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Splash (1984)

tomatometer

92

Average Rating: 6.8/10
Reviews Counted: 36
Fresh: 33 | Rotten: 3

A perfectly light, warmly funny romantic comedy that's kept afloat by Ron Howard's unobtrusive direction and charming performances from Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah.

60

Average Rating: 5.6/10
Critic Reviews: 5
Fresh: 3 | Rotten: 2

A perfectly light, warmly funny romantic comedy that's kept afloat by Ron Howard's unobtrusive direction and charming performances from Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah.

audience

52

liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 111,701

My Rating

Movie Info

"I'm in love with a mermaid!" read the opening line of Leonard Maltin's original review for Splash. And with the delightful Darryl Hannah in the lead, who could fault Maltin for his public declaration of ardor? The story begins in 1959, when a young boy is rescued from a watery grave by an adolescent mermaid. Twenty-five years later, the boy has grown up--and lo and behold, it's Tom Hanks. Meanwhile, the mermaid, likewise grown up, has surfaced in search of Hanks, her long-lost love. On dry

Mar 16, 1999

Cast

All Critics (36) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (34) | Rotten (3) | DVD (21)

A romantic comedy that is as salty and bracing as a plunge in the surf.

May 10, 2009 Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | Comment
TIME Magazine
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Although film is a bit uneven, production benefits from a tasty look, an airy tone, and a delectable, unblemished performance from Hannah.

May 21, 2008 Full Review Source: Variety | Comment
Variety
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It's too bad the relentlessly conventional minds that made this movie couldn't have made the leap from sitcom to comedy.

October 23, 2004 Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | Comments (2)
Chicago Sun-Times
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Splash may feature a heroine with fins, but it's mostly a standard love story, albeit one with some delightful new twists.

May 20, 2003 Full Review Source: New York Times | Comment
New York Times
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Its appeal is based almost entirely on regression -- a thematic regression to infancy and a stylistic regression to the most lulling kind of TV blandness.

January 1, 2000 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | Comment (1)
Chicago Reader
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Fishy fairy tale the wrong hook on relationships.

December 18, 2010 Full Review Source: Common Sense Media | Comment
Common Sense Media

Director Ron Howard has a good sense of the whimsical, and his film is sweet and unpretentious, though somewhat ribald when one realizes the studio from whence it sprang.

February 3, 2009 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | Comment
TV Guide's Movie Guide

The movie that really showed Tom Hanks' promise as a deliverer of great comedy and heart-warming pathos.

February 3, 2009 Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | Comment
Empire Magazine

Hannah does wonders with her thankless job, flitting tiny moments of joy and confusion across her face.

May 26, 2006 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | Comment
Combustible Celluloid

Howard demonstrates exactly the correct soft touch, skirting the myriad problems of taste.

February 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Time Out | Comment

It's all been downhill from here for Ron Howard

October 28, 2005 Comment
Film Threat

Very dated, but still fun

June 4, 2004 Comment
Reel.com

Splash is a light-hearted comedy directed by Ron Howard that sparkles here and there thanks to its fairy tale elements.

April 29, 2004 Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | Comment
Spirituality and Practice

Splash is probably the ultimate fish-out-of-water film, primarily because it literally features a fish out of water.

March 28, 2004 Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | Comment
Reel Film Reviews
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Splash

Popular fantasy by the Brian Grazer and Ron Howard team is a crowd pleaser due to the writing efforts of Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, and the charm of its leads, Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah.

October 1, 2011
moonrivers

Super Reviewer

Boring and stupid, but a good hearted romance.

August 15, 2011
DreamExtractor
Brad Wright

Super Reviewer

    1. Freddie Bauer: You never seen a guy who slept with a fish before? What are you looking at? Get back to work.
    – Submitted by Sara B (5 months ago)

Latest News for Splash

March 1, 2011:
Bryce Dallas Howard Helming The Originals
Bryce Dallas Howard will follow in her dad's footsteps when she helms "The Originals," a project...

July 21, 2005:
In Other News...Rose McGowan, Al Pacino, Daryl Hannah, and James Doohan
Ah, Tinseltown romances. Rumor has it there's a new hot couple in town, and they're bound to give...

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Foreign Titles

  • Splash - Eine Jungfrau am Haken (DE)
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