Hey, that's the O'Nedders
October 4, 2016 3:26 PM Subscribe
20 years ago today, a little band from Erie, PA took the world by polite shrug in Tom Hanks' That Thing You Do.
On October 4th, 1996, Tom Hanks made his writing and directing debut with That Thing You Do, a nostalgic musical comedy about a garage band finding overnight success on the pop charts of 1964 America.
Thing focuses an Erie, Pennsylvania music group called The Wonders (nee The Oneders); four young men riding the fizzy pop wave of a surprise smash single in the immediate wake of Beatlemania and confronting what happens when the rollercoaster of overnight success comes to a stop again the next morning.
While it's easy to dismiss the flick as something of a matinee soufflé, it explores themes of what kind of artistic longevity is possible in a culture dabbling in bubblegum pop in the post-Elvis, pre-Beatles years. A time when the LP had yet to become the world-changing artistic statement that it would just a few years later.
While That Thing You Do performed modestly-if-respectably at the box office, opening in the box office top 5, wider audiences weren't quite sure what to make of a film without a bankable star (though its ensemble featuring Steve Zahn, Liv Tyler and a young pre-fame Charlize Theron give the material an extra pep that elevated it above the usual teen romp) set in a period that was something of nostalgia limbo, sandwiched as it was between the 50s becoming the 60s of popular imagination. But it is precisely that setting that gives the film its enduring charm. A charm that has allowed the film to stick around and linger in the public imagination, growing ever more beloved in the two decades since.
Then of course there is the soundtrack (fittingly released on Hanks and writing partner Gary Goetzman's PlayTone label): TTYD features a crack slate of original songs written to mimic the period, including the title track written by Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger and a variety of other songs performed in the style of Motown girl groups, moody cop show themes, and even squeaky-clean schmaltzy vocal pop, several of which were written by Hanks and Goetzman themselves.
But wait, there's more!
The Wonders themselves look back, 20 years later.
The AV Club looks at the film's iconic title track.
16 Things You Didnt Know About That Thing You Do
The Location That Would Become Villapianos
Adam Schlesinger and Mike Viola Performing "That Thing You Do"
That Thing You Do! Turns 20: Adam Schlesinger on Writing the ‘60s Smash That Never Was
On October 4th, 1996, Tom Hanks made his writing and directing debut with That Thing You Do, a nostalgic musical comedy about a garage band finding overnight success on the pop charts of 1964 America.
Thing focuses an Erie, Pennsylvania music group called The Wonders (nee The Oneders); four young men riding the fizzy pop wave of a surprise smash single in the immediate wake of Beatlemania and confronting what happens when the rollercoaster of overnight success comes to a stop again the next morning.
While it's easy to dismiss the flick as something of a matinee soufflé, it explores themes of what kind of artistic longevity is possible in a culture dabbling in bubblegum pop in the post-Elvis, pre-Beatles years. A time when the LP had yet to become the world-changing artistic statement that it would just a few years later.
While That Thing You Do performed modestly-if-respectably at the box office, opening in the box office top 5, wider audiences weren't quite sure what to make of a film without a bankable star (though its ensemble featuring Steve Zahn, Liv Tyler and a young pre-fame Charlize Theron give the material an extra pep that elevated it above the usual teen romp) set in a period that was something of nostalgia limbo, sandwiched as it was between the 50s becoming the 60s of popular imagination. But it is precisely that setting that gives the film its enduring charm. A charm that has allowed the film to stick around and linger in the public imagination, growing ever more beloved in the two decades since.
Then of course there is the soundtrack (fittingly released on Hanks and writing partner Gary Goetzman's PlayTone label): TTYD features a crack slate of original songs written to mimic the period, including the title track written by Fountains of Wayne's Adam Schlesinger and a variety of other songs performed in the style of Motown girl groups, moody cop show themes, and even squeaky-clean schmaltzy vocal pop, several of which were written by Hanks and Goetzman themselves.
But wait, there's more!
