good idea, wobbly execution: spoilers?

Rating: 5/10 (23 December 2000)

The premise for this one intrigued me, then I went and saw the darned thing. Hanks gets stranded and we see his ingenuity as he figures out some survival skills and befriends a volleyball; this seems to take place over a period of maybe a week, maybe a month. Cut: four years later, and he's the master of the universe, Crusoe-style. It's a jarring leap, and I felt a little cheated. Sure, I could fill in some gaps and surmise this or that, but... Then he's off the island on a treacherous journey and loses his volleyball. Sorry, but I never fully bought that, and when he's screaming furiously and choking sobs over this loss, I had to wonder why he never developed a similar affection for the photo of his fiance. Just a thought. His return and reconnection with the fiance (Helen Hunt) are absolutely awful. Hollywood and Hanks are actually expecting her to break up her home to run off with him; when Hanks realizes she won't, his tone is accusatory. Not to worry; there's another dame, another tide rolling in, so he can trade off. Yech.