From Tom's latest foray into dramatic excellence (Captain Miller) to his first big smash, er "Splash". There could not be any greater difference between this fishy feature and Mr. Hanks' performance in "Saving Private Ryan". Here Ron Howard, following on from his "Night Shift" success, takes us on a journey of fantasy as Tom's New York fruiterer has his life turned upside down by a real life mermaid.<br /><br />The idea from Lowell Ganz, Babalo Mandel and Bruce Jay Friedman is as 'fish-out-of-water' as they come. The resulting script is not all that good though. Ron Howard does keep things very jovial, and this, along with Tom Hanks' infectious turn as the love-lorn mermaid admirer, probably makes the pic the reasonable entertainment that it is.<br /><br />Daryl Hannah is a little wooden in the movie that made her a household name, and John Candy plays Tom's slovenly brother. Eugene Levy plays the obsessed scientist who pursues "Madison" all over New York.<br /><br />Sunday, December 13, 1998 - T.V.