‘Vicarious wish-fulfillment’: why That Thing You Do! is my feelgood movie

The latest in our ongoing series of writers explaining their most rewatched comfort films is a journey back to the 90s for Tom Hanks’ heartfelt 60s-set music comedy “How did we get here?” That’s the question Steve Zahn’s character in That Thing You Do! asks his bandmate with bemusement right before they perform on live television. It’s a moment I have thought of many times over the past 30 years. Sometimes, it’s been a moment I’ve aspired to, and sometimes it’s a moment I’ve felt myself. When th