History YMMV / ThatThingYouDo

** This isn't the last time that Creator/TomHanks would play [[Film/Elvis2022 the manager of a music act]]

-->'''Jimmy:''' ''(looks at Guy)'' What the hell are you looking at?
-->'''Guy:''' [[WhatTheHellHero Why]] ''[[WhatTheHellHero didn't]]'' [[WhatTheHellHero you dump her in Pittsburgh?]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Despite otherwise being a BenevolentBoss, Mr. White seems to deliberately yank Jimmy's chain by putting off then setting a date to record an album, but not telling him it would be a cover album until they were in the studio. Then he comes down as the hard-nosed record manager by saying he is contractually obligated to do it rather than trying to persuade him. It's possible he was giving Jimmy a SecretTestOfCharacter--play by Play-Tone's rules, and he'll make it past summer with the label, or fail and be the OneHitWonder White expects him to be. As another possibility, [[DisappointedInYou he was so fed up with Jimmy by then]] [[BatmanGambit he did the thing most calculated to offend Jimmy's artistic sensibilities so he'd quit of his own accord]].

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Despite otherwise being a BenevolentBoss, Mr. White seems to deliberately yank Jimmy's chain by agreeing to let them record a second album, but not telling him it would be a cover album until they were in the studio. Then he comes down as the hard-nosed record manager by saying he is contractually obligated to do it rather than trying to persuade him. It's possible he was giving Jimmy a SecretTestOfCharacter--play by Play-Tone's rules, and he'll make it past summer with the label, or fail and be the OneHitWonder White expects him to be. As another possibility, [[DisappointedInYou he was so fed up with Jimmy by then]] [[BatmanGambit he did the thing most calculated to offend Jimmy's artistic sensibilities so he'd quit of his own accord]].

* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: The bass player is joining the Marine Corps, but the shirt he buys at the Army-Navy store bears the unit patch of the Sixth Army circa 1943.
* ArtReflectsPersonality: The deleted scene in which Mr. White geeks out over meeting Gus Grissom reflects Creator/TomHanks's real-life love of all things in space, particularly the Apollo project.

* PlayingAgainstType: Mr. White can be TheCharmer when he feels like it, but he's too slick and business-minded to be the typically earnest and {{Adorkable}} Tom Hanks character.

-->'''Guy:''' Why ''didn't'' you dump her in Pittsburgh?

** Creator/BryanCranston makes a cameo as astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom, also a guest on ''The Hollywood Television Showcase''. He would later play [[UsefulNotes/BuzzAldrin another Apollo astronaut]] in [[Series/FromTheEarthToTheMoon another Tom Hanks production]].

** Creator/BryanCranston plays Gus Grissom.

* MeanCharacterNiceActor: While Mr. White can be quite charming (and, in the director's cut, has some {{Adorkable}} moments revolving around his passion for space travel), he's also callous, manipulative, snarky, and purely self-interested--qualities that nobody would assign to Tom Hanks.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Despite otherwise being a BenevolentBoss, Mr. White seems to deliberately yank Jimmy's chain by agreeing to let them record a second album, but not telling him it would be a cover album until they were in the studio. Then he comes down as the hard-nosed record manager by saying he is contractually obligated to do it rather than trying to persuade him. It's possible he was giving Jimmy a SecretTestOfCharacter--play by Play-Tone's rules, and he'll make it past summer with the label, or fail and be the OneHitWonder White expects him to be.
** As another possibility, [[DisappointedInYou he was so fed up with Jimmy by then]] [[BatmanGambit he did the thing most calculated to offend Jimmy's artistic sensibilities so he'd quit of his own accord]].
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMoments: Everyone in the band (including Mr. White) letting them know what they think of Jimmy after he callously breaks up with Faye.

* CultClassic
* OneSceneWonder: Margueritte, the waitress in the jazz club, played by Tom Hank's [[Creator/RitaWilson wife]].

* {{Squick}}: Lenny tells Diane Dane that his first [[ADateWithRosiePalms "boy-girl thing"]] was with a picture of her on a record sleeve.
--> '''Diane Dane''': ''Yeah, charming...''

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Despite otherwise being a BenevolentBoss, Mr. White seems to deliberately yank Jimmy's chain by agreeing to let them record a second album, but not telling him it would be a cover album until they were in the studio. Then he comes down as the hard-nosed record manager by saying he is contractually obligated to do it rather than trying to persuade him. It's possible he was giving Jimmy a SecretTestOfCharacter--play by Play-Tone's rules, and he'll make it past summer with the label, or fail and be the OneHitWonder White expects him to be. (As another possibility, he was so fed up with Jimmy by then and did the thing most calculated to offend Jimmy's artistic sensibilities so he'd quit of his own accord.)