How Had I Never Seen... "Splash"
Sunday, March 29, 2020 at 12:13PM 
From time to time, there's talk of creating new Oscar categories. Just this year, Brad Pitt spoke about the need to give stunt coordinators some love and appreciation during his acceptance speech. Maybe he's right, maybe there should be a stunts category. Another arguably necessary addition is a casting award that reflects that job's importance in creating the movies we love – it's much more crucial than original songs, for instance. Casting is not just a matter of hiring good actors, but the challenge of getting the right people for the right roles. It's knowing how to capitalize on a star's persona and energy, the performer's fame, the tonal register they bring and the audience's perception of them. In the right circumstances, a limited actor can be a better choice than a consummate thespian with a greater range.
Ron Howard's delightful Splash (available on Disney+) is a pertinent example of the importance of good casting for a movie's success, humor, and dramatic functionality. With different performers, it probably wouldn't work half as well as it does…
Splash tells of the romance between a charming young man and the mermaid who falls in love with him. During a sepia-toned prologue, we see their first meeting, when both were children whose paths crossed by chance in the silvery waters of Cape Cod. Years later, Allen Bower, the boy who saw the siren, has grown up and runs a business with his horndog brother. He's a beloved boss and generally liked by all that surrounds him, but something's missing in his life. Love is out of the question for him, the space in his heart already filled by fantastic longings for creatures he might not even believe exist. Clouded by fantasy, he's uniquely obtuse and, when the woman of his dreams reappears, poor Allen is too lost in his head to realize everything he always wanted is standing right in front of him.
She's the Ariel to his Eric, rescuing him from drowning one fateful day and then tracking him down to New York, set on spending six fun-filled days in his company. Allen isn't too sure about what's happening, but he's certainly not going to refuse the romantic advances of a beautiful if odd woman who's just wandered naked out of the Atlantic and starts kissing him at the first chance she gets. What happens henceforth is a literal fish out of water comedy mixed with a good dose of schmaltzy romance, so sweet it nearly gives you cavities. That said, Splash comes close to derailing into wish-fulfillment chauvinism more than once, the power imbalance between the leads being particularly distasteful.
Thankfully, its actors are always ready to sand off the flick's most problematic edges and to charm the audience into submission. That's certainly the approach of young Tom Hanks, making his jump from sitcom stardom to the pantheon of big-screen A-listers. While his Allen is never a child-friendly sexless hero, Hanks brings a necessary boyishness to the role. During the trickiest parts of the romance development, the actor is so nakedly earnest and good-humored that his advances never come off as creepy. Better yet, he's a master at illustrating the gradual process of sexual attraction mutating into genuine love. We must believe Allen is ready to sacrifice everything for this whirlwind romance and Hanks makes us believe.
If the choice of Tom Hanks is a trump card that allows the movie to overcome the script's seediest undertones, Daryl Hannah's casting is of no less genius. The role of Madison (her mermaid name is impossible to translate) isn't any sort of unsurmountable acting challenge. However, it does require someone who can play childish wonderment and the self-assuredness of a sexual woman at the same time. She must feel awkward when talking, but endearingly so, guileless but preternaturally confident. She must be beautiful with a sunny smile, and, above all else, she must have great chemistry with the man playing Allen Bower. In other words, she must be Daryl Hannah. At least, the Daryl Hannah that exists onscreen and the public's imagination.
With a halo of crimped blond hair that's the movie's best special effect, Hannah's Madison is a miracle of casting rather than a stunning achievement of psychological characterization. That doesn't mean it's any less wonderful to watch. A filmmaker's accomplishment, and that includes the craft of cast and crew, doesn't exist in a vacuum. That's one of the beauties of cinema, an intrinsically collective feat where everyone must work together to create great art. It's why a limited actor isn't necessarily a bad one. Get a smart casting director, the right project, a crew capable of using the performer's idiosyncrasies to the best effect and you may get a symbiotic triumph of Hollywood entertainment like Daryl Hannah in Splash.
Reader Comments (14)
The problem with awarding casting directors (for me) is that the vast majority of headline talent (and most of the second tier names) is not cast by the casting director.