The Wonders themselves look back, 20 years later.
The AV Club looks at the film's iconic title track.
16 Things You Didnt Know About That Thing You Do
The Location That Would Become Villapianos
Adam Schlesinger and Mike Viola Performing "That Thing You Do"
That Thing You Do! Turns 20: Adam Schlesinger on Writing the ‘60s Smash That Never Was
20 years??? Seriously? Boy, do I feel old!
I've always really liked this movie--it's one that I'll always stick with if I come across it on TV. That song, though--what an earworm!
posted by bookmammal at 3:40 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
I've always really liked this movie--it's one that I'll always stick with if I come across it on TV. That song, though--what an earworm!
posted by bookmammal at 3:40 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
Love this little movie. The whole thing works because that song is so damn catchy -- it feels totally, completely believable that it'd be a smash hit, and that totally sucks us into the world of "The Oh-nee-ders." Also, please -- Steve Zahn is in it so you know it's going to be great.
posted by BlahLaLa at 3:48 PM on October 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by BlahLaLa at 3:48 PM on October 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
I saw this with my mom at the local second run theater when I was 15. We enjoyed it. I recall that they were giving out "That Thing You Do" buttons on the way out, which I still find pretty odd; I don't think I've been to any other movie that came with swag. I haven't seen it since then and I really couldn't tell you anything about the plot aside from "there was a band with a hit," but the song still occasionally resurfaces in my brain. Might need to queue this for a rewatch; it doesn't appear to be on Netflix or Amazon Prime, but it's available for digital rental from a variety of places.
posted by jordemort at 3:48 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by jordemort at 3:48 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
I love this movie so much! Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters, The Oh-need-ers, Ethan Embry's sweet and strange performance as the bass player, Faye's speech to Jimmy, and Guy's speech to Dell Paxton. This postis my new favorite thing.
posted by epj at 3:53 PM on October 4, 2016 [14 favorites]
posted by epj at 3:53 PM on October 4, 2016 [14 favorites]
We love this one. My spouse got the urge to watch it recently and somehow found somewhere random on the internet a "director's cut". It had a number of scenes that were much better left out, and an entire plotline about Hanks' character being gay. It's worth tracking down if you are a big fan of the movie, just to see how much better the final cut was than what we could have seen.
posted by hydropsyche at 3:55 PM on October 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by hydropsyche at 3:55 PM on October 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
A longtime favorite in the Mosley household. I remember seeing it for the first time with a friend of mine and he pointed out in the credits how Ethan Embry's character was named, "T. B. Player". I was gobsmacked that I never noticed in the entire movie that no one called him by a name other than "the Bass Player".
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:04 PM on October 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 4:04 PM on October 4, 2016 [11 favorites]
It's a damn good, damn catchy song, but one thing about it kinda irks me. For a song that's a pastiche of early 60's, post-British Invasion music, the production is way too modern. It's crystal clear, like it was recorded in a modern (1996) studio, likely digitally, and certainly not in the church and two-track that's shown in the film.
But boy is it catchy. And the movie's good too. Useless Trvia: Hanks had to cut a subplot that revealed his character was gay and in a long-term relationship with his chauffeur.
posted by SansPoint at 4:07 PM on October 4, 2016
But boy is it catchy. And the movie's good too. Useless Trvia: Hanks had to cut a subplot that revealed his character was gay and in a long-term relationship with his chauffeur.
posted by SansPoint at 4:07 PM on October 4, 2016
Guys, Chad fell down.
posted by skycrashesdown at 4:17 PM on October 4, 2016 [16 favorites]
posted by skycrashesdown at 4:17 PM on October 4, 2016 [16 favorites]
It's a damn good, damn catchy song, but one thing about it kinda irks me. For a song that's a pastiche of early 60's, post-British Invasion music, the production is way too modern. It's crystal clear, like it was recorded in a modern (1996) studio, likely digitally, and certainly not in the church and two-track that's shown in the film.
