Turner and Hooch (1989)

Turner and Hooch came out the year after Big -- so Tom Hanks was golden. Here he does a nice-guy turn as Scott Turner, a small-city detective poised for a big-city career move. He's also a compulsive neat freak who is particularly put out when forced to take in a junkyard mutt (named Hooch for his favorite drink) that is the only witness to the murder of his master Amos. Turner shows Hooch the ropes and lays down the boundaries in his home ("This is not your room!") but Hooch quickly demonstrates that he knows no bounds: The whole house is his squeaky toy and the inside of Turner's car is his lunch ("No! Don't eat the car!"). This aspect of the movie is simply hilarious esp. since the production team enhanced the viscosity and flingability of the dog's saliva -- it goes everywhere -- and Hanks comes to commune with the mutt on the same level (even sharing a knosh and a kiss). Objectionable to family-values folks 20 years ago and still today are the scenes where Turner's police partner tells him he needs "the big R" and "to relax" (that is, get laid) and where Turner precipitously takes up post-panky bedroom and kitchen space with the town vet (Mare Winningham) in the sartorial splendor of his tighty-whities. These flaws notwithstanding, Turner and Hooch is a comedic classic that slings saliva like you have never seen before (and may never want to again). Hooch is a natural for the part; he's all heart. 4 stars.