That Thing You Do! (1996)

Directed by

Tom Hanks

Genre

drama film, comedy drama, musical film, coming-of-age film, romantic comedy film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 48m

Rated

PG

Rating

6.9 of 10 from 925 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In the 1960s, a group of young musicians form a pop band that becomes a one-hit wonder. The movie follows their sudden rise to fame and the challenges that come with it.

upbeatnostalgicbittersweetfunlight-heartedenergeticsentimentalwhimsical

What happens

That Thing You Do! is a 1996 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Tom Hanks, in his feature writing and directorial debut. Set in 1960s rock and roll culture, it chronicles the rise and fall of a fictional one-hit wonder pop band and stars Tom Everett Scott in his film debut along with Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn, and Ethan Embry as the band's members, with Liv Tyler and Hanks appearing in supporting roles. Its production and music are key to its narrative, with original scores by a collaboration of artists including Hanks, Adam Schlesinger, and Howard Shore. The soundtrack peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, featuring a mix of diegetic and non-diegetic tracks. The cast practiced for weeks to perform convincingly on camera, blurring the lines between reality and fiction. The film was a financial disappointment, grossing $34.6 million against a $26 million budget. However,That Thing You Do earned warm critical reviews, was nominated for several industry awards, and produced a musical hit with the title song, which was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. It has since garnered a cult following. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Grace of My Heart (1996)
• Swingers (1996)
• Dreamgirls (2006)
• Bandwagon (1996)
• Almost Famous (2000)
• Girls Town (1996)
• Loose Women (1996)
• La Passione (1996)