When this film came out, I was 14 and deeply obsessed with the British Invasion and getting into 1960s garage, so this movie totally appealed to me. Now, after spending most of my life digging deeper and deeper into those music genres (and all of their revivals) the slick, lazy 90s production of the song just kills it for me. Actually, in many ways the song is a pastiche of 60s beat, but whatever, the production is just so clearly like a Fountains of Wayne record. And when you compare it to other, actual groups recording similar music in the same vein (like The Kaisers) it just makes me really annoyed that they just half-assed the soundtrack production. I'm sure it was done to be commercially viable, but just imagine a world where they recorded it at Toe Rag Studios. (Same could be said for the Backbeat soundtrack.)
But now I want to go rewatch the film. I can't believe it's been 20 years! I feel old.
posted by kendrak at 4:18 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
When this film came out, I was 14 and deeply obsessed with the British Invasion and getting into 1960s garage, so this movie totally appealed to me. Now, after spending most of my life digging deeper and deeper into those music genres (and all of their revivals) the slick, lazy 90s production of the song just kills it for me. Actually, in many ways the song is a pastiche of 60s beat, but whatever, the production is just so clearly like a Fountains of Wayne record. And when you compare it to other, actual groups recording similar music in the same vein (like The Kaisers) it just makes me really annoyed that they just half-assed the soundtrack production. I'm sure it was done to be commercially viable, but just imagine a world where they recorded it at Toe Rag Studios. (Same could be said for the Backbeat soundtrack.)
But now I want to go rewatch the film. I can't believe it's been 20 years! I feel old.
posted by kendrak at 4:18 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
You can't believe how much the residents of Erie, PA took this movie to heart. It's not a part of the country that gets attention often, and little of that is positive.
Erie was the home of a real-life small-time-successful rock band in the 60s, the Arkay IV. I have no idea to what extent the movie was based on their history but the band's decided to own the resemblance.
posted by ardgedee at 4:25 PM on October 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
Erie was the home of a real-life small-time-successful rock band in the 60s, the Arkay IV. I have no idea to what extent the movie was based on their history but the band's decided to own the resemblance.
posted by ardgedee at 4:25 PM on October 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
The majority of the Erie, PA portions of the movie were filmed in my hometown of Orange, CA, downtown in a region called "Old Town Orange." I remember the filming, as they had to convert a lot (but not all!) of the storefronts into various 1960s shops. Tom Hanks even set up his production office at Watson's Drugstore (which is shown in the film as well). I remember my mother telling a story about talking for an hour with a lovely young actress involved in the film, but not remembering her name. Only years later, as my family walked out of one of the Lord of the Rings films, did she recognize that she had chatted up Liv Tyler.
posted by RubixsQube at 4:27 PM on October 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
posted by RubixsQube at 4:27 PM on October 4, 2016 [8 favorites]
The soundtrack to this movie (on cassette tape, no less) was integral in getting me through the week-long road trip when my family moved across Canada (from BC) at the end of 1996. I was 13, sad and anxious about moving. I would rewind to the title track and listen to it on repeat from Winnipeg (where we stopped one night at a mall to buy winter coats) until we got to Toronto. I don't know what happened to the tape, but the song just lives in my head now anyway.
posted by janepanic at 4:34 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by janepanic at 4:34 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
I am Spartacus.
posted by entropicamericana at 4:41 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by entropicamericana at 4:41 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
"Who popped your cherry?"
"The Chantrellines."
(That's in the extended cut too.)
posted by killy willy at 4:50 PM on October 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
"The Chantrellines."
(That's in the extended cut too.)
posted by killy willy at 4:50 PM on October 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
Love, love, LOVE this movie. One of my favorite little things about the title song is that each time it's played in the movie (either as diegetic music or as part of the non-diagetic soundtrack), it has a slightly different arrangement/elements distinct from the last time.
