That Thing You Do! is a 1996 film, written and directed by Tom Hanks. Set in the summer of 1964, the movie tells the story of a one-hit wonder rock band from Erie, Pennsylvania called The Wonders that broke up shortly after their only hit single. The name 'Wonders' was originally spelled 'One-ders', a deliberate play on the term. Ironically, while the movie was in theaters, the soundtrack reached #26 on the charts. 'The Wonders' never made it to the charts again, so they were, in a sense, both a real and fictitious one-hit wonder band.

The film shows the rise of the band to near fame on the heels of the British Invasion in the mid 1960s, from local clubs and dances, to a major national tour and a record contract. The band is originally called The Oneders, and briefly spelled "The One-Ders" on posters (it is supposed to be pronounced as "wonders", a sort of portmanteau fusing "one" and "wonder," although characters in the film mistakenly say it as "o-need-ers").

It's 1964, and Guy Patterson's (Tom Everett Scott) life is good, but it could be better. He has been home from his stint as a soldier in post-war Germany for more than a year, is a proficient drummer, has an apartment and a girlfriend, but spends his days reluctantly helping his father run the family's appliance store in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. After the store closes for the evening, he uncovers his drum kit and plays accompanied to a jazz record, often by his idol, Del Paxton.

One day at work, friends Jimmy (Johnathon Schaech) and Lenny (Steve Zahn) approach Guy and ask him to fill in for Chad (Giovanni Ribisi) the drummer of their newly-formed band, after Chad breaks his arm in a fall. The band also features a bass player (Ethan Embry), whose name is never revealed in the film. Their band, still unnamed, is entering a talent competition at Mercyhurst College, offering a $100 top prize. Guy agrees, and the band rehearses a ballad written by Jimmy called "That Thing You Do." After rehearsal, Guy then asks the group to confirm that they'll just be performing the one song, and when they do, he responds, "Wonderful!" (The closed captions spell it "One-derful" as if to suggest that he is pleased that he doesn't have to learn more than one song for the performance.)

Jimmy's girlfriend Faye (Liv Tyler), thinking about what Guy has just said, responds elatedly by saying, "That's it, Guy Patterson! That's it! The Oneders!" (pronounced phonetically as "The Wonders"). Lenny points out that the new name is susceptible to being incorrectly pronounced like the "Oh-nee-ders", which proves true many times.

Once the Oneders take the stage, Guy counts off the song at a speed much faster than its rehearsed tempo. Though Jimmy yells for Guy to slow down, the tempo is maintained, and the band eventually catches up to Guy. The performance has an unexpected effect: everyone is on the floor dancing to it. As they win first place, they also score their first regular paying gig at Villapiano's, a pizza restaurant near the airport. With their newfound success, the band agrees to put "That Thing You Do" on vinyl at the request of a fan.

Guy's Uncle Bob (Chris Isaak), who records choirs and sermons for churches, sets up a recording session in a local church. The records are ordered and are selling incredibly well at Villapiano's. A small-time manager, Phil Horace (Chris Ellis), having heard of the group, asks Faye (who's selling the records) if they've been selling well. She nods enthusiastically. He buys one.

Later, Horace comes to Patterson's Appliances and introduces himself to Guy, who gathers the rest of the band together. Horace promises to get their record played on the radio and performance bookings in bigger cities like Pittsburgh, Youngstown, and Steubenville if they'll accept him as their manager. The band readily agrees, though Jimmy is reluctant at first to sign anything involving his music.

Horace delivers his promise on airplay as Faye, mailing some letters with a radio to her ear, hears the song come on WJET. Gleefully, she runs to Patterson's and tells Guy the song's on the radio. The whole band gathers together and celebrates. The song, as Guy explains to his self-centered girlfriend Tina (Charlize Theron) that evening, ends up being played three times that day.

Horace also manages to score the band a gig at a local rock-and-roll show in Pittsburgh sponsored by a prominent mattress salesman, Boss Vic Koss (Kevin Pollak). Their performance turns out to be a failure when their mikes are found to be off, one of Guy's cymbals crash to the stage, and unnerved by the audience's negative reaction, they try to salvage their performance before finally being booed off the stage. Unbeknownst to the Oneders, also in the audience is an executive for Play-Tone Records, Mr. White (Tom Hanks). Horace arranges a meeting with White after the show, and takes Guy with him, under the pretense of buying him dinner at a Chinese restaurant, where White is waiting.

White tells Guy he's heard his record, and that he'd like to sign the Oneders to the "Play-Tone Galaxy of Stars," as well as buy out Phil Horace's management contract with the group. Loyal to the man who got them this far, Guy initially refuses, but Horace urges him to reconsider, as the group may not have such a chance again. Guy takes White to the band and they all sign with Play-Tone. White's first edict is to change the band's name from "The Oneders" to simply "The Wonders." He allows Faye to tour with the band as their costume mistress. The band also learns that the bass player had earlier enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, and must leave the band in a few weeks to report for duty.

