#122 - "Splash" (1984) with Ben Carpenter and Bethany Wells

This 80s Flick was just your standard love story: boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, girl turns out to be a fish. This beloved film captivated audiences with its whimsical blend of comedy, fantasy, and heartwarming romance. From the moment the mermaid first emerges from the ocean waves, the story sweeps us away on an unforgettable journey. How will she adapt to life on land? And can her budding relationship with the man who rescued her overcome the challenges of their vastly different worlds?

Join us as we dive deep into the film's enduring legacy, the talented cast, and the magic that made it an iconic romantic comedy. So catch a cab to Cape Cod, order some fresh lobster, and fill up the bathtub with salt water as Tim Williams with guest co-hosts, Ben Carpenter and Bethany Wells, discuss “Splash” from 1984 on this episode of the 80’s Flick Flashback Podcast!

Here are some additional behind-the-scenes trivia we were unable to cover in this episode:

• In a June 1984 issue of the British sci-fi magazine "Starburst," Ron Howard discussed the ending of "Splash." He mentioned, "At one point, we considered a bittersweet ending instead of a happy one. However, our wives protested about it so much that we decided to listen to them—and I'm really glad we did!"

Sources:

Wikipedia, IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo,

https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/daryl-hannah-shares-secrets-splash/

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/76738/15-surprising-facts-about-splash

Some sections were composed by ChatGPT

 

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Episode Transcript

(00:10):
This 80s flick was just your standard love story.
Boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, girl turns out to be a
fish. This beloved film captivated
audiences with its whimsical blend of comedy, fantasy and
heart warming romance. From the moment the mermaid
first emerges from the ocean waves, the story sweeps us away
on an unforgettable journey. How will she adapt to life on

(00:31):
land? And can her budding relationship
with the man who rescued her overcome the challenges of their
vastly different worlds? Stay tuned as we dive deep into
the films and during Legacy, thetalented cast, and the magic
that made in an iconic romantic comedy.
So catch a cab to Cape Cod, order some fresh lobster, and
fill up the bathtub with salt water as Ben Carpenter, Bethany

(00:52):
Wells and I discuss Splash from 1984 on this episode of the 80s
Flick Flashback Podcast. Alan Bauer has a very successful
business. OK, Bauer, you're ruined.
You're finished. You're a ghost in this business.
How'd you like some bananas? It cost.
Deal. He's got the wisdom and support

(01:14):
of his brother Freddie. I love this guy.
Can you hear me? I love him.
I just want to meet a woman. I want to meet a woman and I
want to fall in love. Not much.
And worst of all, Alan Bauer feels with all his heart that he
doesn't have one. Something in here is not

(01:36):
working. There are worse organs not to be
working. And then one day, accidentally,
from out of the blue, it happens.
She is a mermaid in New York City.

(01:57):
How come she's got legs? She has legs out of the water.
She has fins in the water. All my life I've been waiting
for someone and when I find her,she's.
She's a fish. Nobody said Love's.
Perfect. Daryl Hannah, Tom Hanks and John
Candy. Splash.

(02:18):
A fantastic tale about a fantastic tale.
Come on in, the water is fine.

(02:39):
I'm Tim Williams, the mastermindbehind the mic at the 80s Flick
Flashback Podcast. Joining me on each epic episode
is a guest Co host who's as crazy about 80s flicks as they
are about wearing parachute pants and solving Rubik's cubes.
We're diving into nostalgic treasures we saw the local
theater written on VHS tapes were discovered on cable TV.

(03:02):
From blockbusters that make you say I feel the need to hidden
gems that'll have you screaming.It's a blast to relive these old
memories and share our thoughts on what made these movies so
special. We reminisce about our first

(03:23):
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(04:08):
gnarly content. Get out of town.
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(04:31):
Thanks again for tuning in. Now let's get right into today's
episode. Welcome to the party, pal.
Well, welcome in everybody. So glad she could be with us on
this episode of the 80s Flick Flashback Podcast.
And we are tackling a film that I have wanted to do for a while.
I'm a big fan of this movie. I don't know why it took me this

(04:53):
long to do it, but I'm glad to be doing it now and glad to have
the two Co hosts to have with meto discuss it.
They were so great on another film we did that's somewhat
similar. Poltergeist back again to talk
about Splash. Please welcome back to the show
Mr. Ben Carpenter. How you doing Ben?
I'm doing great, thanks for having me.

(05:13):
Yes, Sir, and lovely Bethany Wells.
How are you, Bethany? I'm just peachy.
Peachy. OK, I was waiting for.
I thought I was going to get some kind of a fish pun.
There I was like I. Really.
I was really trying to dig down deep.
It is gone today. But.
Who knows, maybe later. Yeah, they'll come out
eventually. They'll.

(05:34):
And then you'll just have to edit it in.
Right, right. We'll kind of keep the fish puns
to a minimum. So, all right, well, let's talk
about Splash from 1984. When did you see Splash for the
first time? Well, I was telling Ben earlier
that I saw Splash for the first time.
I was I don't remember. I was a kid.

(05:56):
I was he told me to he told me to give like a really fun story
and I was I know, as with earlier, don't have the fish
puns, don't have a fun story. I just was a kid.
I think it was a show that a movie that came on TBS like
constantly. I'm sure that's true.
And it's a mermaid movie, so obviously I was all about it.

(06:20):
I love mermaids, love Tom Hanks.What could go wrong?
What about you, Ben in the theater?
I did see it in the theater, butI remember no further details.
I could make them up if you wantme to.
No, I, I, I know, I know. I saw it in the theater.
I would have been 11 years old. I do remember it as being like I

(06:44):
I wasn't it the first touch Touchstone movie it.
Was it was the very first Touchstone movie?
Yeah, so I'm, I remember it being like, oh, it's a Disney
movie. Like we can take, we can take
little Ben to see. This.
Technically a Disney movie, right?
Right. We were shocked in the first,
you know, couple of minutes whenJohn Candy shows up with his
Penthouse magazine. You're like, OK.