"Go to Wolfman! TOO SCARY! Go to Shades!"
posted by KingEdRa at 5:03 PM on October 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
"Go to Wolfman! TOO SCARY! Go to Shades!"
posted by KingEdRa at 5:03 PM on October 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
One of my favorite scenes is the first time they hear themselves on the radio. The joy in that moment is absolutely infectious.
And this exchange with Guy Patterson and the doorman at their hotel in L.A. -
GUY: Hey Lamarr - is there a place around here with really good jazz?
DOORMAN: Oh, you want good jazz?
GUY: Yeah.
DOORMAN: (dubiously) ....Good jazz?
GUY: Yeah.
DOORMAN: ....Lemme ask you a question - who played coronet for Jacques st. Claire on Vital Stats?
GUY: Scott McDonald.
DOORMAN: (excited) Get in this cab. Get IN this CAB! (to driver) Take this young squire to the Blue Spot!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:10 PM on October 4, 2016 [24 favorites]
And this exchange with Guy Patterson and the doorman at their hotel in L.A. -
GUY: Hey Lamarr - is there a place around here with really good jazz?
DOORMAN: Oh, you want good jazz?
GUY: Yeah.
DOORMAN: (dubiously) ....Good jazz?
GUY: Yeah.
DOORMAN: ....Lemme ask you a question - who played coronet for Jacques st. Claire on Vital Stats?
GUY: Scott McDonald.
DOORMAN: (excited) Get in this cab. Get IN this CAB! (to driver) Take this young squire to the Blue Spot!
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:10 PM on October 4, 2016 [24 favorites]
One thing that I think makes this flick work is that you can feel the relationships coming through the screen. There is something very natural about how all the characters interact with one another that feels completely true and properly spaced and scaled. For example, Zahn and Hanks' scenes together feel perfectly weighted to portray how simultaneously amused and exasperated Mr. White was with Lenny. Everything feels real throughout.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 5:14 PM on October 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by Senor Cardgage at 5:14 PM on October 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
Oh, and this was cute - when Tom Hanks was celebrated in the Kennedy Center Honors, they had Pentatonix come on to do the song (with some rewritten lyrics). They had a band sitting behind them, though, and the band joined them midway through - and of course, the drummer was wearing sunglasses. If you look at one of the audience shots, you can see a few people all singing along.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:22 PM on October 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:22 PM on October 4, 2016 [7 favorites]
Oh, I nearly forgot. The lasting effect this film had on the Mosley household: If one of us leaves on a light in a vacant part of the house, the other will invariably intone, "Let it burn. Let it burn..."
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 5:36 PM on October 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 5:36 PM on October 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
Subterfuge.
posted by humboldt32 at 5:52 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by humboldt32 at 5:52 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
Absolutely one of the best movies ever, IMO. Perfectly made, perfectly cast, perfectly performed. A time capsule of perfection. PER-FECT.
my only long-standing question, which remains to this day, is who REALLY sings "Mr. Downtown?" Like, who is the vocalist? It's not the actor playing Freddy Frederickson. WHO IS IT??
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 6:07 PM on October 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
my only long-standing question, which remains to this day, is who REALLY sings "Mr. Downtown?" Like, who is the vocalist? It's not the actor playing Freddy Frederickson. WHO IS IT??
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 6:07 PM on October 4, 2016 [4 favorites]
So many great things about this movie.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:25 PM on October 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 6:25 PM on October 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
This is a great movie because it follows that perfect story arc. Beginning, middle, end, coda. A lot of movies could use this neat 3 act packaging.
Tom Hanks is such a calculating record-company-guy. He's like two steps from being a total a-hole.
posted by hot_monster at 6:56 PM on October 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Tom Hanks is such a calculating record-company-guy. He's like two steps from being a total a-hole.
posted by hot_monster at 6:56 PM on October 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Those State Fair scenes are note perfect. This is just an absolute gem of a movie.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 7:00 PM on October 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by TWinbrook8 at 7:00 PM on October 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
One of my favorites! Steve Zahn just kills me in this movie. Lenny gets all the funny lines and he is often the one making the more practical observations, though the other guys don't pay any attention because he's also the joker of the group.
