Credit: Sony Pictures Releasing

What is there that Tom Hanks hasn’t played? From astronauts to ship captains to cowboys, even Elvis’ manager. But do you know the film that brought Hollywood’s attention to him? A rom-com where he falls head over heels for a mermaid. Sounds mad, innit? That’s Splash for you. The film turned Hanks into a proper star and gave the 1980s one of its most charming romantic comedies.

Back in 1984, Hanks was known from Bosom Buddies, but he wasn’t Tom Hanks just yet. He was still grafting, still waiting for that one role to convince the studios he could lead a big film. Well, this was it. Audiences took to him straight away, and so did the critics, and Hollywood had found its next everyman.

The film is about a man, Allen Bauer, who nearly drowns off Cape Cod before a mysterious girl saves his life beneath the waves. Fast-forward a few years, and Allen’s all grown up, running a business but having absolutely rotten luck when it comes to romance. Then fate has another laugh at his expense. He ends up in the sea again, gets rescued by the very same mysterious woman… only this time she follows him back to New York.

There’s just one tiny little snag…. She’s a mermaid. And what a beauty! Daryl Hannah is absolutely alluring as Madison. She arrives in the human world fascinated by everything she sees, whether it’s the TV, clothes or the madness of New York itself. Half the fun’s watching her try to mix in while everybody else just reckons she is a bit eccentric.

Hanks, meanwhile, plays Allen with that charm he’d end up being famous for. Their chemistry is out of this world and before long you’re rooting for a romance that really shouldn’t make a lick of sense.

John Candy is so convincing as Allen’s womanising brother Freddie, nicking scenes without even looking like he’s trying. Then you’ve got Eugene Levy as this wonderfully odd scientist who is completely convinced mermaids are real.

A massive part of Splash’s charm comes from Ron Howard knowing exactly what sort of film he wanted to make. He never overcomplicates the fantasy or buries it under too much sentiment. He just lets the characters carry the story. The practical effects deserve a shout too. Long before CGI was in existence Daryl Hannah spent months learning to swim gracefully in a custom-made mermaid tail that weighed around 35 pounds. Can you believe it? But it’s probably why those underwater scenes still look dead impressive today.

Looking back now, you can already see so much of the Tom Hanks everyone fell in love with. You can draw a straight line from Allen Bauer to Big, Sleepless in Seattle and even Forrest Gump. More than forty years on, Splash still feels sincere. It isn’t trying to be clever for the sake of it. It’s just a sweet, funny love story with a bit of fantasy sprinkled over the top.

Netflix’s packed with glamorous rom-coms these days, but every now and then it’s worth going back to the film that helped launch one of Hollywood’s greatest careers.