sddavis63 I remember watching this shortly after it was released and finding it to be a fun little movie. Looked at over 30 years later it strikes me as memorable mostly because it was some of the earliest work from some of the significant names associated with it. Most notably, because of how his career evolved, this was actually the first big screen role for Tom Hanks, whose previous work had been in television. It was also an early role for Daryl Hannah, and an early piece of directing from Ron Howard. So it's not an insignificant movie at all, although it does have little of substance.Hanks played Allen Bauer, a young New York businessman. As a boy he fell off a boat and before he was rescued he encountered a mermaid. Years later, the mermaid (played by Hannah) shows up naked (not gratuitously) at the Statue of Liberty, apparently looking for Allen. Dry and on land, she has legs, so Allen doesn't realize that she's a mermaid, and quickly falls in love with her, finding her innocence both appealing and mysterious. I thought Hanks and Hannah were both very good in their roles. They shared a nice chemistry and made the relationship believable. The supporting cast featured John Candy as Allen's brother and Eugene Levy as a scientist who is convinced that mermaids exist and wants to prove it by capturing Madison (as the mermaid has chosen to be called.) I guess the performances from Candy and Levy were all right, but I found their characters too over the top. They took the focus off the relationship between Allen and Madison, which probably could have been explored in more depth.In the end, this can be called a pleasant way to waste some time, and an interesting look at some of the early work from people who went on to bigger and better things. (5/10)

pyrocitor Whether fondly remembered as 'that movie your teenage self snuck into repeatedly to try to glimpse Darryl Hannah in the nude' or retroactively scrutinized as 'that hazy 80s rom-com starring Tom Hanks, a mermaid, and Tom Hanks' hair,' you'd be forgiven for dismissing Ron Howard's fantasy rom-com as more 'All Wet' than a Splash. But lo: the years have been kind to this one. Splash, silly and disposable as it might look, holds up, and then some. It's enjoyably zany, deceptively intelligent, and resonantly sweet, and a prototype for one of the most enduring romantic comedies of its decade. Okay, sure - yes, it is a hazy, fairly dopey 80s rom-com, bringing with it all the tropes you'd expect, starring Tom Hanks, his hair, a mermaid. And yes, you can glimpse Darryl Hannah in the nude (though if that's all you're here for, shame on you, you John Candy coin-dropping-skirt-peeker, you!). But Splash has so much more to offer than its bare minimum. For one, it sparkles with deceptively subtle and funny dialogue throughout, making its thoroughly silly premise surprisingly easy to drift along with, scoff-free. This is hugely helped by Howard's propensity for odd little details, with plentiful improv cutaways (I'll eat an entire lobster, shell and all, if "let's pee down his air tube" factored in the script) to the specificity of the tribulations of Hanks' produce-supplying profession lending the film the fresh, bouncy vibrancy of an SCTV or SNL sketch. Hanks and Hannah's romance, cheerfully nonsense a scenario as it is, is likewise oddly tender and easy to invest in. It's chock full of adorably iconic snippets (the fountain; what's likely the most memorable lobster scene outside of Annie Hall), with just enough of a snarky undercurrent to bite back excessively saccharine overtones. There's a great gag in Hannah's Madison learning English from television commercials, but speaking in crass advertising soundbites, and while Hanks' somewhat pushy marriage obsession may play as dated, there's something oddly refreshing about a PG rom-com being so comparatively transparent about the protagonists' sexual relationship. All this, and only a single, fairly tolerable, Rita Coolidge ballad on the 'dated 80s music' front, to boot! By the time we segue into the second act E.T.-style scientific scariness, it's all the more sombre and distressing by contrast, with a sneaky undercurrent of animal activism to boot (again: check out the sequence of Madison wilting in her cramped aquarium tank, and tell me Howard has nothing more on his mind than Hollywood froth). It's a substantially above-average motivation for the tired cliché of the second act romantic complication, and helps add scope to Hanks' sad sack droopiness while keeping him sympathetic. It all gets a tad unhinged by the time Howard decides to go all out with an action chase sequence bang (the prior non-sequitur dinner with the President feels a bit tacked on as well), but it's still all good, engaging fun, with enough of a daftly sweet ending to tie it all up with a glittery, sequined bow (from Saks Fifth Avenue, natch). Still, there's no forgetting that, cultural currency-wise, Splash is largely remembered as the breakout hit cementing Tom Hanks as a bankable leading man. Watching him here, it's no surprise as to why - he's nearly bursting with exasperated charm and manic energy, flitting from angsty meltdowns bemoaning his inability to love to his flamboyant gestures of finally expressing it, all encapsulating his patented everyman charisma to a tee. Similarly, Daryl Hannah is almost unbearably sweet as lovestruck mermaid Madison, projecting a pristinely otherworldly vibe that makes her all the more credible and likable. As Hanks' cheerfully lowlife brother, John Candy essays his zany, sleazy windbag persona to slapstick, one-liner-riffing perfection. He's absolutely hysterical, only to subsequently pull the rug out from viewers and launch into an unexpectedly impassioned, sentimental monologue that makes you rethink his entire character from the onset. Finally, Eugene Levy chews scenery with the ferocity of a deranged, starving rat, as the jilted scientist desperate to expose Madison's existence, and Levy's tenacious commitment to his character's sadistic, braying weirdness makes him all the funnier and more sympathetic. Splash may trot through the gamut of tried-and-true rom-com clichés (this time with more mermaids), but does so with such a twinkle in its eye and enough genuine, heartfelt material at play, that it's nigh irresistible, and infectiously watchable. But what's that you say: a remake in the works? With Channing Tatum as the (**feeble Zoolander cough**) Mer-man? Well, if it's anywhere near as sweet, clever, and full of unpredictable silliness as its predecessor? Dive in, Channing. -8/10