(07:05):
You know, John Candy starts throwing baby, John Candy starts
throwing change on the ground and looking up women's skirts.
I went, Oh no. I always try to remember this.
I did too. And every time I watch it, I'm
reminded. Right, right.
This was humor in 1984, Ladies and gentlemen.
It's. Bad.
It's bad humor. But yeah, similar to you then I

(07:27):
remember seeing this in the theater.
I remember going as a family to see it once again, probably
because Disney Tom Hanks, we'd seen him on Bosom buddies.
You know, he was wasn't quite the movie star that we know of
now. This was really his breakthrough
role for sure. I what I remember is just kind
of being completely pulled into the story.
Like I guess I was into kind of fantasy stuff more like Star

(07:49):
Wars stuff, but it was just sucha good, whimsical, fun movie.
And of course, Tom Hanks is so, so likable anyway, so and then
John Candy's hilarious, but it was definitely one that I
watched so much and I had to have come on cable a bunch, you
know, later because I just remember watching this movie
over and over and over and over again.
So it's always been one that I just have always loved and it's

(08:13):
not one that I'd seen in a long time.
So we'll that's the next question.
How long has it been since you re watched it before re watching
it for the podcast? Yeah, it's been a long time for
me too. I have.
I have no idea really. Probably at least 15 years,
something like that. What about you, Bethany?
Probably the same. I think it was probably high

(08:35):
school since the last time I really like sat down and watched
it just from beginning to end so.
Yeah, yeah, I know. When Disney Plus launched and I
saw that it was on there and of course there was all the hubbub
when it first got put on Disney Plus because they altered some
of the imagery imagery to make it a little bit more family

(08:59):
friendly than. But I'm like, that's the one
part you're going to, you're going to like cover up anyway.
So if you want to make it familyfriendly, you've got to edit
John Candy completely out of the.
Movie pretty much, Pretty much, yeah.
So I I remember going back and watching it then, but I think
that went so that was what, 2 probably probably within two or
three years ago. But before then, I mean, at

(09:22):
least 20 years. I mean, I probably I I probably
watched it last when it was on TVI mean, I don't think I own
this one on VHSI didn't own it on DVD.
And The funny thing is now like you can't really, you can't find
a physical copy of this anywhere.
Like I even looked on eBay. There's a DVD copy that's like
goes from anywhere from 60 bucksto like 130.

(09:43):
That's how rare it is on Blu-ray.
And there's some DVDs that are even like 40 or 50 bucks.
So it's very rare to find a physical copy.
So thanks to Disney Plus, you can watch it now and I think
they've they don't they don't have it edited anymore, I don't
think. Hold on a second, I may have
about 100 bucks sitting over there.
Of course Laramie has it. Of course Laramie has it.
Yeah. So see, this is one of those I

(10:07):
don't know why would be a forgotten.
I mean, you know, you've got RonHoward as, you know, a first
time early director. You've got Tom Hanks in his
breakthrough role. You've got Daryl Hannah, John
Candy, Eugene Levy. Why is this not readily
available anywhere for you to watch and to buy?
So it's just kind of a not sure where the rights got got lost or
they're just waiting to release that all special 4K special

(10:29):
collector's edition that we've all been waiting for.
I think a big part of it is so many people are getting away
from physical media. Yeah, that's what you're saying.
That it's just old stuff like older movies like that they're
there's not the big push to get them, especially if they're
available on streaming. Got a lot of people's attitude

(10:49):
of just like I can just watch iton Disney Plus.
I'm already paying for Disney Plus.
Why would I buy a physical thingand then I have to keep it
somewhere, which, you know, our family doesn't live by that
rule, but others do. Right, right.
Yeah, I, I used to be a purist like that.
I wanted every, I wanted the physical copy of everything.

(11:10):
And over the years, it just kindof it chipped away at me.
Until. I hardly ever buy anything
physically anymore. I just rented or I mean,
sometimes I'll buy it you quote UN quote, buy it on the digital
TV or whatever. But you know what?
What? What do you?
What do you actually own? Yeah, you don't.

(11:31):
That's yeah. Yeah, I was the same way.
I used to have like a very extensive DVD collection and
then when Blu-ray when streamingkind of started, I was like,
well, who needs this? And I just like sold all of my
DVDs. And now I regret it because a
lot of the DVDs that I sold you can't find.
Like I had director's cuts and collector's edition and stuff
that you can't find anymore. You know, I went in hard on the

(11:54):
digital and I have AI, have a decent digital.
I still buy digital stuff now ifit's, you know, easier to get or
that's even if it's a really good deal.
But I'm trying to build back up my physical library because as
you'll, you know, I've seen where stuff is on a streaming
platform like, oh, I can always watch it on Max or whatever or
Hulu. And then of course, when you
actually want to watch it, it's not there anymore.

(12:16):
And then when you go to rent it,then like, I swear, I rent it
and then two weeks later it's upon a plan, a platform that I
already paid for. And I'm like, This is why I just
need to buy it and have it. So, so I'm trying to get more
into the physical copy. And then two, with the podcast,
especially the 80s movies, I tryto find stuff that has the
special features for the behind the scenes and the, you know,

(12:37):
more stuff about how the movie was made, which is, you know,
always fun to watch and. Although on to that point about
buying digital copies, you got to be careful with that because
you're you're just buying the license to it.
And if that company loses that license, you no longer own it
like it's gone. Yeah.
And there's been times where I will go through my collection

(12:59):
looking for something to watch and then a movie will cut like a
day later, I'll think of. It was like, oh, I don't
remember seeing that. I'm like, do they take that?
Like I freaked out that they took it out and I go back and
it's there. But it's like I do kind of worry
about the certain movies. If they lose the license or
whatever, then it goes away. But I haven't seen that too
much. There's a couple that I bought
digitally or I didn't buy ones that were like gifted or like

(13:21):
I've done a survey and they giveyou a free copy and I'm like, I
don't ever want to watch this movie again.
I don't want it in my collection.
But with digital, you can't. You can't get rid of, you can't
delete it like you have to. I think I went online.
You've got to actually call the company.
Stay on hold and go through thislong process to have them remove
it on their end from your library.
And I'm like, it should be a loteasier than that.

(13:43):
If I don't want to see the movieanymore, why can't I just delete
it? I can delete an app off my
phone. Hide.
Yeah. Right.
Or hide, Yeah, just hide it away.
So, so now I've just created like different folders for the
movie. So I haven't, I have them
categorized by like 80s movies, 90s movies, action drama, all
that kind of stuff. So then if I'm looking for a

(14:03):
specific type of movie, I can find it.
But anyway, we're way off subject.
Let's get back into the episode.What a what an enlightening
conversation about mermaids. Yes, exactly.
And physical media. And now these messages.
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(14:24):
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podcast directories. All right, so let's jump into
story, origin and pre production.

(16:14):
One fateful night while driving down the PCH near Malibu in
1977, Brian Grazer, then 25 years old, thought about what it
would be like to meet a mermaid and fall in love.
For seven years he was turned down by most Hollywood studios
until he revised his pitch for Splash to be more of a love
story between a man and a mermaid.

(16:35):
Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, who pinned Ron Howard's night
shift in 82, and Bruce J Friedman, who wrote Stir Crazy,
were the credited screenwriters for the movie That We Know a
Splash. The film was initially set up at
United Artists, but Brian Grazier decided to take the film
elsewhere and took it to the Ladd Company.
But Alvin Ladd Junior eventuallypassed on it.

(16:56):
According to the documentary on the Splash 20th Anniversary
Edition DVD in 2004, Brian Grazer had pitched the film to
numerous studios. It was turned down repeatedly
until Walt Disney Productions, then headed by Ron W Miller,
agreed to produce the film. The key to the proposal success
was that grazier Grazer changed the premise description from the

(17:17):
idea of a mermaid adjusting to life in New York City to that
about a love story about an ordinary man in New York City
meeting a mermaid. An issue at the time of
production was the competition between Splash and another
announced but untitled mermaid film from Warner Brothers.
It had lined Warren Beatty as its star, who we know was like
the biggest star on the planet back in 84 or one of them.

