Live-streams and online watch parties have become the new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic. They allow creators and audiences to come together and share something that feels like closeness while the world around us goes nuts. They seem like a fun time and like a temporary relief from the non-stop barrage of bad news.
This Friday, April 17, the mother of all online watch parties is coming. The cast of Tom Hanks’s brilliant 1996 film That Thing You Do! is reuniting for charity. The four members of the film’s fictional band, The Wonders (excuse me, that’s The Oneders), will be watching the film live via Zoom and you can join in. Tom Everett Scott, Jonathan Schaech, Ethan Embry and Steve Zahn will also be taking questions from viewers and surely telling some fun tales from the set. But that’s not all, fellow co-star Liv Tyler will also show up (virtually) to field some questions. There has been no indication that the film’s writer/director/co-star Tom Hanks will be on hand for the fun but stranger things have happened. I expect Hanks will make his presence known in one way or another.
A live-stream of the film with the cast sounds like a real treat for fans. It is even better because the livestream will be an fundraiser to drum up money for the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund. So not only do viewers get to re-watch a fantastic movie with the people who made it, they also get to help out others. Win-win-win.
This is a great opportunity to remind you just how terrific That Thing You Do! is. It is one of those gems that just hits every sweet sport perfectly, there isn’t a sour note in the whole thing. It is fun, the characters are likable, the story is engaging (if maybe a wee bit predictable) and the music is amazing. It is cinematic comfort food and has stood the test of time. Much of the film’s brilliance can be attributed to the late, great Adam Schlesinger, the singer-songwriter who created the titular song that skyrockets The Wonders into the stratosphere. Best known for his work with Fountains of Wayne, Schlesinger was a supremely talented musician who would pen insanely catchy pop songs that could contain addictive foot-tapping rhythm and a whole lot of melancholy and true, relatable emotion. There was a lot below the surface of his music. He was one of those musicians who just had a knack for creating something that could get stuck in your head for days but he was also clever, heartfelt and a true wordsmith. Sadly, Schlesinger lost his life to the coronavirus recently. The cast of That Thing You Do! have acknowledged that this Friday’s livestream will be in memory of Schlesinger and his brilliant work. Here’s to you, Adam.