That Thing You Do! (1996)
87%RT Audience Score: 78%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
3 wins & 8 nominations total
A light, sweet, and thoroughly entertaining debut for director Tom Hanks, That Thing You Do! makes up in charm what it lacks in complexity
That Thing You Do! is the perfect movie to watch when you need a little pick-me-up. Tom Hanks’ directorial debut is a fun and charming look at the rise and fall of a one-hit wonder band in the 60s. The catchy title track will have you tapping your feet and singing along, and the cast, especially Tom Everett Scott, is full of charisma. It’s not the most groundbreaking film, but it’s a feel-good classic that will leave you with a smile on your face. Plus, who doesn’t love a good underdog story?
Production Company(ies)
Jack Rollins & Charles H. Joffe Productions, Rollins-Joffe Productions,
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Dresden Room Restaurant – 1760 N. Vermont Avenue, Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for some language
Year of Release
1996
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 50m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 4, 1996 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 8, 2007
Genre(s)
Comedy/Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Tom Everett Scott, Liv Tyler, Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, Ethan Embry, Tom Hanks, directed by Tom Hanks, written by Tom Hanks, comedy, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Duane Byrge, Owen Gleiberman, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Desson Thomson, Emanuel Levy, Gary Goetzman, Jonathan Demme, Edward Saxon, PG rating, 1964, Pennsylvania, The Oneders, Beatles-style pop song, Mr White, band manager, jazz enthusiast, Guy Patterson, Faye Dolan, Jimmy Mattingly, Lenny Haise, T B Player, critic reviews, audience score, 20th Century Fox, Surround sound mix
Worldwide gross: $34,585,416
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $66,014,757
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,218
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 7,198,992
US/Canada gross: $25,857,416
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $49,355,227
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,077
US/Canada opening weekend: $6,208,595
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $11,850,628
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 900
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $26,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $49,627,383
Production budget ranking: 802
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $26,724,346
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$10,336,972
ROI to date (est.): -14%
ROI ranking: 1,471
Liv Tyler – Faye Dolan
Johnathon Schaech – Jimmy Mattingly
Steve Zahn – Lenny Haise
Ethan Embry – T. B. Player
Tom Hanks – Mr. White
Director(s)
Tom Hanks
Writer(s)
Tom Hanks
Producer(s)
Gary Goetzman, Jonathan Demme, Edward Saxon
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
3 wins & 8 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (60) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (56) | Rotten (4)
The chief wonder of this rock ‘n’ roll cast is Tom Everett Scott, whose easy charisma, dreamy smile and undersurface intelligence should shoot him up the acting charts like a bullet.
October 4, 2016
Duane Byrge
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: A-
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
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.
December 17, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
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 infectious enough to merit a real hit.
December 17, 2007
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
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 were girls, with no references to the sex-drug subculture
January 3, 2007 | Rating: B
Emanuel Levy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Sweet nothing, then, but what would you expect of a rock movie devoted to the drummer?
June 24, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
…a persistently entertaining endeavor that’s been suffused with a whole host of appealing, captivating elements…
April 13, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Hanks’ fable is still as endearing as it was decades ago. It’s a perfect feelgood movie. [Full review in Spanish].
August 3, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Federico Furzan
Cinelipsis
Hanks gives us a rocking musical film for the ages in That Thing You Do!
November 26, 2018
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
It’s absolutely impossible not to smile when “The Wonders” hear their song on the radio for the first time.
April 17, 2016 | Rating: 4/5
J. Olson
Cinemixtape
Call it a sanitized version of The Commitments.
March 30, 2016 | Rating: B+
James Plath
Family Home Theater
Tom Hanks directorial effort is a decent film overall, but nothing that would ever inspire to re-visit again and again with fondness.
March 29, 2013
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed…
Plot
Recounts a fable of a pop rock band formed a year after the Beatles took America by storm in early 1964. Jazz aficionado Guy Patterson, unhappily toiling in the family appliance store, is recruited into the band the Oneders (later renamed the Wonders) after regular drummer Chad breaks his arm. After Guy injects a four/four rock beat into lead singer Jimmy’s ballad, the song’s undeniable pop power flings the Wonders into a brief whirlwind of success, telling the tale of many American bands who attempted to grab the brass ring of rock and roll in the wake of the British Invasion.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Tom Everett Scott’s performance as Guy “Skitch” “Shades” Patterson is praised for his easy charisma, dreamy smile, and undersurface intelligence.
Tom-Hanks.jpg