Most are asked to be in the film by the director, and most of the time this happens before a casting director even signs on. The main focus of a casting director is to cast the vast majority of small speaking parts, which is a skill in itself. But you don't seriously think the casting director said 'Hey, let's cast Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah', surely?
*director and producer.
Luke -- While I may only write about Splash's leads as a way to illustrate the importance of well-cast performers, I do think the entire film is a great feat of casting. The smallest roles are played to perfection by character actors like Dody Goodman and Lee Delano, for example.
As to the matter of Oscars, a lot of awards are given to work that may not be the sole responsibility of the person who gets their name on the statuette. Producers, for instance, can have a great influence on a film's style and content even though we'd probably give the director and screenwriters awards for those same elements. Just look at any movie produced by Irving Thalberg.
Sometimes the achievements of design we applaud are as much the creative work of the people awarded as they are their directors'. Wes Anderson, for instance, is certain to have a huge influence on the way his films look, from set to costume to makeup, but when Grand Budapest Hotel won its Oscars only the heads of those specific departments got the gold. There's also Bong Joon-ho whose meticulous storyboards dictated a lot of Parasite's production design, but he's not credited as a designer nor did he share the nomination for that particular feat.
Cinema is such an intrinsically collective and collaborative art form that any award that's given to specific achievements of film making will leave some important people out. When I call for the creation of a Casting Oscar it's as a recognition of the importance of that particular work. Nearly all narrative movies need the work of casting directors - we can't say the same thing about songwriters.
Thank you for the feedback and I apologize if my piece was a bit confusing, talking about the need for a casting Oscar while writing in detail about feats of casting that were probably not done by casting directors.
Neither Hanks nor Hannah was a big name before Splash. His biggest credit was Bosom Buddies and she was known as the blonde from Summer Lovers. Claudio, you’re absolutely right that this movie would not have been a success if they hadn’t been cast.
I’m not a huge fan of Ron Howard; as a director he’s more of a workman than an artist. But his films always benefit from great casting. Don’t know if that’s to his credit or his casting directors’. I wonder if it has something to do with growing up participating in the casting process as a TV actor.
Ah, I see - and I agree. It's interesting you mention Anderson - he was the first person I thought of when I thought of a director who 100 per cent decides who is going to be in his film.
On a side note, Claudio, thank you for all your hard work writing such great content in such troubled times! Your turn of phrase is top-notch.
They were perfect in their respective roles- and had chemistry which it the secret ingredient to make a movie love story work
I do love this film as it's one of those films I grew up on. I also want to put some attention on Eugene Levy's role as a scientist that sees Madison as he's trying to prove that he's not crazy as he gets selfish at times but then starts to show some regret over what happened to Madison as he would redeem himself. I also love John Candy in the film as I loved the monologue he gave to Hanks about love as it is proof that underneath all of his comedic talents is a great actor in Candy who is truly missed.
Splash! was one of my very first adult movies
I'm strongly against Oscars for stunts and casting. I don't even like the best ensemble awards anymore.
Peggy Sue: Casting and Ensemble I can kind of get (awards that, respectively, will basically become solely for the big star find of a given year and another feather in Best Picture winner win counts?), but Stunts absolutely should be a category. Those people RISK THEIR LIVES, and they don't get any recognition? Yeah, no. Stunts should have been a category since 1927, and we still don't have that as a category in 2019? Gross, guys. Actually gross.
Nurses and doctors are risking their lives right now and their getting shit in return. Don't make me talk.
Peggy Sue: They should absolutely be getting a lot more than they're getting now, too. This is absolutely a time for BUCKETS of Hazard Pay for them.
Luke -- sometimes casting directors work at those top levels too. there's a good recent doc on their art. i'm trying to remember the name -- but even when they dont choose the lead they are still involved in negotiations for those starring roles.
it's also worth pointing out that neither Hanks nor Hannah were major stars yet. Hanks was a TV star trying to make it in movies and Hannah was a rising starlet (among many of those!)
Thank you for writing such a beautiful post, we should always keep moving forward in life and I feel that the post you have written will inspire me a lot.