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That Thing You Do: Difference between revisions
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* [[All Drummers Are Animals]]: Mr. White banks on this, playing up Guy as the "bad boy" of the Wonders. In reality he's probably the sweetest and most grounded member of the band.
* [[Ambiguously Brown]]: Jimmy, who clearly has at least some Hispanic in his ethnic makeup -- which may be why, late in the film, Mr. White insists that the band re-record their hit in Spanish.
* [[Affectionate Parody]]: Of those early-1960s [[One
* [[Berserk Button]]: The local talent show host doesn't take heckling well:
{{quote| '''Emcee:''' How do you sell a chicken to a deaf man?<br />
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* [[The British Invasion]]
* [[Cool Shades]]: Mr. White gives Guy a pair when he signs the band, and renames him 'Shades' in the process. "Wear them at all times. They're your trademark."
* [[Defictionalization]]: Tom Hanks named his production company [
** Additionally, on the soundtrack CD, there are songs by fictional stars The Vicksburgs, The Heardsmen, and Del Paxton, all of whom were mentioned in the movie but never actually shown performing.
** As part of the promo tie-in, many radio stations at the time placed the title track on regular rotation, crediting the song just as they would for an actual band. Some stations are ''still'' doing this more than a decade later.
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* [[Myspeld Rokband]]: Parodied. No one can pronounce "the Oneders" correctly.
* [[No Name Given]]: The band's sweetly nerdy bass guitarist (played by Ethan Embry) is never actually named in the film -- another nod to the ephemeral nature of the band. In the epilogue, he's finally identified as "T. B. Player"... that is, "'''T'''he '''B'''ass '''Player'''".
* [[One
** [[Lampshaded]] by [[Genre Savvy]] Mr. White.
{{quote| '''Guy:''' But we still have a hit record. <br />
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* [[Running Gag]]: "You guys look great in [insert color of suits the band is wearing today], have I mentioned that?"
** Guy leaving the "Patterson's Appliance" sign on in the first half of the movie.
* [[Shout
** Several characters have names which are references to astronaut characters in ''Apollo 13'' (Haise, Mattingly, White). And astronaut Gus Grissom is a guest on ''The Hollywood Television Showcase,'' which is itself a [[Shout
*** And yet another Shout Out: the "CAREFUL GIRLS, HE'S ENGAGED" is a direct reference to [[The Beatles]]' performance on ''Ed Sullivan'', when John Lennon had the subtitle "SORRY GIRLS, HE'S MARRIED."
** Mr. White expecting the band to re-record "That Thing You Do!" in Spanish may be a shout out to the Beatles' re-recording of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" in German (as "Komm, Gib Mir Deine Hand" and "Sie Liebt Dich").
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* [[Take This Job and Shove It]]: Done ''in song'' during a recording session, no less.
* [[Thing-O-Meter]]: The local contest is determined by an "applause-o-meter" where a homecoming queen (or something) moves her arm in response to audience encouragement. When the Wonders "break the needle" she whips her arms from one side to the other, clearly defining them as "Wicked".
* [[Variety Show]]: ''The Hollywood Television Showcase,'' an [[Affectionate Parody]] (or [[Shout
* [[What Did You Expect When You Named It?]]: They've got ''one'' song, which is a runaway hit, and you want to call them the ''Wonders''?
* [[Where Are They Now? Epilogue]]
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[[Category:Films of the 1990s]]
[[Category:That Thing You Do]]
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