Splash (20th Anniversary Edition)

Great Movie!!! Tom Hanks is my favorite actor and he is wonderful in this film

Splash starring Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah is still a fun and heartfelt film about a mermaid who falls for a regular kind of fella. The two stars have great chemistry, I have seen this film so many times and it is still a treat after all these years. Directed by Ron Howard, Splash continues to entertain even though the premise is far-fetched, definitely one of the better romantic comedies of the '80s. I highly recommend this joyful film.

The script was rewritten several times, but in the version used for the screen tests (which are included on the DVD) we can tell that fresh water will change Madison back to her mermaid form since she is afraid of rain. In the version I saw when it was first released in theaters, fresh water did not change her. The marine biologist twice splashed water on her to no effect. He later realized he needed to use salt water, which explains why he had to carry a tank of water under his jacket at the presidential dinner, and why Madison added table salt to her bath. Having been splashed twice before by someone who knew she was a mermaid also explains why Madison wants to leave the dinner when she recognizes him. That it had to be salt water is mentioned in some of the original reviews. In the DVD version, it was changed back to fresh water. The woman the biologist splashes water on is someone else he mistakes for Madison, and her escort fractures his arm. I don't remember how the fractured arm is explained in the theatrical version. It would seem out of character for Alan to do it, but if he did, it would explain why the biologist was so afraid of him in the dentist's office.

I graduated college the year this came out. Hard to believe.
Anyway - it stood the test of time, despite some of the "dated" stuff.

My 2 tween-age daughters weren't as enamored by it as I expected. They liked the much more unremarkable Aquamarine instead.

This was one of my favorite movies as a kid. I thought Daryl Hannah was the prettiest thing on earth and I wanted to be just like her. I used to swim in pools with my feet together and pretend I was a mermaid in the hopes that I could talk to marine life, sun myself on rocks, and be the object of mystery and myth. Seeing it again just recently with the commentary made it a new and wonderful experience all over again.

Tom Hanks, an unknown, in Ron Howard's directorial debut, plays Alan, a happless, somewhat bumbling EveryMan who was rescued by a mermaid as a child. He jumped off a boat in Cape Cod, and met the mermaid (later named Madison) underwater. Years later, she once again rescues him from drowning, and comes to New York City in search of him. As he and Darryl Hannah were unknowns, most of the heavy comedy routines were preformed by John Candy and Eugene Levy, who pay off everytime. Part of the hilarious and sweet nature of this movie is Madison's innocence in the meanest city in America, New York. Turning up naked at the Statue of Liberty and smiling so innocently at the crowd is just one of the hilarious scenes. Watching it again with the commetary is a wonderful experience, as they tell tales of near mishaps, story outline, and how they did the special effects (the mermaid tale). And even today, everytime I hear that a couple has named their new baby Madison, I remember that the name became so popular because of this movie.

This was made in an age where there was an E.T. formula for a lot of movies. In that the lead (Tom Hanks) takes on a poor, helpless creature and tries to introduce said helpless creature into their world. Eventually, like in E.T., an evil government force takes the helpless creature from the lead and they suffer. The lead rescues the helpless creature from the clutches of the evil government force, and releases them to their natural habitat. Unlike E.T., however, the lead goes with the creature. Perhaps because E.T. was a movie staring children characters and Splash was a movie with adult characters, but Ron Howard reveiled in their commentary that in the original ending Alan didn't go with Madison to the sea. But, his wife and others insisted to him that he had to change it and go with her.

Something that really hit home with me was something that John Candy said about love in this movie. Tom says to him that he was angry and disappointed that the woman he loved more than anything was a fish. People fall in love everyday, and look what he got! John Candy says "Oh yeah, look what you got! People fall in love everyday?! Most people will never be that happy! I'll never be that happy!". And that is certainly true. People throw things away. People make mistakes. And, the world's full of lonely people. Things don't always work out the way you want them to, especially with love. So what if the woman's a fish? Tom was pretty annoying too and she accepted him for what he was. Too bad some people don't feel the same way.

Enjoy it. Don't let this one get away.