(17:39):
Director Ron Howard promised thestudio that Splash would be
filmed more quickly and cheaply than the other film, which
eventually fell through. Howard turned down directing
Footloose and Mr. Mom to do Splash instead.
And Howard could have directed Footloose.
I don't really see that. I mean, yeah, I can see Mr. Mom,
it has a little bit of a Ron Howard kind of appeal to it.

(18:03):
But Footloose, that would have been a very different, yeah.
I love Footloose the way it is. I would have loved to have seen
Ron Howard's interpretation of Footloose.
I mean, I'm. Going to live in that fantasy
for a minute. Got you.
I mean, knowing the kind of director he is now, but early in

(18:23):
his career, early in his directing career, that's not,
you know, that would have been avery different approach for him.
So. But let's talk about Ron Howard
as the director. Howard first came to prominence
as a child actor, acting in several television series before
gaining national attention for playing young Opie Taylor in the
sitcom and The Andy Griffith Show from 1960 to 1968.

(18:44):
He also appeared in the musical film The Music Man in 1962.
One of my favorites. He was cast in one of the
leading roles in the influentialcoming of age film American
Graffiti in 73 and became a household name for playing
Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days from 1974 to 1980.
He starred in films like The Spikes Gang in 74, The Shootist
with John Wayne in 76, and GrandTheft Auto Not the video game,

(19:08):
but the Movie from 1977, that being his directorial film
debut. In 1980, he left Happy Days to
focus on directing, producing and sometimes writing a variety
of films and television series. Those films include Night Shift
in 82, Cocoon in 85, Willow in 88, Backdraft in 91 and The
Paper in 1994. He went on to win the Academy

(19:29):
Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best Picture
for A Beautiful Mind in 2001 andwas nominated again for the same
awards for Frost Nixon in 2008. So we know how great I'm a
director he has become, but I remember him as Richie on Happy
Days and Opie on Andy Griffith. Yeah, me too, although I also

(19:50):
love him as narrator in ArrestedDevelopment.
Yes, some of his best work. Yeah, so favorite Ron Howard
flick, Just throw it out there. You have one that sticks out.
Oh man. That's not one that I mentioned.
Yeah, you didn't mention Apollo 13.
That's. That's high up there.
I love A Beautiful Mind. I was a big fan of that movie

(20:11):
when it came out. It's not one that I've watched a
lot since then, but I I was veryimpressed with it when I first
watched it. That's really tough.
I do I, I have a very soft spot in my heart for his narration,
interest, development, just because it's so funny and he's
just so good in it and it's so perfect.

(20:33):
But you know, obviously that's not the best thing he's ever
done. It's just the thing that I think
of when I think about him, when I'm not thinking about Happy
Days or Andy Griffith. All right, well, let's jump into
casting. I don't have a very long cast
list, which I'm thankful for on this movie because there's only
a few main characters and peoplethat we'd recognize.
But of course, the star of the movie, Tom Hanks, is Alan Bauer.

(20:55):
We've talked about him recently on our episode about the Money
Pit. Several established actors such
as Chevy Chase, Dudley Moore, Bill Murray, and John Travolta
were considered for the lead role.
Bill Murray turned it down as hewanted to move away from
comedies and do serious films instead.
That didn't last very long. After his serious movie bombed,
Steve Gutenberg also auditioned for the role and though he did
not get the lead, he was remembered when he was cast for

(21:18):
the lead in Cocoon. A year later.
Michael Keaton was offered the role, but he declined so he
could star in Mr. Mom. I think we talked about that in
the Mr. Mom episode. So a little bit about Tom Hanks.
In 1979 he moved to New York City where he made his film
debut in the low budget slasher film He Knows You're Alone in
1980 and landed a starring role in the TV movie Mazes and

(21:39):
Monsters from 1982. The following year he landed one
of the lead roles in the ABCTV pilot Bosom Buddies.
He and Peter Scolari played a pair of young advertising men
forced to dress as women so theycould live in an in an
inexpensive all female hotel. After landing the role, Hanks
moved to Los Angeles. Bosom Buddies ran for two
seasons and all the ratings werenever strong.

(22:00):
Television critics gave the program high marks, Co producer
Ian Praser told Rolling Stone. The first day I saw him on set,
I thought, too bad he won't be on television for long.
I knew he'd be a movie star in two years, and he was right.
Hanks made a guest appearance ona 1982 episode of Happy Days,
where he met the writers Lowell Ganz and Babalu Mandel, who were
writing Splash. Still writing it at the time,

(22:22):
Ganz and Mandel suggested Hanks for the film to director and
friend Ron Howard. At first, Howard considered
Hanks for the role of the main characters wisecracking brother,
the role that eventually went toJohn Candy, but he was won over
by his everyman demeanor, which he thought would work better for
the role. I agree.
Yeah. Although he can do a bit of the
body humor, he's so much better when he's, you know.

(22:45):
Wholesome. Yeah, like, like zany.
Tom Hanks is fun, but it doesn'tcarry a movie as well as the
everyman kind of role. You know, kind of the same
thing. Michael Keaton has the same
thing, like, well, besides Beetlejuice, but he's only in it
for like 20 minutes, so you can forgive him, but you know when
he's like totally crazy, totallyzany, it's hard.

(23:06):
You know, you need that groundedness of the character to
really sell it. I think so, even though when
did. He start going more towards like
the serious role 'cause he was. Early 90s.
Yeah, like big. Forrest Gump Was it Forrest Gump
was like the big one or? The first the first dramatic
role was Philadelphia. That was the.
Philadelphia. That was before.

(23:28):
Forrest yeah, that was the that was the big like, oh, he's going
to try drama. Like that was the first real,
real big dramatic role. And then that's when it kind of
the trajectory of him moving into like, you know, Forrest
Gump, Castaway, the Green Mile. Apollo Apollo Saving Private
Ryan. Saving Private Ryan, yeah, all
that. But yeah, 88 Big was like the

(23:48):
first where you kind of got a hint of, oh, he can pull off
drama. I think area movie, yeah.
I think he did a drama movie early, earlier in the 80s called
Never Say Goodbye or something like that.
It was kind of like a war movie drama.
My mom watched it. I remember she had we rented it
and she watched it. I couldn't get into it.
So it didn't do very well. But so he had he had dipped his

(24:12):
toe in it, but it didn't was wasn't the right movie.
But I think big was what really kind of.
Yeah, with Big I, I think he, I don't, you know, the Oscars were
very snobby about comedies at the time, but I think he was
nominated for a lot of other acting awards for Big, if I
remember correctly. And then that sort of kind of
maybe open the door for him to try more straight drama.

(24:36):
Yeah, because I feel like by thetime I was conscious of who Tom
Hanks was, he was already a pretty well-rounded actor.
He did the drama and the comedy,but then like, I see stuff like
this and then I remember, what'sthat movie Bachelor party He's
in those like kind of out there,weird screwball comedies.

