When a hypochondriac learns that he is dying, he accepts an offer to throw himself in a volcano at a tropical island, and along the way there, learns to truly live.
24 hours in the lives of the young employees at Empire Records when they all grow up and become young adults thanks to each other and the manager. They all face the store joining a chain store with strict rules.
Director:
Allan Moyle
Stars:
Anthony LaPaglia,
Debi Mazar,
Maxwell Caulfield
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.Written by
Rick Gregory <rag.apa@email.apa.org>
Including full versions, alternative versions, live versions and snippets, the song "That Thing You Do" is heard eleven times in the movie. See more »
Goofs
When Guy is playing his drum solo, "Spartacus" at the recording studio, when he is finished playing he holds the cymbals so as to quiet them and then he lets go of them. When the recording master asks Guy what he calls his solo, and the camera pans back to Guy, he is once again holding the cymbals. See more »
Quotes
Lenny:
I play a lot of cards. Obviously. Wanna see my deck?
[he flashes his cards]
Lenny:
See? You gotta be quick! You gotta be quick with me! I'm from Erie, P.A.!
See more »
Crazy Credits
Stories of what the band did after their breakup and a picture of the band after all the credits. See more »
Alternate Versions
The music videos, which can found on the home video versions of the movie, contain extra footage not seen in the film. Some of the music video scenes include extra footage of the band playing games and riding the rides at the carnival. See more »
I've been seeing this movie on cable for several years...all the way through a couple times, but pieces many times. It seems like I can't pass it up when I'm flipping channels. And it happened again today, but to my surprise, it was a different, longer movie. I don't recall the original running time, but today's version must be 30 minutes or so longer than the one I've been seeing for years. At 2:35, it should have been too long, but it didn't seem like it.
Lots of times the director's cut is just a reattachment of footage from the cutting room floor, and sometimes it is footage that should have been left there. I can think of a few exceptions: Jacob's Ladder is one. Aliens is another. And as it turns out, That Thing You Do is still another. The extra scenes, which were cleverly edited out of the short version, add a great deal to the story. They help to fill out the characters and explain attitudes.
Some of the add-backs were no more than a few seconds, but those few seconds--like the cut to the "cootie" DJ playing the record after hearing it live--were like the end of a sentence. They made the first part make sense. Others, like the group nervous and suspicious about their new manager not coming through with with air play of their record, are doubtless part of the garage band routine. And more screen time for Liv Tyler can only be good.
All in all, I have to say the re-edit made it a better movie, at least for me.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.
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I've been seeing this movie on cable for several years...all the way through a couple times, but pieces many times. It seems like I can't pass it up when I'm flipping channels. And it happened again today, but to my surprise, it was a different, longer movie. I don't recall the original running time, but today's version must be 30 minutes or so longer than the one I've been seeing for years. At 2:35, it should have been too long, but it didn't seem like it.
Lots of times the director's cut is just a reattachment of footage from the cutting room floor, and sometimes it is footage that should have been left there. I can think of a few exceptions: Jacob's Ladder is one. Aliens is another. And as it turns out, That Thing You Do is still another. The extra scenes, which were cleverly edited out of the short version, add a great deal to the story. They help to fill out the characters and explain attitudes.
Some of the add-backs were no more than a few seconds, but those few seconds--like the cut to the "cootie" DJ playing the record after hearing it live--were like the end of a sentence. They made the first part make sense. Others, like the group nervous and suspicious about their new manager not coming through with with air play of their record, are doubtless part of the garage band routine. And more screen time for Liv Tyler can only be good.
All in all, I have to say the re-edit made it a better movie, at least for me.