Splash (1984)


Hugely entertaining film about a mermaid and a young New Yorker who fall in love. There’s lots of comedy value in the “life viewed through the eyes of an alien” aspect. There’s also a surprisingly poignant element: the “message” that you should be with the one you love, however “different” they might be. Being a 1984 film, it has the same look, feel, New York setting and music styles as other feel-good films from this time – such as Ghostbusters. In fact, you can almost imagine Bill Murray acting the Tom Hanks part. Best of all is the wide-eyed innocence of Daryl Hannah as the beautiful mermaid with the unpronounceable name (she speaks it once and the high-pitched noise she makes shatters the glass of all the TV screens in the department store). This film is a lot of fun, but it makes you think too. I enjoyed it even more on DVD today than I did at the cinema when it first came out. Plus, the ending is superb.

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