Back in 1996 a lot was going on: Bill Clinton won a second term in the White House, North America got hit with a mother of a blizzard, The Flinstones ever-suffering Betty Rubble finally made her premiere as a Flinstone vitamin and – wait for it – a talented actor named Tom Hanks made all of the rest of us mere mortals look like total pikers as his feature film directorial debut (which he also wrote, by the way) premiered. The name of the film in question was That Thing You Do and over the years it has grown and cultivated a loyal and steadfast audience of fans, so much so that a reunion with the principal cast is in the offing for a very special cause.
That Thing You Do was a very personal love letter from Tom Hanks to the early rock and roll scene of the nascent 1960s, that odd period between the deaths of rock icons Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson in 1959 and the advent of a group of mop tops known as The Beatles in ‘64. It follows a small rock and roll band known as the One’ders (pronounced as “The Wonders”) from total obscurity and into the national spotlight as they score and score big with a national hit song called “That Thing You Do.” Along the way, the band picks up a Norman Petty/Colonel Tom Parker style of manager played by Tom Hanks who takes a Jiminy Cricket shine to the quartet. Hanks is predictably solid in his acting and proved to have a real affinity behind the camera (prior to this the two-time Oscar winner had directed a few projects for television) as well in his choice of casting: Essaying the roles of the One’ders were some of the best actors that the Hollywood of 1996 had to offer: Tom Everett Scott, Johnathon Schaech, Steve Zahn and Ethan Embry. Also in the cast were such fantastic talents as Liv Tyler, Giovanni Ribisi, Alex Rocco, Bryan Cranston, Colin Hanks, Charlize Theron Peter Scolari, Chris Isaak and Rita Wilson.
The film got much of its zany and wonky heart from the subtle and masterful journeyman work put forth by the endearing cast and the film’s title song – That Thing You Do – actually became a fairly sizeable hit on radio airwaves in ’96. Credit that little bit of musical alchemy not to the stars of the film but to musician and songwriter Adam Schlesinger who wrote the catchy ditty and who received an Oscar nomination for his efforts.
We lost Adam Schlesinger this past April 1 to complications from the coronavirus at the impossibly too young age of 52.
Which brings us to my circus barking headline regarding the reunion of the One’ders: Scott, Schaech, Zahn, Embry and Tyler (who, along with Schlesinger, is an honorary One’der if ever there was one) will officially reunite on April 17 for the first time in nearly a quarter of a century to honor Adam Schlesinger. This is not an entirely nostalgia drenched effort, however (although as a movie buff I am always up for those, too). The cast are using this onetime reunion on YouTube a few days hence to raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts in honor of their fallen friend.
The cast member that I always related to the most from the film, Ethan Embry (the very definition of 1990s geek chic, boys and girls), gave all That Thing You Do aficionados a heads up about the event on his Twitter feed:
DETAILS! This Friday April 17th, 7pmEST/4pmPST the One’ders are reuniting FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME for a community watch party of That Thing You Do! We’re gonna have the WHOLE band AND @LivTyler + a few other surprise guests live stream a commentary to raise funds for @MusiCares!!
For all of you diehard That Thing You Do fans out there, mark your calendars for April 17 and in the meantime if you have any burning questions that you would like to ask the One’ders, word ‘round campfire is that you can submit your questions before the reunion courtesy of the actor’s social media accounts. And, in the interim, remember your That Thing You Do mantra as penned and co-opted by the man who will always be Ray Peterson in my worn out old book: “I am Spartacus!” In this time of doubt and uncertainty, truer words were never spoken.
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