Splash (1984)

Splash is the rare romantic comedy that feels like a modern fairy tale without losing its New York bite: Ron Howard keeps the magic light on its feet, letting wonder and wit share the same scene. Tom Hanks is irresistibly human as a guy who thinks he’s got life figured out until love knocks him off balance, and Daryl Hannah gives the mermaid an innocence and intelligence that makes the fantasy feel oddly believable. The movie’s charm comes from how sincerely it plays the romance while still landing big laughs—especially whenever Eugene Levy’s gleefully obsessive scientist tries to “prove” what he can’t quite accept. It’s a sweet, buoyant crowd-pleaser, though if you’re sensitive to PG-era nudity and a bit of peril, you’ll want to know it wears its 1984 edges openly.

Splash is trying to be a breezy, modern fairy tale—part romantic comedy, part fish-out-of-water fantasy—and it mostly banks on charm rather than logic. If you need tight writing, believable character choices, or a romance that feels emotionally earned, this can come off as simplistic and a bit too sugary, with plot beats you’ll see coming from a mile away. Some people also bounce off the central pairing and the way the story asks you to accept big leaps without much depth. Still, if you’re in the mood for light, ’80s studio warmth with an early, likable Tom Hanks and a playful premise, it can be an easy, low-stakes watch—as long as you don’t expect it to be sharper than it is.