A number of you have written me about That Thing You Do, 50% (so far) to tell me you prefer the original version to the extended version; 50% (so far) to tell me you prefer the extended version to the original. Fine. This is high on my list of Things That Aren't Worth Arguing About.
John Trumbull (who's in the first camp) told me something that fans of this movie might like to know. At one point during the worst of COVID, the four guys who played The Wonders — plus a few guest stars — did an online Watch Party to raise dough for COVID relief. You watch the movie on your own DVD or Blu-ray or whatever in sync with them and you have a nice commentary track. You can watch it here.
By the way: If you watch the movie again, there's a guy onscreen for a few seconds playing a plate-spinner who precedes The Wonders' appearance on Hollywood Showcase. That's my buddy Charlie Frye, the magician-juggler whose videos I often feature on this site. And the announcer in that sequence is Bob Ridgely, a wonderfully-funny man I've mentioned on this site. Bob was the voice of Thundarr the Barbarian on that animated series, and was on other cartoons, as well. He was also featured in a lot of Mel Brooks movies. He was the Karloff-like hangman in Blazing Saddles, for instance. Like I said…a very funny man. His funeral was one of the funniest events I've ever attended. People just got up and told Ridgely stories.