Splash: Special Edition

There are several Tom Hanks' in Hollywood. There is serious Tom Hanks (Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan), there is romantic comedy Tom Hanks (Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail), and there is comedy Tom Hanks (Toy Story, Big and of course, Splash). Oh, there is ‘what-the-hell-were-you-thinking?’ Tom Hanks as well (Joe Versus the Volcano, and Bonfire of the Vanities). Today we are looking at comedy Tom Hanks in Ron Howard’s Splash from 1984, in which he starred with one of the sex-bombs of that decade, Daryl Hannah, before she became ‘whatever-happened-to?’ Daryl Hannah.

Splash tells the story of Allen Bauer (Hanks) who, as a boy, almost drowned until being pulled from the water, but not before being mesmerised under the water by - a young girl? 20 years later, he almost drowns again in the waters of Cape Cod, but is rescued and then dragged to shore. His savior turns out to be Madison (Hannah), a mermaid, and it is obvious that this is to be no ordinary romantic comedy, and will require some serious suspension of disbelief (but it’s no orphan in that).

The action shifts back to New York, where Bauer is reunited with the mermaid (thanks to the NYPD), and the remainder of the film is a collection of sight gags, amusing one-liners, misunderstandings, and the adventures of a ‘fish out of water’. Now you just knew I was going to drop that awful gag in somewhere, so don’t be so wet...

Their affair is hampered by the ‘mad’ scientist, Dr Kornbluth (Eugene �American Pie� Levy), who is determined to prove that Madison is a mermaid, and the film mutates into a battle between good and bad as each character attempts to make the most of the situation. Things take a serious turn for the worse, when Kornbluth is successful, Madison’s ‘secret’ is revealed and her new world is turned upside down.

John Candy plays Freddie Bauer, Allen’s perverted brother, and is in familiar territory as far as his character is concerned, but the film ultimately ends up less than satisfying as the slapstick elements threaten to dominate what began as a gentle comedy. Needless to say there are numerous laughs, some cringe-worthy moments, and some fine examples of ‘80s comedy, topped off by a very ‘80s sounding soundtrack.

The film was quite a success, and a stepping-stone for Hanks. Sadly Hannah’s career failed to take off in the same way, but it is hard to find fault with her performance. Thankfully the two leads had the good sense to avoid the 1988 sequel, Splash Too, one of the wettest films ever made.

Splash is not that far removed in style from other Ron Howard films such as Night Shift, Parenthood and especially Cocoon. It contains that harmless fun element, and non-threatening family values in a world where love triumphs over adversity, and everything is right with the world. The baddies, naturally, are rather dim-witted and a bit too comical to be very threatening and are thwarted in very cartoonish fashion. The film might have had even greater appeal had the darker undertones of prejudice and intolerance been explored in a little more depth. As it is, the outcome is a little predictable and highly improbable, but that’s the nature of romantic comedy.

For a film that is almost 20 years old, Splash scrubs up quite nicely. It is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and is 16:9 enhanced. There are a number of giveaways that this is an older film, such as some grain and rather frequent, though largely insignificant, film artefacts in the way of black marks, white blobs, dust, scratches and even a hair or two. Colours are generally strong and consistent with no evidence of any real problems such as bleeding or noise. Skin tones are likewise fine.

Shadow detail is mostly good, the overall image verging ever so slightly on the soft side, and there are some very minor issues with the sharpness of the detail in some of the darker and underwater scenes. There is one noticeable glitch at the 45:55 mark, where the image appears to pixelate for a split second and the image has a number of white marks. It is very brief, but eye-catching.

The layer change is a bit of a clunker at 63:32, but occurs between scenes and could have been so much worse.

The only English audio option is a rather subdued Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that has no flaws or problems, but is not an overly impressive or aggressive mix, and will require a bit of a tweak of the ol’ volume control. Dialogue and much of the remainder of the audio is placed squarely in the centre speaker, but there is the occasional separation and panning of sound across the front speakers. The rear channels are mostly in evidence during the opening and closing credits, a few of the more cinematic scenes, and for some very occasional ambient sounds. The subwoofer is called on very infrequently.

There are no problems with synchronisation or clarity, but subtitles are provided should the need arise. There is also a Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 mix included. Ole!

The number of extras included may not be great, but those which are offered are actually very good. There is a full and amusing audio commentary, complete with an introduction and wrap up from director Ron Howard, and including contributions from Howard himself, producer Brian Grazer, writers Bobaloo (Bobaloo? Is he kidding?!) Mandel and Lowell Ganz. This commentary is a lot of fun to listen to, and the four commentators are having a great time too. There are numerous anecdotes, off-the-cuff gags, as well as the usual inside information on shooting the film. Areas discussed include casting, location filming, budget constraints, lighting and set design, to editing and re-writing. Good fun indeed.

There is also a rather rare look at the Audition Tapes for the main stars, which until now had been seen by very few people. They are introduced by Ron Howard and include over 16 minutes of Tom Hanks and over seven minutes of Daryl Hannah’s auditions. Each is filmed going through various scenes with Ron Howard reading lines with them. Their talent is clearly evident, even in the very early stages of the film’s life.

Also included is a rather good featurette called Making a Splash that is presented in full frame, and looks like it was made for television. It is essentially a ‘making-of’ and includes contributions from the cast and crew, including some older interview footage with John Candy in its 24:07 running time. It also discusses and shows some deleted scenes, as well as various scenes being set up for filming. It's informative without being sycophantic.

It’s hard to find fault with this most gentle of comedies other than for its predictable ending. Splash is unlikely to offend anyone and the acting is good, especially from Hanks at his increasingly manic best. It is a film that has dated a little, but makes a great nostalgia trip, provides a few good laughs, and moves along at a steady pace. The quality of the extras, and the acceptable, though subdued, video and audio, should be enough to ensure satisfaction from most viewers.