That Thing You Do!

Synopsis: 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.
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music
Director(s): Tom Hanks
Production: 20th Century Fox
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 3 wins & 7 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.9
Metacritic:
71
Rotten Tomatoes:
93%
PG
Year:
1996
108 min
3,397 Views


[Pop]

[Whistling Song]

[Continues]

[Ends]

[Cymbals Shiver]

[Record Starts]

[Jazz Plays]

[Telephone Rings]

[Ring]

Patterson's.

Man:
What's goin' on

down there?

Dad?

Harriet Priestly

just called your mama.

Her husband

drove by the store

and said the lights

were still on.

What are the lights

still doing on?

I'm cookin' the books

as usual, Dad.

The sign, Guy.

The sign is still on.

Are we open for business

all night now?

No. Sorry. I, uh,

I'll turn that right off.

Is that music playing on one

of the store hi-fi's?

I'll turn that

right off, too.

"Turn that off, too."

[Stops]

[Pop]

[Man Singing]

[Horn Honking]

Oh.

- God. [Muttering]

- [Honking Continues]

[Continues]

[Engine Shuts Off]

Hey, beautiful. Where you headed?

You forgot all about me, didn't you?

- No. I was headed there right now.

- Liar!

I caught you! Admit it.

- We were all waiting for you.

- Well, let's go back. I'll follow you.

No. It's late and I'm tired

and I need to sleep...

so I think we should go to your place

and talk about this.

Mmm. We go to my place,

I'm gonna make out with you.

Okay. We can do that too.

[Softly]

Uh-huh.

- [Jazz]

- [No Audio]

Mmm. Say it. Say it again.

I... am...

Spartacus.

Oh, yes! Yes, you are.

Mmm. Yes, you are.

You are Spartacus.

- You know what I was thinking today?

- Mm-mmm.

We've been together

for almost a year.

You got out of the army, then

at Brisbane's Christmas party, we meet.

Then we had

a little flirting period...

until you saw the light

and asked me out.

So almost a year total.

Except for those two months

I broke up with you.

Yeah. Almost a year... total.

- Let's call it a year.

- Okay.

- Happy "anniversiary", Teen.

- [Chuckling]

And how can we

make tonight... special?

- Hmm.

- Down, boy.

I'm going home. I have my first appointment

with my new dentist in the morning.

Oh? What happened

to your old... dentist?

Oh, he... retired

or died or something.

So what does your dad

think of those new ideas?

What ideas?

Well, moving the store to Riverside Plaza

and doing TV commercials.

Oh. Inventory was

so goofed up today...

and, you know, he was in no mood to talk,

so I just... tabled that stuff till later.

Later. Guy.

Is it good business to let these things

stand in the way...

for the sign to read,

"Guy Patterson Appliances"?

- I don't think so.

- I'd probably keep it "Patterson's Appliances."

You know, the name you trust.

Well-

I'm... going... home.

You keep... saying that.

Well, I mean it this time, so-

Come on. Come with me.

Why don't you walk me to the door...

so I can give you

my patented night-night kiss?

Dang.

Oh.

But I thought you

already decided on The Echoes.

Nah. Some band in Buffalo's The Echoes,

and I wasn't wild about that.

- Oh. Let's just... call us

The Band You're About To Hear.

- How 'bout The Corvettes?

Is that The Corvettes

or The "Chordvettes"?

- No. Corvettes, like the car.

- Well, see, I was thinkin' like the chord.

"Chordvettes."

Like chords in our music.

No.

- [Woman] That's 10 cents.

- [Cash Register Dings]

[Man]

Is that Skitch Patterson?

- Hi.

- Hey there. Morning, everybody.

- Morning, Guy.

- Well, here we are. Erie's lone beatnik.

- Hey, Guy.

- [Guy] Good morning.

- Faye, I just... dinged your bumper.

- Oh.

- My sister's car.

- Oh. It is... a little scratch.

Yeah? It's okay.

[Chuckles] She's away at nursing school,

so she won't even notice.

- I'm buying you breakfast.

- Thank you.

- I'm gonna buy all you kids breakfast.

- Oh.

- Cool.

- God! Could've had steak and eggs.

Hey, you can

run into my girlfriend's car anytime.

Hey, all right. Yeah.

What about The Tempos?

You know, tempos?

Not The Tempos, tempos. I was

in a band already called The Tempos.

We were... terrible.

- Hey, Guy, weren't you

the drummer in The Tempos?

- Heard that.

I keep comin' back to The Herdsmen.

- [Woman] How 'bout The Big Tippers?

- I like it.

[Guy]

Oh, that's mine. I got that.

Okay, Skitch.

You wanna experience shame tonight?

We're playing

the Mercyhurst College talent show.

- [Groans]

- It's gonna be hilarious.

Jimmy and The Herdsmen.

Chad gonna solo on "Wipeout"?

Oh, you know, every song

is "Wipeout" to Chad.