Phil: I'm talking about Rock 'N' Roll shows in Steubenville, Youngstown, Pittsburgh, places like that.
The Bass Player: Pittsburgh?
Lenny: Steubenville?
Jimmy: [he's just written "Oneders"] No, look - the Oneders, Lenny.
Lenny: Yeah, it looks like the O'Needers.
Jimmy: No, the - the Oneders.
Lenny: Got it, looks like the O'Needers.
posted by angelchrys at 7:24 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
Phil: I'm talking about Rock 'N' Roll shows in Steubenville, Youngstown, Pittsburgh, places like that.
The Bass Player: Pittsburgh?
Lenny: Steubenville?
Jimmy: [he's just written "Oneders"] No, look - the Oneders, Lenny.
Lenny: Yeah, it looks like the O'Needers.
Jimmy: No, the - the Oneders.
Lenny: Got it, looks like the O'Needers.
posted by angelchrys at 7:24 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
angelcrys this movie is the reason I say "got it. _______" every time I am in a similar back and forth.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 7:31 PM on October 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by Senor Cardgage at 7:31 PM on October 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
Also I so sincerely wish Villapianos was real cuz he would eat there crazy often
posted by Senor Cardgage at 7:34 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Senor Cardgage at 7:34 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Part of my classroom management gamification program has random "events" where something good or bad happens to the class. A few weeks ago, we landed on "Gamemaster chooses a song that's at least 15 years old [students are 12-13 years old, FYI] and randomly selected student must identify it or [consequence]."
In one class, I chose "That Thing You Do" as the song.
Not a single person recognised it. One person suggested it was the Beatles.
And yeah. I guess that's about right for a song/movie that's 20 years old.
posted by guster4lovers at 7:34 PM on October 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
In one class, I chose "That Thing You Do" as the song.
Not a single person recognised it. One person suggested it was the Beatles.
And yeah. I guess that's about right for a song/movie that's 20 years old.
posted by guster4lovers at 7:34 PM on October 4, 2016 [6 favorites]
Those State Fair scenes are note perfect.
Yes! To me, it's the way the band members are interacting on stage and recognizing each others' signals/gestures/expressions as they play that draw me in and make me think for a moment that they aren't just actors but a real band, just starting to jell and capable of bigger things down the road.
That, and the way Mr. White (Hanks) does the fist pump...
posted by e-man at 8:03 PM on October 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yes! To me, it's the way the band members are interacting on stage and recognizing each others' signals/gestures/expressions as they play that draw me in and make me think for a moment that they aren't just actors but a real band, just starting to jell and capable of bigger things down the road.
That, and the way Mr. White (Hanks) does the fist pump...
posted by e-man at 8:03 PM on October 4, 2016 [3 favorites]
Where was I? Oh yeah, playing songs on my guitar.
posted by humboldt32 at 8:28 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by humboldt32 at 8:28 PM on October 4, 2016 [5 favorites]
Thanks to this I've downloaded the movie from iTunes just so I could watch it right now (I own the DVD but don't have a DVD player). My pre-teen self loved this movie when it came out and I played the soundtrack over and over and over. It was one of the few CDs I owned at that time and I remember how proud I was that I purchased it out of my allowance.
It was also my introduction to Steve Zahn (who, to my young mind, was the funniest thing ever) and Liv Tyler, and I still always automatically think of them in these roles despite the many other (more famous) projects they've been in.
Also I remember getting into an argument about whether the bass player (my favorite!) had a name. I was so offended that he was so easily replaceable.
posted by paisley sheep at 8:37 PM on October 4, 2016
It was also my introduction to Steve Zahn (who, to my young mind, was the funniest thing ever) and Liv Tyler, and I still always automatically think of them in these roles despite the many other (more famous) projects they've been in.