(24:57):
And I'm just like, weird, reallyweird, OK?
Yeah, you go back to like, you know, some of the lesser known
ones like volunteers him and I think it's John Candy's and that
one too, the wild and zany kind of Tom Hanks.
And Even so much in Dragnet he did with Dan Aykroyd.
He was once again the wild and crazy, you know, where Aykroyd

(25:19):
was the straight man and he was the wild and crazy cop.
So yeah, those, yeah, that kind of the early, early to mid 80s
he was definitely heavy, heavy duty comedy and late 80s when he
kind of started getting a littlebit more grounded in the drama
movies. Yeah, we've talked about how he
and Michael Keaton kind of auditioned for the same roles.
One got it, one didn't, but really.

(25:41):
But they were, they were kind ofinterchangeable.
In the early 80s. They really had the same on
screen persona back then and they kind of went in different
directions, but they both kind of ended up in drama.
Have similar trajectories. Yeah.
They're very similar in the sense of going from straight
comedy to more drama and being very well, doing well in both,

(26:03):
You know, like, they both had strong hits and comedy, strong
hits and drama. And, well, you know, Tom Hanks
probably has a little bit more. Has been more recognized and
worked more than Keaton did. All right.
And then we've got Daryl Hannah as Madison.
Before Daryl Hannah was cast, the role had been previously
turned down by PJ Souls, Tatum O'Neill, Michelle Pfeiffer,

(26:26):
Julia Louis Dreyfus, Melanie Griffith, Diane Lane, Kathleen
Turner and Sharon Stone. Supposedly Lane Diane Lane chose
to do Streets of Fire and The Cotton Club instead.
Daryl Hannah made her film debutand Brian De Palma's
supernatural horror film The Fury in 78.
She she had starred in various films across the years including

(26:48):
Ridley Scott's science fiction thriller Blade Runner in 82, the
romantic comedies Summer Lovers in 82 and Roxanne in 87.
She also appeared in Oliver Stone's drama Wall Street in 87
and in the comedy drama that Bethany I talked about couple
years ago, Steel Magnolias in 1989.
My favorite movie of all time. I think what helped her land the

(27:10):
role was she had been swimming mermaid style with her legs
bound together since she was a child because because of her
fascination with the Hans Christian Andersen's Little
Mermaid story and the documentary.
In the DVD, Tom Hanks recalled how the other cast members would
drop French fries over the side of the tank to her as though she
were a trained sea mammal as shecouldn't leave the water while

(27:31):
her legs were shrink wrapped with the mermaid fin.
But also read that she could swim faster then the cameraman
could keep up with her. That's how amazing.
That's how fashion. And then she made a comment, I
might it might be later in my notes, but she was talking about
after doing the all those scenesfor so long, she told somebody
like a couple of months out she's like, I don't know how to

(27:51):
swim regular anymore. I've gotten so accustomed to
swimming with the fin. She's like, I forgot how to use
my feet like a regular swimmer. This was for sure the 1st movie
I saw Daryl Hannon. I was too young to see Blade
Runner when it came out. And the Fury probably, yeah.
Any thoughts on Daryl Hannah forthis role?
I. Love her hair in this movie.

(28:11):
That is always the thing I thinkabout when I think about this
movie is her hair is just I justlove it that that's my first
impression. Ben, you got anything more
insightful than her hair is great.
I watched I watched this one with my wife.
I think the first one for your podcast.
That I've usually been one of the kids I.
Finally got her to watch something with me.
She noticed that Daryl Hannah's hair was changing length

(28:34):
depending on what it needed to cover.
Yeah, yeah, lots of extensions, I'm sure.
Yeah. How long is your hair?
It's strategic length. Right, I did read that she was
very self-conscious about her body when they filmed.
Like she was very concerned about showing too much in the

(28:55):
scenes. So but you know, being PG, it it
it could it teetered with the line a little bit a few in a few
scenes, I believe so. But lots of Shetland no worse
than the old intros to the JamesBond movies.
Those are all silhouette, you know, women or whatever.
So but yeah, but I, I like turn this.

(29:16):
I mean, I, I've never been a huge Daryl Hannah fan.
I think Steel Magnolias is probably the one that I I've
liked her the most in just because it's a more kind of a
fun character. This one is good.
You know, it was, it was good torewatch it again.
And she's funny. So yeah, but.
She's really funny in it and shedoes the, she does the born sexy
yesterday trope very well in this movie.

(29:37):
She says the I, I don't know what's going on around me, but
she flips it around in that Alanis constantly getting himself in
danger and she's constantly having to save him.
So like, yes, while they're on land, he has to practically
raise her like she's a child. But when they're in the water,

(30:04):
he he would die without her, literally.
All right, moving right along, we'll go to Eugene Levy as
Doctor Walter Kornbluth. Levy started his career writing
and acting in the Canadian television sketch series SCTV
from 76 to 84, earning 2 Primetime Emmy Awards for
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.
He also appeared in the films National Lampoon's Vacation 83,

(30:26):
Multiplicity in 96. He also became known for Co
writing appearances and a stringof films with Christopher Guest,
including Waiting for Guffman in96 Best in Show in 2000, A
Mighty Win in 2003 and Four YearConsideration 2006.
He also appeared in a series of the American Pie films, which is
a very, very limited filmographyfor him because he's been in a

(30:48):
ton of stuff, but. Yeah, yeah.
Most recently Schitt's Creek. Is, yeah.
His biggest, yeah. I love Eugene Lovey and I love
his arc in this movie. Like at first he's just such a
he's such a little dink, like you just you just don't like
him. He's such a little goober, and

(31:09):
then by the end of it, he reallyhas a good turn to the point
where you're just like, OK, yeah.
Yeah, yeah. Yeah, let's do this.
He is kind of the only one that really has like a full character
arc, you know, in the movie. Everybody else has, you know, a
little, but his is the most mostpronounced for sure.

