Splash 1984

I remember seeing Splash for the first time on the Disney Channel back in the mid-90s, and now I'm seeing it again as an adult as it airs on Showtime. It's a splendid romantic comedy; pretty much your live-action The Little Mermaid that reminded me of how I had dreamed of one day falling in love with a mermaid. There are some really nice close-up shots with bokeh effects at night. Good job on Ron Howard's part, who went on to direct a couple more of my favorites, Cocoon (1985) and Willow (1989). I really like the chemistry between the main characters, Allen and Madison.
Allen (played by Tom Hanks) reminds me of me in some ways. Although he is one very lucky fellow to encounter a such a beautiful creature. There's a moment in the film where he goes,

"It's so big!"

which may have foretold the coming film that Tom Hanks would later star in, Big (1988).
Madison (played Daryl Hannah) is your curious mermaid on-foot, exploring and learning the big city of NYC; in a way that reminds me of Short Circuit (1986). She's always smiling, biting her bottom lip, overall so innocent, loyal, and full of love. I remember the actress, Daryl Hannah, from other films like Blade Runner (1982) and The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986).
You may shed some happy tears with this one because of how lovely and enjoyable the film is.

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 of its release 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.