even earning band-specific stage decorations. Throngs of teenage girls mob the band at one tour stop. While on tour, Jimmy engages in an affair with aging siren Diane Dane. When the song hits the Top 10, the band is ordered to leave the tour in Wisconsin and head for Hollywood for a slot on The Hollywood Television Showcase. On the airplane, White announces that the band also will be appearing in a major motion picture and, at Jimmy's urging, doing a recording session for an album, while Faye comes down with a severe cold. Meanwhile, in Erie, original drummer Chad has taken Guy's place as a salesman at Patterson's Appliance.

    While at a promotional photo shoot at Play-Tone records corporate headquarters they meet Sol Siler, the owner, who wants his deli (luncheon spread) more than meeting the talent. White has also made arrnagements for the Wonders to appear as "Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters" in a film, Weekend at Party Pier, a beach movie typical in the 60s. Jimmy becomes disillusioned and sulks. During an off day, the bass player abandons the band to visit Disneyland with a group of Marine Corps sargents, whose ranks he had previously committed to join.

    Alone, Guy goes to a jazz club, where he meets his idol, jazz pianist Del Paxton, and drinks with him until closing time. The next day, experienced studio bassist Scott "Wolfman" Pell joins The Wonders in placve of the Marine ensconsed bass player for a live performance on The Hollywood Television Showcase. During the Wonders live performance, the words "Careful girls, he's engaged!" are captioned on the screen beneath Jimmy's image (an homage to "Sorry girls, he's married!" to John Lennon on the Ed Sullivan Show, which is referred to in the film). After the show, an angry Jimmy rudely tells Faye and the rest of the band that he is not engaged and that he doesn't intend to marry Faye. Hurt by Jimmy's callousness and insensitivity, Faye ends their relationship.

    At the recording session the next day, the Wonders learn that they are to record songs from the Play-Tone catalog for their album. White promises Jimmy one original song per side of the album, but makes it clear that he wants "snappy" material, not ballads. Jimmy promptly quits the band and walks out. Lenny never even shows up for the session (he went to Las Vegas with a Play-Tone secretary the night before and then married her). With the departure of everyone but Guy, there are no more Wonders.

    Guy remains in the recording studio alone, as it was his first time in one, and his impromptu drumming catches the ear of Del Paxton, who is recording next door. The two record a jam session where Guy plays a drum routine entitled "I Am Spartacus" while Del improvises an accompanying piano part.

    Back at their L.A. hotel, Guy tells Faye that Del thinks he can make it as a session musician in L.A., and Faye and Guy finally declare their love for one another. In a written epilogue, Guy and Faye remain in Los Angeles, marry the following year and raise four children, and found a music conservatory in which Guy teaches Jazz Composition. Jimmy rejoins Play-Tone and records three gold albums with a new band called The Heardsmen (his choice for the original Erie band). Lenny manages a casino in Laughlin NV, but he is now single. The Bass Player was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained while serving in the Marines, and becomes a building contractor in Florida.
  • itsjustme2004
    October 29, 2010
    itsjustme2004
    I can't explain why I enjoy this movie so much. Yet it seems every time it is on TV, and it is on quite often, I always enjoy watching as much of it as I can, no matter which scene I happen to catch. There are only a few movies that do this to me. It must just be a reflection of ... read moreme. Let's pretend it is due to an unhealthy appreciation of Steve Zahn, and leave it at that. But even so, this a fun fun toe tapping good romp of a time! ! Doesn't hurt that it is chock full of fantastic actors, too. :)
  • Chiefilms
    January 24, 2010
    Chiefilms
    I really have reviewed this before, this is an outright classic. Never gets old. Fresh to deaf.
  • movieguru12
    November 27, 2009
    movieguru12
    A cute movie. Tom Hanks was very good in his part in this movie. I really enjoyed it. :)
  • ythelastman89
    November 22, 2009
    ythelastman89
    While it has its moments, it is a hollow movie without any real meaning. Tom Hanks was entertaining, but his smaller role hurt the film as he was the only one that delivered an actual performance. It is a plea at the celebrity story, but doesn't really hit home at all.
  • TomBowler
    August 2, 2009
    TomBowler
    this is a great film, no matter what people say. the song is the most catchy thing you will hear all year and tom hanks shows his versatility, directing and acting in this very different look at bands and their members.
  • thmtsang
    June 13, 2009
    thmtsang
    Tom Hanks manages a school band to stardom with a 1960s hit called 'That Thing You Do'.
  • puffchunk
    October 23, 2007
    puffchunk
    I think they sung that damn song way too many times in this movie.
  • moonrivers
    September 8, 2007
    moonrivers
    a love letter to the fans of the fab four, albeit delivered a tad too late...
  • garyX
    July 14, 2007
    garyX
    Flimsy but inoffensive feelgood film about a 60s pop band directed by Tom Hanks. Strictly by the numbers but efficiently done.

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
December 17, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Though Hanks keeps the satirical and critical aspects of this look at show biz fairly light, there's a lot of conviction and savvy behind the steadiness of his gaze. Full Review

Desson Thomson
December 17, 2007
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

First-time writer/director Tom Hanks stays about a half-beat ahead of the cliches with rim shots of boyish enthusiasm and deft comedy. The movie's also buoyed by the title song, whose Beatles sound is... Full Review

Emanuel Levy
January 3, 2007
Emanuel Levy, Variety

A sweet, likeable tale of the quick rise to fame and then demise of a small town band. Set in 1964, Hanks' film offers a sanitized, Gump-ish look at a mythical period when boys were boys and girls wer... Full Review

Janet Maslin
May 20, 2003
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Mr. Hanks's debut feature, written and directed with delightful good cheer, is rock-and-roll nostalgia presented as pure fizz. Full Review

Richard Harrington
November 16, 2001
Richard Harrington, Washington Post

Though Hanks doesn't serve up much context, he's solid with details, and the Wonders' performances ring truer than most. Full Review

Peter Travers
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

...a brightly entertaining blend of humor and heartbreak about four fresh-faced guys in a band from Erie, Pa.

Kenneth Turan
February 14, 2001
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Leaving audiences feeling good is very much, and very successfully, on its mind. Full Review

Richard Corliss
January 1, 2000
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

...a movie that, like many a pop tune, has a cute idea but a simpleminded lyric.

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Without hauling in a lot of deep meanings, it remembers with great warmth a time and a place. Full Review

Joe Baltake
January 1, 2000
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

Hanks' film is about how all good things come to an end. The important thing is to enjoy it all while it lasts. Full Review

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That Thing You Do! Trivia

  • Name the movie that stars Tom Hanks as a band manager  Answer »
  • What future Acadamy Award winner has a small part in Tom Hanks film "That thing you do"  Answer »
  • This quote is from what movie, "I quit, I quit, I quit, I quit Mr. White."  Answer »
  • Which Tom Hanks movie was also directed by him?  Answer »
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