(31:30):
The most interesting, at least. His character is almost like
it's I don't know that he changes that much.
It's just you see different sideof him later in the movie, in in
the early in the movie, he's just he's frustrated with
everything. He's just, you know, yelling all
the time. And and then you know, in later

(31:50):
in the movie when he's kind of sees what's at stake and
besides, he wants. The consequences of his actions.
Right, right. Right.
He just wanted to be believed and then he's believed.
He still isn't respected and nowthe the creature that he's been
chasing is going to be killed. We've got 2 of America's dads in

(32:11):
this movie and Eugene Levy despite Eugene Levy I believe
being Canadian so he could be candidates dad I guess.
Well, another another, another great.
Movie dad is. Yeah, another great movie, Dad,
is John Candy. I mean, let's not, you know.
It's not in this movie. Dad or uncle?
Yeah, Uncle Buck. So, but Speaking of John Candy,

(32:31):
he actually wanted to play the role of Doctor Walter Kornbluth.
That's the that's the role he really wanted.
But Ron Howard convinced him to play Freddie instead.
So it was John Candy who recommended Eugene Levy for the
role of Doctor Kornbluth, which I thought was very good.
So let's talk about John Candy as Freddie Bauer.
Candy rose to national prominence like Eugene Levy with

(32:54):
the SCTV sketch comedy series. He rose to international fame in
the 80s with his roles in comedic films such as Stripes in
81, Brewster's Millions in 85, Armed and Dangerous in 86,
Spaceballs in 87, Planes, Trainsand Automobiles 87, The Great
Outdoors in 8888, Uncle Buck in 89, and Cool Runnings in 93.
He also appeared in supporting roles in The Blue Blues Brothers

(33:16):
in 80, National Lampoon's Vacation 83, Little Shop of
Horrors in 86, Home Alone in 90,and Nothing But Trouble in 1991.
What a run he had so but greatlymissed.
John Candy was one of my favorites.
Still one of my favorites, but that was one of the deaths that
really that really kind of hit me pretty hard when I found out

(33:38):
he passed. So him and him and Chris Farley
were both, you know, favorites of mine.
So gone too soon. Thinking back on this movie
before I rewatched a couple years ago, I might have
forgotten that John Candy was inthis movie.
Like, I knew I remembered Tom Hanks.
I remembered Daryl Hannah. I think I remembered Eugene Levy
because he's, you know, the bad guy.
But I forgot that John Candy played his brother.

(34:00):
And he, you know, he's not in that movie a whole whole lot,
but. Boy is he loud when he is.
Yeah, he's memorable when he's there.
Yeah, yeah. Well, I mean, I, I, that's what
struck me as the funniest this time watching it again were the
scenes with just between Hanks and and John Candy where, I

(34:23):
mean, it was just some really good writing and they both just
made it really funny and I had just forgotten how.
And what's that? I was just saying they have good
chemistry. Oh, yes, yeah.
And, and then I, I thought I hadthe same thought.
I was like. And I thought that word, they
have good chemistry on being together.
And then I thought, well, they did.

(34:45):
They work together again. I couldn't remember.
And I looked it up and as you said, volunteers.
Yeah, that was the only other time they work together and that
one, I remember going to see that one in the theater too and
coming out disappointed. Yeah, it's not awful, but it's
also. Just not.
It's not splash. Yeah, it's not as good as.
Yeah, yeah, that's one that I don't, I don't think I I think I

(35:07):
might have watched it on cable when I was younger, but I
watched it again a couple years ago and I was like, yeah, I can
see what this one's kind of forgotten.
It's not really one that you want to watch on a regular
basis, but yeah, the two writers, Baba Babalu, I was, I
don't remember their names. That's the one I always remember
when. We go back to it, Babalu Mandel
and Lowell Gan. There you go.

(35:27):
There's there's such interest funny names.
And I remember, but I rememberedseeing those names on sitcoms as
I was growing up because they were primarily sitcom writers.
And so there's a lot of that sitcom kind of banter in the
movie. And so I think that's another
reason why it appealed to when we talked about this, I think
before one of the other previousepisodes where you have to

(35:49):
remember in the 80s, sitcom was king.
Like sitcoms were everywhere andthat's what people were
accustomed to watching television was very huge.
So to go to the movies and stillhave that kind of TV banter
worked. Like we kind of it kind of gets
frowned upon now, like film and TV.
Like there's this, you know this.

(36:11):
I say feud, but like. There's a divide.
There's a divide, yeah, between in between the industries, but I
think that we're like for special stuff, like we talked
about Mr. Mom, which they they also wrote, there's a lot of
that sitcom, situational comedy,which got sitcom.
But like some of the things thathappened, like even in this one,
it's like it's so ludicrous. Like that would never really

(36:31):
happen. But that was what sitcoms were.
It was the outrageous things that would happen to regular
people and how they react to it.And that's what made it funny.
So to see that, you know, kind of thrown into these type kind
of movies as well is what I think made them work and why we
in as older people like myself, endear endear them so much.
Because we remember how great those sitcoms were and how the

(36:55):
movies were good, you know, combination of that as well.
I think I explained that well. Yeah, it made better sense in my
brain. Did you know that Lowell Ganz is
in Splash? Yes, yes, I have that mentioned.
We'll, we'll get there. Yeah, yeah, the cameos are at
the end. So.
All right. So back to John Candy.
So we talked about his scene. So for the racquetball scene,

(37:18):
John Candy did it with very little sleep.
Producer Ryan Grazer revealed hestayed out with Jack Nicholson
until four or five in the morning and then went right to
work. He revealed that Candy had a lot
of endurance. He also revealed that, quote UN
quote, the night with Nicholson.I think he overdid it.
So he literally ran into the ball that hit him in the head.
That was real. And we that we didn't
anticipate. I knew we'd have to shoot it

(37:40):
with many shots. But the minute he hit the ball,
it hit him right in the head. He couldn't get out of the way
of it. It was perfect.
So he did that in one take that they thought they were going to
do that over and over again. But yeah.
Yeah, I've read that same anecdote today, and I thought it
was funny that John Candy apparently came back and he told

(38:00):
him I had to go out drinking like Jack Nicholson knew who I
wanted. Right, right.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like they like that wasn't like
something they planned, like he was at the bar and right.
And Jack Nicholson recognized and they got to talk.
And then he said the other, the other one I read was he kept
saying, look, man, I got to go. I got to go to work tomorrow.
And he was like, you'll be fine,You'll be fine.

(38:20):
But he was also very late to filming that day and he kept
apologizing, so he felt really bad about it.
So yeah. Daryl Hannah gushed of her
Canadian Co star. She said I just absolutely loved
him. He was just so full of heart and
soul and so hilarious. Tears coming out of your eyes,
pee your pants. Hilarious, she said.
The pair became firm friends on set, later planning a comedy

(38:41):
together that was cut tragicallyshort by Candy's death and even
formed an unlikely dynamic on set, she said.
I used to sit on his lap all thetime and he would talk for me
and I'd mind what he was saying like a ventriloquist doll.
He'd answer questions for me in interviews, which I thought was
just really cute. So that was that was I had to
hadn't mentioned that just just the guy he was so.

