That Thing You Do!

That Thing You Do! (1996) is a music comedy-drama you can watch online on iFILM, written and directed by Tom Hanks. Set in 1964 Pennsylvania, it follows a small-town appliance store clerk named Guy who fills in on drums for a local band — and accidentally turns their one-shot talent contest entry into a genuine chart hit.

Tom Everett Scott plays Guy with a straightforward warmth that anchors the whole film. Liv Tyler, Steve Zahn, Johnathon Schaech, and a very young Charlize Theron round out a cast where everyone wants something different from fame, and the gap between those wants is where the story lives. The song itself — relentlessly catchy — plays again and again as the Wonders' star rises, and Hanks uses each repeat to show how the same moment feels different to each of them.

What makes it work is the refusal to go dark or sentimental on cue. Hanks wrote a comedy about the machinery of pop stardom that stays fond even when it's clear the machinery wins. Stream That Thing You Do! (1996) online on iFILM.