Pros: Slight, funny, relaxing comedy about the romance of a Mermaid and a New Yorker.
Cons: This film is not NINOTCHKA!
The Bottom Line: Daryl Hannah's seldom seen talents as a comedienne, in addition to her broad shoulders and wiggly tail, carried Tom Hanks to public recognition in SPLASH!
Do we believe that our Economy will expand forever? What about the Second Coming? Well, why not blonde Daryl Hannah as a mermaid who will rescue you from drowning --twice! -- and lavish you with love!?
I'll have a hard time manufacturing my 100 words for SPLASH (1984), but I liked this film. (May be just Miss Hannah, sewn into a fishtail, has something to do with it.)
Ron Howard, ex-child star, became an uneven but successful film director, and here is an example of his early comic forte, before he began to show signs of thinking he was a great artiste. Tom Hanks, a competent actor but no Laurence Olivier, is also at his best in a comic turn like this one. He is abetted by veteran second bananas John Candy (as his crude brother), Dody Goodman and Shecky Greene. The film moves right along under Howard's direction, with some nice running gags, set pieces and underwater photography.
But, to my mind, the film belongs to Daryl Hannah, a blonde Amazon with splendid bone structure. In this film, fresh off a significant role in BLADE RUNNER (1982), and after her first real splash in SUMMER LOVERS (1982), she appeals to both men and women. Beautiful, relaxed, kidding her pulchritude, she is charming and carrys the picture with a squeal of maidenly mermaid delight.
Alas, in later days, she was one of the many called to pick up the mantle of Marilyn Monroe. In fact, she had a long relationship with John F. Kennedy, Jr. She seemed to freeze up and lose the comic touch that she displays here. Enjoy her charming prime in SPLASH.
If you need a break after watching days and days of VERTIGO, CITIZEN KANE, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE and other films I've recommended, this film will not make you fat nor (entirely) rot your brain.
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A young businessman is rescued from a boating accident by the girl of his dreams with one slight complication, she is a mermaid.More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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