The Wonders join "The Galaxy" in a nationwide tour of county fairs and other smaller venues. They're accompanied by other Play-Tone artists like Freddy Frederickson, a Jack Jones sound-alike; the Chantrellines, a female trio modeled after The Supremes; and Diane Dane, a Leslie Gore-style blond soloist siren who catches Jimmy's eye. The Wonders' first Play-Tone appearance is at the Ohio State Fair, where the band impresses K.O. Bailey from 1230 WCOL-AM radio. Bailey plays "That Thing You Do!" the next morning with "fifty thousand watts behind it." While on the tour, Play-Tone re-releases "That Thing You Do!" as a single, and every week while on the tour, the band watches their record climb into the Billboard Hot 100. (A recurring joke is that the record is perpetually one position behind the Rolling Stones.) "That Thing You Do!" is eventually declared the fastest-rising single in the history of the Play-Tone label.

Once the record cracks the Top 10, White orders the group off the tour to California, where they meet with Play-Tone head Sol Siler (Alex Rocco), for a brief photo shoot to promote the group and its single. On the trip to California, White announces to the band that they'll appear in a "major motion picture," and bowing to Jimmy's urging, a recording session for The Wonders to make a complete album.

Jimmy, however, becomes disillusioned during the shooting of Weekend at Party Pier, a B-grade beach movie where The Wonders are cast as "Cap'n Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters." He says at one point "We look like a bunch of chimpanzees" and begins to grow apart from the band and Faye.

After a day of radio-show appearances, Guy takes off to a local jazz club, where confusion and homesickness lead him to drink too much. He meets his musical idol, Del Paxton, and fears that he has made a fool of himself.

The band is scheduled for a live performance on The Hollywood Television Showcase with Troy Chesterfield (Peter Scolari). The bass player never arrives for the performance. He instead abandons the group earlier than expected and goes to Disneyland with a group of Marines he met in the hotel coffee shop. White turns to a Play-Tone studio musician, Scott "Wolfman" Pell (Larry Antonino), to replace him. The remaining three Wonders quickly and nonchalantly approve after seeing Wolfman perform an incredible bass solo.

During the show, the words "Careful girls, he's engaged!" are captioned on the screen beneath Jimmy's image (an homage to the "Sorry girls, he's married!" caption that accompanied John Lennon on the Ed Sullivan Show), which surprises Jimmy. After the show, an angry Jimmy tells Faye that they are not engaged. Hurt by Jimmy's callousness and insensitivity, Faye tells him to stay away from her.

Jimmy's artistic volatility finally comes to a head at the recording studio, where he's learned that the songs they'll be recording will be covers of tracks from the record company's catalog. Though White promises Jimmy one cut per side of the album, he makes it clear that any material along the lines of "All My Only Dreams" will not be acceptable ("I don't want any of this lover's lament crap."). Unable to have his creativity stifled any further, Jimmy abruptly quits the group and storms out. Adding insult to injury is the absence of Lenny, who's gone to Las Vegas to marry a former Playboy Bunny, now a Play-Tone secretary. With the absence of Jimmy, Lenny, and the bass player, there are no more Wonders (Wolfman arrives for the session, but after Jimmy quits, White thanks Wolfman for his help and he leaves). White declares the group in breach of contract, telling Guy that their all-expenses paid deal with Play-Tone is over as of today. He does compliment Guy on being the "smart one" of the band, and gives Guy permission to stay in the studio for a while before he takes his leave. Guy sits down at his drum kit, aimlessly playing first the opening beats to "That Thing You Do", then an improv set that catches the notice of the studio engineers; when they ask what he calls it, Guy answers "I am Spartacus", a phrase he has repeated throughout the band's rise to the top. Moments later, Del Paxton shows up at the booth and suggests that he and Guy have an impromptu jazz jam session.

Following his strange day at the recording studio, Guy returns to his hotel, where he meets Faye in the coffee shop. Guy tells her that he intends to stay in California and try to make it as a drummer. Faye says she intends to go back to Erie and start living life without Jimmy. They both talk about how they'll stay in touch, and the pair share an embrace, with Faye reminding him that "none of this would have happened if you hadn't joined the band. And I mean that in a good way." As Faye walks out to the curb, Guy realizes, with some prompting from Lamarr the concierge (Obba Babatundé), that if he doesn't move now, he could never see her again. He goes to her outside and asks her when the last time was that she was really kissed. Her answer predates her relationship with Jimmy by about a year. Guy then, in turn, kisses her. She's taken aback at first, but slowly responds. She changes her mind and the new couple heads back inside the hotel.

The ending of the movie shows the epilogue of everyone's lives. Guy and Faye married the next year and have four children before moving from Venice, California to Bainbridge Island, Washington. They begin a music school, the Puget Sound Conservatory of Music, at which Guy teaches Jazz Composition. Jimmy re-joins Play-Tone and goes on to record three gold albums with a new band called the Heardsmen (another name pitched in Erie before settling on "The Wonders"); after his recording career ends, he becomes a record producer in Los Angeles. Lenny manages a casino in Nevada, but his marriage to the Play-Tone secretary didn't work out, as he is currently single. The bass player, who left the band to enlist in the Marines, is awarded the Purple Heart for wounds sustained in the siege of Khe Sanh, and later becomes a building contractor in Orlando, Florida.