Also I remember getting into an argument about whether the bass player (my favorite!) had a name. I was so offended that he was so easily replaceable.
posted by paisley sheep at 8:37 PM on October 4, 2016
Went to college with Schlesinger. Never heard anything shitty about him, but didn't know him myself.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:38 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:38 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
Great film, though flawed towards the end. Also at the AV Club, it's discussed In 1996, alternative rock died a messy, forgettable death, which muses about how That Thing You Do! seems to take place in a Beatles-free 1964. Curiously, the Fab Four were actually a little part of '96, at least for me, once again relevant due to Anthology, still new at the time.
posted by Rash at 8:49 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Rash at 8:49 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
From the "16 Things You Never Knew" link:
15. In an extended addition of the film, it is revealed that Mr. White has a boyfriend, played by Howie Long.
Now I want to see the extended version!
posted by paisley sheep at 8:56 PM on October 4, 2016
15. In an extended addition of the film, it is revealed that Mr. White has a boyfriend, played by Howie Long.
Now I want to see the extended version!
posted by paisley sheep at 8:56 PM on October 4, 2016
I was just in Erie , PA last week, and I can assure you that it is not quite so cheerful now.
However, I love this movie, and the O'Needers unreservedly.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:16 PM on October 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
However, I love this movie, and the O'Needers unreservedly.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:16 PM on October 4, 2016 [2 favorites]
I love this movie, but the store where I work has ruined the title song for me. Depending on the length of the shifts I will hear it anywhere from one to four times a day at work. UNtil recently, I'd worked 6 days a week. Every week.
posted by ShawnStruck at 10:09 PM on October 4, 2016
posted by ShawnStruck at 10:09 PM on October 4, 2016
I'd also like to express my admiration for the little moments not tied to the plot like their fan needling the emcee (who loses it) at the Mercyhurst talent show.
It's totally unnecessary and wholly memorable.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 10:11 PM on October 4, 2016 [10 favorites]
It's totally unnecessary and wholly memorable.
posted by Senor Cardgage at 10:11 PM on October 4, 2016 [10 favorites]
I remember thinking of this movie in college when I took a lot of late-night walks and noticed how many businesses just keep lights on all night.
posted by ckape at 11:15 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by ckape at 11:15 PM on October 4, 2016 [1 favorite]
The whole thing works because that song is so damn catchy -- it feels totally, completely believable that it'd be a smash hit, and that totally sucks us into the world of "The Oh-nee-ders."
Part of what makes it work is that you never actually hear the whole song until VERY late in the movie. You get bits of it here, snatches of it there, lots of parts of performances but you don't ever actually hear the song in its entirety until QUITE late in the film. It's a brilliant thing to do, because you never get sick of it, you're always just getting pieces of it, and you keep leaning forward each time it plays because you hope it will be the full version, just for once.
I saw this movie in the theater at least three times. I thought it was truly brilliant. It just wasn't a part of the NOW that was back then to truly catch on. I expect it to be showing up on Turner Classic Movies at some point.
posted by hippybear at 1:07 AM on October 5, 2016 [5 favorites]
Part of what makes it work is that you never actually hear the whole song until VERY late in the movie. You get bits of it here, snatches of it there, lots of parts of performances but you don't ever actually hear the song in its entirety until QUITE late in the film. It's a brilliant thing to do, because you never get sick of it, you're always just getting pieces of it, and you keep leaning forward each time it plays because you hope it will be the full version, just for once.
I saw this movie in the theater at least three times. I thought it was truly brilliant. It just wasn't a part of the NOW that was back then to truly catch on. I expect it to be showing up on Turner Classic Movies at some point.
posted by hippybear at 1:07 AM on October 5, 2016 [5 favorites]
Mr. White: It is very important that you don't stink today.
Lenny: Hey, I make no guarantees.
See also the "Lenny, go visit the cockpit, tell 'em it's your birthday" scene on the CA-bound plane. Their relationship is my favorite.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:33 AM on October 5, 2016 [7 favorites]
Lenny: Hey, I make no guarantees.