(39:02):
I love John Candy in most movies.
I'm I'm not a fan of his character in this movie.
I think he does a good job with it.
Yeah, Yeah, but I don't like thecharacter.
But he like literally every other movie I see him in and I'm
you just you gotta love him evenwhen he's kind of being a jerk.
You're just like, yeah, OK, but he, he kind of reminds you of

(39:22):
your dad. Just like, really grumpy about
something. But still, you love him anyways.
Yeah, except for Planes, Trains and Automobiles, where he's just
lovable and not grumpy obnoxious.
But lovable. Obnoxious.
Yeah. Kind of like to think of myself
most of the time. Yeah, I I liked the dynamic

(39:47):
between him and Tom Hanks or Alan, because even though he's
like John, Candy's a schmuck in this movie.
Right, right. He's.
Just awful. But then, like, when it comes to
protecting his brother, he does show up.
He's there for him. Oh, yeah.
Like when he's being like when they're the press is trying to

(40:09):
like overwhelm. Him.
That's the scene I was just thinking of when you mentioned
that. He jumps in and he's like, hey,
is anybody here from Penthouse? Then we're not talking and he's
out. It's like, OK, I get it.
You're a little bit of a pervert, a little bit of a
pervert. But like also it's cute that he
like shows up for. His little brother, yeah, but

(40:30):
that's still his brother. He's going to protect him.
Yeah. So.
Yeah. And then at the end, he takes
the fall for everything. And you know, I it wasn't the
first time it occurred to me watching it this time, it's
occurred to me before, but I surely not when I was a kid.
But the fate of Freddie John Kennedy's character is so he he

(40:55):
gets arrested and probably sent to prison for like, interfering
with the government experiment. Probably.
And he thinks that his brother, like, fell into the water and
died and drowned, you know, drowned and died.
Like, he's got a his. There's no happy sequel to
Splash spurring Freddie, you know.

(41:16):
Yeah, but once again, that's, it's fantasy, that's why it's
so, you know, and it's, you know, sitcom.
Like in the next episode we, oh,you know, we talk to the judge.
It's all OK, You know, it it would have been just.
Yeah, everything's fine. But yeah.
But yeah, you're right. I mean.
Candy was apparently friends with the president somehow, so
maybe he got out of it. That he got a pardon.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. What a what a weird scene

(41:37):
though. Like it could have been anybody
that was coming to town, but it had to be the president of.
The United States. One more specific character and
I'll get into the cameos. Doty or Dottie Goodman as Missus
Stemler, the secretary I knew. She looked familiar.
I was like, I've seen her in something else.
She was a frequent guest on The Tonight Show in the 1950s in the

(41:58):
night. She was also the 1978 summer
blockbuster film Grease. That's where I knew her from.
She played Blanche Odell, the zany student popular secretary
in the principal's office. She reprised her role again in
1982 for Grease 2 In 79, she appeared in The Mary Tyler Moore
Hour. In 8182, had the recurring mole
of Aunt Sophia in Different Strokes.
Aside from film and television appearances, she also voiced

(42:20):
Miss Miller in the TV series Alvin and the Chipmunks and the
film spin off The Chipmunk Adventure.
She also played on Punky Brewster as Punky's teacher.
So. But yeah, that one of my
favorite characters, yeah. I did not connect her to Greece,
but yeah, she's. So your dad called.

(42:41):
My dad died five years ago. Oh well, do you want me to get
him for you? Right, Right.
It's like what happened to her. She got struck by lightning.
Yeah. And just like her randomly
showing up, like with her bra onthe outside of her shirt or
wearing a wig or like a shower cap.
Yeah, and no explanation. Right, right.
That's, yeah, that's the beauty of it, all, right,

(43:04):
screenwriters. As Ben mentioned earlier,
screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babalu Mandel both make cameo
appearances in the film. Ganz plays Stan, the tour guide
in the scene set of the Statue of Liberty.
Mandel plays Rudy, the man in charge of ice skate rentals, who
tackles Hanks's character when he tries to run out with a skate
still on. Director Ron Howard's father,
actor Rance Howard, can be seen early in the film as Mr.

(43:26):
McCullough, the unhappy customer, screaming at Allen
about his cherries. And then, of course, Howard's
brother, Clint Howard appears asa wedding guest, identified by
Candy's character as the bride'sbrother and yelled at by Hanks,
which is actually Hanks's brother, which I love that part.
She's not coming. You want your money back?
So funny. You want the weather.

(43:50):
Well, and it's because it just seems to come out of nowhere
like he's been giving. Oh yeah, she's sick.
Oh yeah, she is the flu. Nope, she's not going to make
it. She liked me.
He just, he just explodes for seemingly no reason.
It's just great. Well, everybody comes up to him
and they ask where she is. They don't ask how he is.
I mean like. Fair all.
Right, let's talk about iconic scenes, favorite scenes.

(44:13):
When somebody says Splash, what's the first scene that pops
into your head, Bethany? I think it's the scene where she
gets into the bathtub and she runs the bath and you, you
really see her as a mermaid. Like.
That way. And then he's coming and, well,
I was shy. You were shy.

(44:35):
Like after all that has happenedbeforehand, all of a sudden,
like, I, I don't know, I always think about that scene and just
the tension building and it's fun.
It's a good one. What about you, Ben?
I think my favorite scenes are the the scenes with Tom Hanks
and John Candy together. But the scene I've thought about

(44:56):
the most over the years is the scene where they're walking down
the street trying to think of a name for her.
And they passed Madison Ave. andshe says Madison and Tom Hanks
is like, that's not a name. And I remember that being I got
a laugh in 84 Madison, it was not a name.
In 84. It was.

(45:17):
It was. It was a joke to name someone
Madison. Right, it was.
Very confusing for me because bythe time I came.
Around right? Madison was for sure a name.
Yeah, yeah, it's, it's weird howyes, because now like I don't
know how many Madisons I've encountered.
Yeah, exactly. I work.

(45:37):
I used to work with a Madison every day.
So. Yeah, they're all over.
Yeah, I saw that born. In roughly 1985.
Probably, yeah, something like that.
Yeah, that came up a lot in the in the different trivia and
research about how Madison became extremely popular after
the movie had come out. But at the time, no one was
named Madison. And they I think even the one of

(45:59):
the writers made a comment aboutit's odd to think of now is like
it would be if someone was named, you know, Barrett Parkway
or something, you know, just some random street name, which
he makes comments like, I'm gladwe didn't pass 140 54th St.
Like that's going to be the name.
So. But even even watching it today
when she was like, what about Madison's like, not Madison.
Well, you call her Maddie. And I'm like, well, that's what
we do. We call Madison's Maddie like,

(46:20):
because it's a common name now. But yeah, Oh man, for me, iconic
scene. When I think of Splash, what
scene do I think of? Probably because it was a little
boy in me watching it for the first time was her, her showing
up in front of the Statue of Liberty and everybody's
reaction. And you know that that was, you

(46:40):
know, emblazoned in my brain fora long time as a as a young boy
for obvious reasons. But so that's probably the most
unique scene for me. Her hair.
Her hair was so pretty. Enough.
Yeah, yes, yes, properly placed.So well styled for having just
jumped out of the. Wall, yeah.
Fully dry not. Not a problem man, but what what
I wouldn't give to have a mermaid's hair.

(47:02):
Like just beautiful in the water, beautiful out of the
water. Well, you know, let's, let's
talk about being, you know, she is a magical creature.
I mean, she can hurt legs appearwhen there's no, when there's no
fin, no water. So we talk about the different
lengths of her hair during the movie.
And maybe that grows and shortens as well based on what
kind of appearance she needs to make.
So that's, that's completely in the realm of logic.