- Thanks for breakfast.

- See ya, Faye.

I gotta pass, but if you kids need

any new wires or plugs, give me a call.

All right. Well, you're gonna miss it.

College girls, coeds... by the fistful.

- Oh, hey, my dad wants a roto-antenna.

- Tell him to come by the store.

He already talked to

a salesman at Tele-Mart.

That's a big mistake.

Lenny, those cats

don't know squat about service.

[Woman]

Come on, honey.

[Organ]

- Hey, hey, hey. Lookin' good. Hmm?

- [Mouthing Words]

[Sighs]

Morning.

Don't we open at 10:00 on Saturdays?

Yes, we do. And it's a good thing.

[Continues]

Go talk to your sister.

Ask her what am I paying you for.

Hey, Dad, we should move the store

to Riverside Plaza. Don't you think?

- [Grunts]

- Uh, parking, steady flow of foot traffic...

excitement of a new location?

- Hi, Mom.

- Hi, dear.

- Darlene.

- We could throw a grand opening...

that would give those clowns

at Tele-Mart something to worry about.

What?

Don't mention Tele-Mart,

you idiot. They're killing us.

- Shut up.

- No, you shut up.

- Shut up right now.

- Come over here and make me, fathead.

You know, like the flock that follows,

but it's like "Herds" with a E-A.

- So it's like "Heardsmen,"

so it's one of the six senses.

- Right.

So it's spelled like that.

What do you think?

- Okay, "heard."

- "Heards."

I don't get it.

No, it's spelled like this,

so it's "heards," so it's one of the senses.

- Music. "Heards."

- No, no. Here, here.

- I-I don't get it.

- Okay.

- Yeah, do it.

- Watch, watch.

- Oh, "heard," like "hear."

- [Crash]

- Yes. It's like "Heardsmen."

- [Laughs]

- I still don't like it.

- "Heardsmen."

Oh, no. Oh. Ow.

Guys? Chad fell down.

- What happened?

- [Chad] Oh, hey. No, I'm all right.

- Don't worry about it. Yeah.

- Come on. People are lookin'.

- What'd you hurt?

- My arm.

- [Lenny] Get up.

- Oh, my arm.

- [Faye] Oh, God. Bad?

- Oh, good.

- Are you okay?

- [Lenny] What are you doin'?

- You're not okay.

- You're gonna get all dirty.

- Do you want some help?

- No, I'm all right.

- You sure?

- Yeah.

- Okay, Venus?

- Okay, Steve.

Right. Let's go.

[Sighs]

Oh, hey.

Look at this.

See this?

My grandma and I

watched this.

Three weeks,

we've been watching it,

and last week, she realizes

there's strings.

They're puppets.

Yeah.

They're marionettes.

That's what they are.

What can I help you with

today, gentlemen?

We have a big proposition

for you, Guy.

You, uh, you still, uh,

playing percussion?

I told you he was,

didn't I?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Every day.

We need you, Skitch.

How 'bout sittin' in for Chad,

just for tonight?

Why?

A**hole...

just broke his arm.

[Clearing Throat]

Let's check out these clock radios

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Tom Hanks

Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Hanks is known for his comedic and dramatic roles in such films as Splash (1984), Big (1988), Turner & Hooch (1989), A League of Their Own (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Apollo 13 (1995), You've Got Mail (1998), The Green Mile (1999), Cast Away (2000), Road to Perdition (2002), Cloud Atlas (2012), Captain Phillips (2013), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), and Sully (2016). He has also starred in the Robert Langdon film series, and voices Sheriff Woody in the Toy Story film series. Hanks has collaborated with film director Steven Spielberg on five films to date: Saving Private Ryan (1998), Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Terminal (2004), Bridge of Spies (2015), and The Post (2017), as well as the 2001 miniseries Band of Brothers, which launched Hanks as a successful director, producer, and screenwriter. In 2010, Spielberg and Hanks were executive producers on the HBO miniseries The Pacific. Hanks' films have grossed more than $4.5 billion at U.S. and Canadian box offices and more than $9.0 billion worldwide, making him the fourth highest-grossing actor in North America. Hanks has been nominated for numerous awards during his career. He won a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Philadelphia (1993), as well as a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a People's Choice Award for Best Actor for Forrest Gump (1994). In 1995, Hanks became one of only two actors who won the Academy Award for Best Actor in consecutive years, with Spencer Tracy being the other. This feat has not been accomplished since. In 2004, he received the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). In 2014, he received a Kennedy Center Honor and, in 2016, he received a Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama, as well as the French Legion of Honor. more…

All Tom Hanks scripts | Tom Hanks Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "That Thing You Do!" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/that_thing_you_do!_19602>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.


    Quiz

    Are you a screenwriting master?

    »
    What is the main function of a screenplay treatment?
    A To provide a summary of the screenplay
    B To detail the character backstories
    C To give a scene-by-scene breakdown
    D To list all dialogue in the film