There are moments of riotous hilarity here, as when Hanks buys his luggage and the subsequent running gag about his four steamer trunks; there are many wonderful sight gags, such as Hanks trying to hang his hat on a coat rack; and Shanley uses music to great advantage as well, as when the natives, decorated in crushed orange soda cans, rush to greet Hanks singing "Hava Nagela," a gag that was set up much earlier.

And there are nice tender moments, as well, as Hanks and Meg Ryan's third character fall in love. But as he tells her when he's about to leap into the volcano _ "I love you too . . . but the timing stinks."

The timing's great in this one _ kudos to all: Tom Hanks in a wonderfully appealing turn tailor-made to his leading man/deadpan comic talents; Ryan, who, as mentioned, offers a real triple tour de force; and to the many veterans in terrific supporting roles, with special marks to Ossie Davis as a wise chauffeur, Barry McGovern as the luggage salesman, Abe Vigoda as the tribal chief and the aforementioned Lloyd Bridges.

And to Shanley, forgiveness for the terrible "The January Man" from last year and the hope that he'll give us many more in the future like "Joe Versus the Volcano."

It is rated PG for a few profanities and some nature-induced violence.