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Main Cast: Tom Hanks, Helen Hunt, Nick Searcy, Chris Noth, Lari White, Peter von Berg, Anne Bellamy, Dennis Letts.

Some people probably think "Tom Hanks! This movie will rock no matter what! YAY!!!" Well, I will say this, Hanks does do a pretty good job of acting in this movie. 

We begin with a FedEx truck picking up a box from some place out in the proverbial boondocks. Then we jump to a foreign location (possibly Russia or one of its parts) with Hanks giving a loud speech about how time is everything. He's a FedEx exec. 

Off he goes, back to the states to see his girlfriend, Kelly Frears (Helen Hunt), whom he seems to live with. Next thing we know, they're exchanging Christmas gifts and he's asking her to marry him right before he boards a plane to go somewhere for his job. She doesn't reply and Hank's plane goes down over the sea.

He ends up being the only survivor of the four people on the plane. How? Well, it seems if you unbuckle yourself and stumble after X-mas gifts, then you are blessed with invulnerability. He held onto some netting at the back of a compartment and managed to live without a scratch. One other guy wasn't strapped in either, but he got impaled on something and then crushed; or so it seemed.

Thus, Hanks ends up washed onto a small island with coconut trees and not much else. He does find a lot of washed up FedEx packages too, but being the idiot that he is, he doesn't open them for quite some time. Instead he runs around the island cutting himself on sharp rocks looking for other people. Finally he satisfies his hunger and thirst by smacking open some coconuts. 

As a side note, one of the boxes Hanks picks up, he does NOT open. This viewer didn't really notice this, but later on you'll see him taking the box back to the sender. There is some kind of picture on the box, but what it is is unbeknownst to me.  Whatever it was, it evoked Hank's messed up brain into not opening it and seeing if it had something useful in it. 

The rest of the movie revolves around Hanks as he learns to survive on the island. And a couple of "exciting" sequences where he seriously injures himself. The writers were nice enough to keep Hanks from swearing voraciously during these scenes, but they inexplicably threw in some pretty foul stuff when Hanks is talking to his soccer ball.

Which brings up one of the best and worst parts in the movie: Wilson, the Soccer Ball. He finds Wilson in one of the aforementioned packages and after cutting himself quite well on a stick he was using to try to make a fire, he grabs Wilson and throws it. Then he realizes he can make a face in the blood that he's got on the ball, so he does so. Now he has a friend. This is sickening, especially later when the cursing part happens as we find out how Wilson keeps his "lovely complexion." Hanks routinely cuts himself to keep the face on there. Yuck! Why is this also a highlight? Because it shows how well Hanks can act demented...he shows a lot of emotions for the stupid ball. It's depressing, interesting, sad, and all that rot.

Well, after 4 years, Hanks finally figures out a way to get off the island and makes a raft. Then he sets sail and ends up almost dying on the high seas. For some reason he never looks very sun burnt, which is dumb, but oh well. He does get rescued only to find his honey, Kelly, has gotten married and had children. Oh dear. What did he expect? 

For a brief moment, it seems that they will get together once more. Kelly will forsake her vows. But no! Hanks won't let her. That is a redeeming value in the movie. Then it finishes with Hanks taking that package from the boondocks back to the lady. She's some kind of artist who drew that oddball image I mentioned earlier on the box which made Hanks all happy back on the island (if talking to balls is happiness). I think he meets her on the road...as it turns out, he stands in the middle of a crossroads looking after her as she drives off and the movie ends. Uh, right? WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!?! Is this implying that Hanks has now found a new chick to chase or what!?!?! You decide, IF you can make it this far.

The Good Stuff:

The Bad Stuff:

If you're looking for a solo Swiss Family Robinson don't look here, 'cause this ain't it. This isn't a very family friendly flick. It's a survival movie, pure and simple. Think of Survivor, the TV series. It's probably the most like that thing. Except no prizes (unless you count what Hanks was paid for his part). Watch at your own discretion.

SEXUAL CONTENT: (Some smooching I could have done without)

LANGUAGE:

OVERALL SCORE:

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