Splash

Watching the John Candy documentary reminded me that this movie existed. I'd never seen it, and I figured it was time I go back and rectify it. It has Tom Hanks! John Candy! It's considered a classic 80's comedy! Yeah, about that third aspect ... I don't need to sell you on Hanks and Candy. They are absolute masters of the craft, and putting them together only makes them better. Candy, especially, is on a whole different level, playing the opposite of his regular genial, every-man role, and it's fantastic. Hanks, of course, is Hanks. Daryl Hannah, an actor I think has extremely limited range, isn't asked to do anything outside her capabilities. And Eugene Levy, an actor I always associate with the dad in American Pie, is a manic ball of energy here, and it's great. The script does ask a lot of the audience. Hanks' willingness to go along with this rando saving him in the middle of a large body of water, and then again when she shows up in New York, and falling in love with her, is a little much to believe. You just have to go along with it. I can't say I laughed out loud, but I was charmed, by the actors and the chemistry and the performances. There are better romantic comedies, but this one is, if for no other reason than the unusual circumstances, memorable. But that third act ... everything from the big reveal of her secret forward just doesn't work for me. A rom-com should not have a military operation and bloodthirsty, heartless scientists as sudden antagonists. The conflict in a rom-com should come from two people resolving their differences, not conducting raids on government facilities and escaping military arrest. It just doesn't sit right with me, and it brings the movie down. I can see why Splash is held in high regard. It is sweet, charming, and the worst movie with either Hanks or Candy still has Hanks or Candy to make it watchable, and this has both. I'm glad I saw it. But it's not something I'll ever need to see again either. It just didn't live up to the legend.