Sean Lamberger Tom Hanks breaks out in this light, charming, modestly funny fish-out-of-water comedy (har har) about a man's lifelong encounters with a lustily enamored mermaid. It can be tremendously naive at times, and the plot is about as telegraphed as they come, but there's something intangible about this picture that manages to gloss over many of those shortcomings. The central performance of Hanks is key, working as the plucky everyman he'd embody in most of his early repertoire, though this time it's dosed with a few fits of sharply possessive, unsettling anger. Maybe those shades just look bad in retrospect, as the film's a full generation old now, but it's tough not to cringe at such puzzling spots in the modern climate. I think the humor falls into a similar trap, in that it was probably more relevant at the time than it is today. A handful of comedies from the same era still serve as timeless examples of great humor (Ghostbusters, also released in 1984, springs to mind), and though a few of its gags and one-liners still connect, Splash isn't even in that ballpark after thirty years on the shelf. Hanks's easy rapport with John Candy is worth celebrating, though, and Daryl Hannah is positively breathtaking as the sweet, innocent fish-tailed beauty at the center of all the action. Simple, straight entertainment that's beginning to fade as it grows older.

mattkratz This is a true "fish-out-of-water" comedy and one of my favorites. It is a good example of perfect casting (especially Darryl Hannah as the mermaid and John Candy as the lovingly in-the-way brother) and a cast working well together. It is one of my two favorite mermaid movies along with Aquamarine. It starts off with Tom Hanks's character as a young boy being rescued from drowning by Hannah's character at the same age. It picks up later at the time the movie was set in New York City. Hanks is a busybody who runs into the mermaid again, except he doesn't recognize her (would you?, and he falls in love with her.My favorite scenes are the Statue of Liberty scene, the department store scene with the TV sets and where she learns English, and where Eugene Levy is spraying the wrong people with water trying to prove that she's a mermaid.This is a must for anybody who loves comedy and a movie with Tom Hanks, Darryl Hannah, and/or John Candy in it. A movie with those actors in it can't be that bad in it, and this is GREAT. I loved it and you will too.*** 1/2 out of ****