(47:25):
I'm sure I'm sure Laramie will agree because there has to be
logic in every movie that goes along with the story.
So I'll see if that passed his test so you can ask him later.
I like this in universe lore that you've developed here just
to explain a couple. Blame it on there me.
And also. Her hair dries on its own.
When? She comes out of the ocean.

(47:46):
Well, yeah, yes, she would have had to dry her legs a little bit
before, so maybe it took some time.
Maybe her hair dries quickly. Yeah, which kind of goes to the
like, one of the pivotal momentsin the movie that made sense as
a kid. Watching it now is like.
But when she gets sprayed with water by Eugene Levy's

(48:08):
character, how much water does it take to transform?
Does she have to be? You know, I was thinking she had
to be submerged in water, not necessarily just sprayed with
water. So it was a little more
convincing to me, yeah. She were to spill a glass of
water on her lap, would that be?Yeah.
Right, right. Yeah, she would have fallen on

(48:29):
the ice rink. Yeah.
Yeah, would there have been a problem?
Yeah, you would have thought theice skating would have been a
little more traumatic for her. Like this is what happens when
water melt, when water freezes. Never gets cold where I come
from, which is not my favorite scene because that's when Tom
Hanks becomes a complete jerk and like just goes off on her.
He's kind of a jerk throughout the movie a lot of the time.

(48:49):
He's not my favorite version of Tom Hanks.
He can be sweet, but he gets pretty demanding of a woman he's
barely known. And now these messages.
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(49:10):
embark on a nostalgia filled journey to the greatest era of
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(49:31):
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The number 4, The letter. U.

(50:13):
Dot com What's up dudes? I'm Jerry D of Totally Rad
Christmas, the podcast that talks all things Christmas in
the 80s. Toys, movies, specials, music,
books, fashion and fads. If it was gnarly during
Christmas in the 80s, he's got it covered.
Wait, is there a lot of things to talk about for the 80s and
Christmas? Well, you got the movie giants

(50:35):
like Christmas Vacation, Scrooged and A Christmas Story.
There are TV specials like Muppet Family Christmas,
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he man GI Joe Transformers. And Cabbage Patch Kids.

(50:58):
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And chant with the littles. So TuneIn to Totally Rad
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back and dive into those warm and fuzzy memories.
Later, dudes. All right, well, let's talk

(51:21):
about some trivia and seeing maybe think maybe we will think
of some other scenes as well. So the beach where Alan first
encounters Madison on the formeris on the former Gorder K in the
Bahamas, which is now known as Castaway K, the private island
of Disney Cruise Line. Another fun fact that when the

(51:44):
movie was in production and fight, you know it was the you
know, the quick mermaid movie, they didn't want it to be
associated with the Warren Beatty movie so it was titled
Castaway K instead of Splash. During pre production Disney was
very much involved. Yeah, my my wife did point out
that too. She said that she said that's no

(52:05):
beach near Cape Cod. Yeah, it was very, very
tropical. Yeah, yeah.
And I don't think there are beautiful reefs just, you know,
in Hudson Bay or whatever. No, the sand does not look like
that, I'm sure. Or Crystal Clearwater.

(52:27):
The fountain from the movie is now on display at Disney's MGM
Studios at Walt Disney World. The mermaid fin that Daryl
Hannah wore is behind the bar atPlanet Hollywood in Downtown
Disney. Which makes me very upset
because I was just there like a month ago and did not see that
when I was there, but I also wasn't.
That the world in that's in that's in California.

(52:47):
Though no, Disneyland is California, Disney World is
Florida. Not bad.
Yeah, no, no problem. I've had to keep that in mind.
I've had to keep that straight in my mind for a long time.
But Speaking of that fountain, how bunker?
How did the fountain get into the apartment?
How does the plumbing work when they put it in?
That's what I was talking. About how did they get it up the
elevator, up the door, in the door, and then set the water up

(53:13):
in a day, less than a day. It's a mermaid movie, I think.
It is a mermaid movie. You know what?
You're right, Ben. I just, I just, I just wanted
one scene where the down stone neighbors were like, what what
is what is going on up there? Is the roof caving in right
right. Like the roof is is warped in a

(53:34):
little bit. Why is the ceiling dripping
every day, anyway? Oh, man.
All right, so when Madison takesa bath to transform back into a
mermaid, the effect of the skin turning to scales was done by
using a vacuum effect on an appliance that was placed over
Daryl Hannah's leg. She was required to place her
left hand over the edge of the appliance to hide the edge of

(53:55):
the effect. When the vacuum was activated,
the upper layer of fake skin waspulled down over the false
scales and a false pectoral fin was triggered to extend upwards,
completing the illusion. Note that some of the scales
don't fully appear as they didn't fully pull down because
of the vacuum effect, but it wasstill a cool effect.
I just, I'm even watching it today.
I was like, man, that's really cool how they did that.

(54:16):
Once again, thank, you know, thankful for practical effects
instead of CGI, which it would have totally been CGI today.
Can you imagine 1984 CGII? Don't want to.
I think we've seen that in some of things.
OK, let I'll read this one and then we'll we'll jump into a few
more. Daryl Hannah, a vegetarian,
refused to eat real lobster for the restaurant scene.

(54:38):
The crew scooped out the insidesof real cooked lobsters and
filled them with hearts of palm and mashed potatoes, Ron Howard
said. Hannah cried after each take
over the deaths of the lobsters for their shells.
She's die hard vegetarian. Yeah, that's, yeah, she's she
takes it seriously. She did, yeah.
And then also read let she won't.

(54:59):
She doesn't eat heart. I think this one said it was
leeks was in there as well. And so she every time she eats
leeks, she gets sad because she thinks about the lobsters.
Such a gentle person that went on to be and kill Bill and was
like, you know, chopping people up.
So that's what actors do, all right.
According to Splash screenwriterBruce J Friedman's memoir Lucky

(55:21):
Bruce, the original screenplay of Splash had a decidedly Jewish
tone. The human protagonist was a
Jewish man named Adam who owned a smoked fish business, and the
Poseidon character was modeled after Famed, a Jewish
entertainer, 0 Musto. However, the screenplay was
rejected by United Artists for being quote UN quote, too
Jewish. So Adam became Alan and his

(55:43):
business went from selling smoked fish to selling produce
instead. In fact, Friedman explicitly
recalled one comment that he gotfrom AUA executive telling me
telling him that Poseidon comes off as being too Jewish.
Think John Gilgood like wow. Wow.
So, yeah, interesting. I have to say about that.

(56:07):
Interesting. Yeah, there was a deleted scene.
A scene where Madison meets an elderly ugly mermaid known as
the Sea Hag, who warns her of falling in love with a human was
filmed but dropped before the film was released.
Short parts of this complex scene can be seen on the DVD.
The sequence would make the movie a lot more similar to Hans

(56:27):
Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid.
And they, I remember, I rememberthis when we did The Little
Mermaid episode, that they made Ariel's hair red instead of
blonde as it was in a book because they didn't want her to
look like Daryl Hannah from Splash.
They didn't want it to be. That's pretty cool.
Similar. I kind of like the idea that she

(56:48):
is. I mean, you don't, I don't, You
don't know for certain that she's alone, but I don't need a
whole like mermaid back story tounderstand the rest of this
movie, so I'm glad they didn't include that, honestly.
Yeah, it's it's interesting. I'm sure with budget wise to
keep it low budget, that was probably understandable.