It is believed that the song managed to peak at #7 in the movie, according to a scene when the manager announces it to the band while they are leaving Wisconsin for L.A.

The movie features original music by Hanks, Adam Schlesinger, Rick Elias, Scott Rogness, Mike Piccirillo, Gary Goetzman and Howard Shore. The Wonders rise to brief stardom on the strength of "That Thing You Do!", a song written as a wistful ballad but which becomes an uptempo rocker during the band's first performance at a talent show. Written and composed by Adam Schlesinger, bassist for Fountains of Wayne and Ivy, and released on the film's soundtrack, the song became a genuine hit for The Wonders in 1996 (the song peaked at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100, #22 on the Adult Contemporary charts, #18 on the Adult Top 40, and #24 on the Top 40 Mainstream charts). The track was nominated for the 1996 Golden Globe Award as well as the 1997 Academy Award for Best Original Song. Mike Viola of The Candy Butchers provided the distinctive lead vocals for the Wonders.

The soundtrack album (released under the Play-Tone name in conjunction with Epic Records) was also a hit, peaking at #21 on the Billboard Top 200. The CD artwork is a replica of the fictional Play-Tone label used in the movie.

Aside from the music being very similar to that of the Beatles, there are several references to the Beatles, such as the names that were originally thought of, the Oneders and the Heardsmen, misspelled "just like the Beatles"; the drummer being replaced on the verge of the band's stardom, à la Pete Best; their hit song being a sped-up version of a slower ballad, like the Beatles' "Please Please Me"; the owner of "Villapiano's", the restaurant where they were discovered, called the drummer "Ringo" at one point when he wanted them on stage; their manager making them all wear matching suits, "nice suits, because you are nice boys"; Mr. White being closely compared to Brian Epstein in the sense of control of the band; their manager giving the drummer a gimmick, as "Shades" wore sunglasses, just as Ringo wore many rings; the band frolicking on a map of the USA; Jimmy throwing up before their TV debut, as George Harrison did before The Ed Sullivan Show. Once the group meets with national success and gets new instruments, Jimmy plays a sunburst Rickenbacker guitar similar to George Harrison's. When Chad asks Mr. Patterson how many people would be watching, he replies, "How many people saw The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show?"; the setup for The Hollywood Television Showcase; the host of the Showcase introducing the band as "the latest rock-and-roll group to challenge the Beatles to a hair-combing contest! (just what we all need)"; the caption under Jimmy reading "Careful girls, he's engaged!," just as John Lennon on The Ed Sullivan Show had the caption "Sorry girls, he's married!"; referring to the Beatles in the movie A Hard Day's Night; Alex Rocco's character saying that the Wonders would invade the UK, referring to the British Invasion. Paparazzi asking why the band doesn't have long hair like The Beatles, and the radio host saying "I've got some exciting guests today! Makers of a hit record, visitors from the east! NO NOT THOSE MOP TOPS!"; in one scene of the "Tom Hanks' Extended Edition" DVD Jimmy mentions that the new upbeat tempo makes them sound like The Beatles, Lenny replies with a quip about sounding "like the lads themselves".

This film marked the on-screen debut for Colin Hanks, Tom Hanks's son. He plays a cameo role as a male page escorting Faye at The Hollywood Television Showcase. (In an extended scene from the 2-disk Director's Cut, the page brings Faye all the way to her seat in-studio, and lingers for a moment by her side in a sort of lovesick daze).

Many of the employees at local Los Angeles television affiliate KTLA had small or cameo roles in the film.

Director Jonathan Demme (The Silence of the Lambs), one of the producers of That Thing You Do, has a cameo as the director of Weekend At Party Pier.

The original DVD release of That Thing You Do! debuted on June 5, 2001. At the time, it included the featurette "The Making of That Thing You Do!," and 2 music videos.

On May 8, 2007, Tom Hanks' Extended Edition was released on DVD. The film's theatrical cut and an extended cut with 39 additional minutes of deleted scenes are included.

The extended cut expands on the collapsing relationship between Guy and Tina and the budding romance between Guy and Faye. Mr. White's driver, Lloyd (Howie Long), is also revealed and it is implied that Lloyd and Mr. White are homosexual partners. Most of the added scenes are in the first half of the film, however, showing more of the band's rise to the top. It also offers an alternate reason for Guy to remain in Los Angeles. In the original theatrical cut, Guy decides to stay to pursue a career in music at Del's suggestion; however in the extended cut, Guy's connections with Del Paxton and his associates helps him land a job at KJZZ Radio hosting a jazz music/interview show late at night.

An additional disc of extras in the "Extended Edition" include a “Making That Thing You Do” featurette, "The Story Of The Wonders” featurette, a That Thing You Do! Reunion, "The Wonders – Big in Japan” featurette, and “The Making of That Thing You Do!” HBO first look. Also included are TV spots and theatrical trailers.

Easter Egg in 'Extended Edition': On Disk One's main menu using the directional keys on your remote you can highlight the SPEED DIAL for the LP to play the theme at all three speeds.