See also the "Lenny, go visit the cockpit, tell 'em it's your birthday" scene on the CA-bound plane. Their relationship is my favorite.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 4:33 AM on October 5, 2016 [7 favorites]
Now I want to see the extended version!
The extended version is a mixed bag. You do get the good Mr. White and his boyfriend scene, but you also get a lot more of Rita Wilson hitting on Tom Everett Scott, and while Rita Wilson has always been an underrated actress her scenes are clearly extraneous to the plot and slow down the film's pace. There's also a lot more of the "Charlize Theron falls in love with her dentist" subplot, which is similarly unnecessary, and Scott getting a job post-band-breakup with Clint Howard's jazz radio station, which is even less so.
There's nothing wrong with any of it, to be sure. They're still good scenes written well and performed by good actors. But they're an excellent example of how "good stuff" can still detract from an excellent film just because they're extra running time that makes the film flabbier, and how editing is often the art of taking out the good to achieve the best. (I mean, Tom Hanks cut out most of his wife's role, for crissake. You think he didn't want to keep that?)
The theatrical cut is the best cut.
posted by mightygodking at 5:42 AM on October 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
The extended version is a mixed bag. You do get the good Mr. White and his boyfriend scene, but you also get a lot more of Rita Wilson hitting on Tom Everett Scott, and while Rita Wilson has always been an underrated actress her scenes are clearly extraneous to the plot and slow down the film's pace. There's also a lot more of the "Charlize Theron falls in love with her dentist" subplot, which is similarly unnecessary, and Scott getting a job post-band-breakup with Clint Howard's jazz radio station, which is even less so.
There's nothing wrong with any of it, to be sure. They're still good scenes written well and performed by good actors. But they're an excellent example of how "good stuff" can still detract from an excellent film just because they're extra running time that makes the film flabbier, and how editing is often the art of taking out the good to achieve the best. (I mean, Tom Hanks cut out most of his wife's role, for crissake. You think he didn't want to keep that?)
The theatrical cut is the best cut.
posted by mightygodking at 5:42 AM on October 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
I think I might have rented this movie the first time I saw it, but after that the only place it was on was VH1. They must have played this movie thousands of times.
O-Needers is still one of my favorite words.
posted by LizBoBiz at 6:01 AM on October 5, 2016
O-Needers is still one of my favorite words.
posted by LizBoBiz at 6:01 AM on October 5, 2016
I love this movie, and was singing along to the title song in the supermarket just yesterday, but can we talk about the genius of the soundtrack album? The CD booklet contains a lengthy essay chronicling the histories of all of the fictional bands, and it's perfect.
And has there ever been a better name for a one-hit Motown girl group than The Chantrellines?
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:49 AM on October 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
And has there ever been a better name for a one-hit Motown girl group than The Chantrellines?
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:49 AM on October 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
Adam Schlesinger's ability to perfectly craft catchy genre songs is remarkable; besides his Fountains of Wayne output and this spot-on early-60's song, he also co-wrote all the songs on Colbert's amazing Christmas special.
posted by foldedfish at 8:38 AM on October 5, 2016
posted by foldedfish at 8:38 AM on October 5, 2016
Well, he didn't co-write this one, but maybe all the others.
posted by hippybear at 8:55 AM on October 5, 2016
posted by hippybear at 8:55 AM on October 5, 2016
I_Love_Bananas, I'm pretty certain that the Freddy Frederickson actor, Robert Torti, recorded Mr. Downtown. He's definitely got the chops (along with Tony awards). Here is Mr. Downtown, and here's Robert Torti as Jesus in Reefer Madness.
posted by aabbbiee at 9:46 AM on October 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by aabbbiee at 9:46 AM on October 5, 2016 [2 favorites]
Also at the AV Club, it's discussed In 1996, alternative rock died a messy, forgettable death, which muses about how That Thing You Do! seems to take place in a Beatles-free 1964.