(57:09):
I do like how at the very end ofthe film, you know, they're it's
the credits and they're showing the credits and they're swimming
and then the tail end, tail end,there's my fish plant.
The end of that that you kind ofsee the city, the the underwater
city kind of from a distance. So I did think that was a cool
little, you know, nod of like she wasn't really crazy.
Like, you know, you're going to take me to a place that you

(57:31):
can't come back from. So yeah, so I did.
I did like that a little bit. Did you know there was a made
for TV sequel? I don't know.
I did not. A Disney TV movie aired on ABC
on May 1st and again on May 8th because it was so great they had
to play it twice in 1988 Splash 2T OO Lone cast member from the

(57:54):
original was was Dodie Goodman, reprising her role as Mrs.
Stemmler in the sequel. Allen, now played by Todd
Waring, and Madison, played by Amy Yazbek, live on land to help
Freddie, played by Donovan, Scott and Bauer produce and save
a captive dolphin. Wow, splash also.

(58:17):
Yes, splash to TO. O and the only one they could
get back was like the most random character.
That's great. Right.
Well, I'm I'm kind of curious now to see.
Yeah, I know. Right.
OK. How did they explain what how
Freddie got out of you? Know.
Yeah. Oh yeah, yeah.

(58:37):
All the trouble he was in and you know, and, and why are they
back when they explicitly said at the end of the first movie
they could have never come? Back, yeah.
So. So yeah.
Does Alan grow a fin after beingin the ocean for long enough?
Are you are you reading? Are you reading questions on the
Internet? No, this is a question I have

(59:00):
and I'm looking at the pictures hoping it will answer it for me.
So far no answers. No, like you're, you're, you're.
Oh, you mean like his legs turn into?
Yeah. Will his legs turn into
eventually turn into fins? Will he evolve enough so that he
could survive in the ocean that he now lives in?
These are these are the questions I need answers.

(59:22):
What if they have kids? That's how.
Do they have kids? Yeah, yeah.
OK. Yeah.
I would. We're thinking too much.
Let's let's come back, come back, come back, come back.
Does she lay eggs? Oh gosh.
I'm sorry, I need a moment. Bethany's going to start her own
podcast, Questions That I Need Answered, with Bethany Wells.

(59:44):
It's called. I'm sorry, I need a moment.
All right, well, let's talk about box office and critical
reception. Splash debuted in American
theaters on March 9th, 1984, anddethroned Footloose from the
number one spot in its second week.
It also beat another new release, Children of the Corn,

(01:00:06):
which landed in #4 Splash finished its run with a gross of
$69.8 million, the United Statesand Canada, making it the tenth
highest grossing film of 1984. Once again, why is this movie
not readily available to purchase anywhere in physical
copy anyway? Rotten Tomatoes this is I am.

(01:00:26):
I'm amazed by these scores. Rotten Tomatoes 91% on the
tomato meter, so critics gave ita 91.
Audience scores a 63. What is wrong with you people?
I'm like, that doesn't make sense, but it's just as bad.
But same, you know, not quite asbad.
But IMDb 6.3 out of 10 with viewers and a 71 on Metacritic.

(01:00:48):
So I read a few of the of the like, short reviews from viewers
and I'm like, these are millennials trying to understand
an 80s movie. They're like, this movie makes
no sense, everybody. Really doesn't.
It really does not make any sense.
Don't agree with them, don't agree with them.
It is nostalgia. You're right.

(01:01:08):
I mean, that's why we love it. But yeah, that's kind of the the
bad thing about the critics partor the, you know, the the new
audience scoring or whatever on these with with these movies,
because if they didn't see it when the time that it came out,
you're you miss some of the. Yeah, I, I, I guess I'm, I'm
realizing that, that it's two different things, whether a

(01:01:29):
movie holds up, whether it holdsup for you and whether it holds
up for like, your kids. You know, like.
I, I watched, I watched Splash again the other day and, and it
held up and my wife said the same thing.
Held up really well for us. I remember seeing it as kids,
but I have a feeling if I if my if any of my kids had agreed to

(01:01:51):
watch it with us, they would have they would have had the
same kind of reaction. Just like.
My thing about it is that it feels like this movie.
When I was a kid, I loved it andI watched it because it was
mermaids. I'm watching it now and I'm just
like, I cannot imagine my kids sitting and paying attention to

(01:02:11):
this movie. Very little happens in it.
It's not a kids movie at all, really.
No. No, and so I it just it's a
weird, it's one of those weird things where like as I get
older, movies that I enjoyed as a kid, I watch now and I'm like
kids would kids, my kids would not enjoy this.
This is not there's nothing herefor them.

(01:02:34):
But why did I love it so much? One of my favorite lines from
the returning character for the sequel, Miss Stemmler.
This made me laugh. It's when after, you know, it's
been it's been known that she's a mermaid and Freddie comes in
and rescues them from the reporters and they get back to
the office and she says, oh, Mr.Bauer, you had a million

(01:02:55):
messages. I wrote them down right here.
You got calls from CBSNBCABCAPUPI, Ted Turner,
time, Newsweek, Marine Land, Ripley's Believe it or not, and
Missus Paul and the Missus Paul,like I lost it.
I was like, that was funny. Like, that is a good line.
Like, good. It's really good right here.
Yeah. Like what?
Is this timing on it so good, soperfect?

(01:03:18):
Like all of her lines. Yeah, just.
It because she plays it so earnestly.
Like, Oh yeah, yeah. She is not playing it for the
joke like she is this person whois seriously struggling but has
a good attitude about. It right, right, right.
Which why they don't fire her islike, yeah, she'll be all right.
You know, don't worry about it. We'll figure it out.

(01:03:38):
What? What's she going to mess up?
We sell fruit. Yes.
They sell fruit but somehow are important enough to have dinner.
With the with the president, right?
They sell a lot of fruit. Right, right, it must be, but
Freddie's driving a sports car convertible, so they must be
doing doing all right. So all right.

(01:04:01):
Well, thank you guys so much forbeing a part.
Thank you, Bethany. Thank you, Ben.
Always a pleasure to have you both on the podcast.
Always a great time. All right folks, that's a wrap
on today's episode of the 80s Flick Flashback Podcast.
If you had as much fun as we did, please show us some love
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(01:04:24):
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(01:04:45):
swag you could ever want. Thanks again for tuning in.
I'm Tim Williams for the 80s flick flashback podcast.
I don't understand. All my life I've been waiting
for someone. When I find her, she's a fish.

(01:05:20):
You still here? It's over.
Go home. Go.