There's that one announcer who says something like "Our visitors from the East -- no, not those moptops...".
posted by Etrigan at 9:52 AM on October 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
There's that one announcer who says something like "Our visitors from the East -- no, not those moptops...".
posted by Etrigan at 9:52 AM on October 5, 2016 [6 favorites]
Also, in the scene when Jimmy comes up with the band's name, he actually cites the Beatles as inspiration for the original unconventional spelling. The Beatles definitely exist in the movie.
posted by aabbbiee at 9:58 AM on October 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by aabbbiee at 9:58 AM on October 5, 2016 [3 favorites]
There's also a line about challenging the Beatles to a hair combing contest.
posted by kevinbelt at 10:05 AM on October 5, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by kevinbelt at 10:05 AM on October 5, 2016 [5 favorites]
If you're a fan of the song's writer, Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne, I highly, highly recommend Robbie Fulks' Fountains of Wayne Hotline, which is the most perfect affectionate parody of the FoW sound imaginable. The song's titular hotline offers FoW-style songwriting advice to blocked songwriters. It's so funny I can barely stand it.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:56 AM on October 5, 2016 [5 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 11:56 AM on October 5, 2016 [5 favorites]
"Are you crazy? A man in a really nice camper wants to put our song on the radio! Gimme a pen; I'm signin', you're signin', we're all signin'!"
ALSO
"Oh, I'm not here with these fellas. I've got a pig in competition over at the livestock pavilion, and *I* am gonna win that blue ribbon!"
ALSO, TOO
"Where was I?! Oh yeah... playing songs on my guitar."
posted by radiosilents at 3:06 PM on October 5, 2016 [8 favorites]
ALSO
"Oh, I'm not here with these fellas. I've got a pig in competition over at the livestock pavilion, and *I* am gonna win that blue ribbon!"
ALSO, TOO
"Where was I?! Oh yeah... playing songs on my guitar."
posted by radiosilents at 3:06 PM on October 5, 2016 [8 favorites]
Steve Zahn is not the only reason this movie works, but he is one of the reasons it works. He is one reason a lot of movies work. It is always worth watching a movie if Steve Zahn is in it, if only because you know Steve Zahn will be fun to watch.
"Oh, there he goes off to his room to write that hit song 'Alone In My Principles'!"
"I play a lot of cards. Obviously. Wanna see my deck?" [he flashes his cards] "See? You gotta be quick! You gotta be quick with me! I'm from Erie, P.A.!" [while playing Go Fish]
posted by aabbbiee at 7:42 AM on October 6, 2016 [7 favorites]
"Oh, there he goes off to his room to write that hit song 'Alone In My Principles'!"
"I play a lot of cards. Obviously. Wanna see my deck?" [he flashes his cards] "See? You gotta be quick! You gotta be quick with me! I'm from Erie, P.A.!" [while playing Go Fish]
posted by aabbbiee at 7:42 AM on October 6, 2016 [7 favorites]
“There he goes! Off to his room to write that hit song, ‘Alone In My Principles.’”
P.S. fyeahthatthingyoudo.tumblr.com for all your That Thing You Do gif needs.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:50 PM on October 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
P.S. fyeahthatthingyoudo.tumblr.com for all your That Thing You Do gif needs.
posted by ob1quixote at 12:50 PM on October 6, 2016 [2 favorites]
Tom Everett Scott had a bit of an amusing story about the casting when he was at the American Film Institute's salute to Tom Hanks in 2009.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:24 PM on October 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:24 PM on October 6, 2016 [1 favorite]
I wonder which one of them is Cap'n Geech. My head says it's Jimmy, since he's on keyboard, but my heart says Lenny.
posted by ckape at 9:17 PM on October 8, 2016 [4 favorites]
posted by ckape at 9:17 PM on October 8, 2016 [4 favorites]
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posted by Charlemagne In Sweatpants at 3:29 PM on October 4, 2016 [6 favorites]