Customer Reviews

Mermaids

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cher plays a free-spirited, uninhibited and saucy mother of two. Charlotte (Winona Ryder) and Kate (Christina Ricci), who are about 15- and 8-years old respectively, are her daughters. Cher's behavior and appearance is an embarrassment to Charlotte who is trying to think "pure thoughts" on her way to becoming a nun. Ironically (considering Ryder's recent troubles) the part she plays has no interest in new clothes and even refuses new shoes, content with her old square boots that look like they were made in the former Soviet Union during the reign of Stalin. This is a nice (but increasingly familiar) switch on the mother who is embarrassed by her daughter's precocious sexuality, and Cher and Ryder play their parts well.

The story, from a novel by Patty Dann, begins with the trio moving into yet another town, this time somewhere in New England. They are always on the run, so to speak, because Cher is afraid of commitment or of staying around long enough to lose her heart to some guy. Enter predictably a man (Bob Hoskins) with the right stuff to win her over and a cute guy (Michael Schoeffing) to rearrange Charlotte's priorities. Director Richard Benjamin plays it as a romantic comedy ... coming of ager with wit and charm. Ryder is adorably cute as a conservative Christian miss goody two shoes who is always lecturing mom while Cher is voluptuous as the kind of woman who says yes, early and often, but underneath it all has strength and a kind of intuitive wisdom about herself and the people around her. Little Ricci really is the mermaid since she likes to practice holding her breath under water.

Part of the strength of the film is in the dialogue and the sharp repartee between Ryder and Cher. My favorite line is from Charlotte who is always dialoging with God. After seeing Schoeffing, who drives the school bus, and realizing what she is feeling, prays "Oh please God, don't make me fall in love and want to do disgusting things!"

Mermaids is narrated by the angst-filled teenaged Charlotte Flax (Ryder), who is exasperated by the tendency of her mother (Cher) to move house (and state) as soon as the bin's full, or (more likely) as soon as her latest entanglement with a married boss starts to unravel. Mrs Flax, as Charlotte disparagingly refers to her mother Rachel, is a peripatetic soul, whose only answer to life's challenges is to leave them behind. For Charlotte, the only consolation to her most unsatisfactory lifestyle is her adoration of her little sister, Kate (Ricci), on whom she dotes. In spite of their Jewish origins, Charlotte is obsessed with the mysteries, icons and rites of the Catholic Church. Its rituals of penitence and martyrdom fascinate her and she can relate the history and grisly fate of each of the martyred saints in all their goriest detail.

As we are introduced to the Flax girls, mother and daughter are embroiled in conflict again, as they find themselves in a new home and a new state, this time Massachusetts. The brooding teenager and her charismatic mother have very different priorities of need as they set up their new home. Charlotte needs grounding, Rachel needs distraction and action. Their conflict spills over as the family goes to buy shoes, particularly when Rachel does nothing to deflect the more-than-professional attention she receives from the shoe store owner, Lou Landsky (Hoskins). This particularly galls Charlotte, who carries a fantasy in her heart that the father she never knew will one day come back and complete her family and her longing.

She regards her mother's acceptance of Lou's advances with disdain, whilst at the same time harbouring a guilt-ridden romantic obsession with young Joe Porretti (Michael Schoeffling) - a young local man with a past who works as a handyman at the nearby convent (perfect!).

As they become more entrenched in this small town, Rachel and Lou spend more and more time together. He is besotted with Rachel, and becoming closer to the girls, none of which is really part of Rachel's game plan. She is reluctant to engage in any form of long term arrangement (even the meals she serves are finger food - in her estimation - anything else smacks too much of a commitment), and does not want to include anyone else in her family.

The dilemmas and dramas of Rachel and Charlotte play out as the opposite extremes of a similar persona. Whilst Rachel is winsome, free-spirited and charismatic, and Charlotte is repressed, ultraconservative and introverted, both are utterly flamboyant and solipsistically theatrical. Each of them engage in outrageous flights of dramatic fancy that frequently have momentous impact on those around them whilst, in the main, they emerge relatively unscathed from their melodramatic follies.

That is, until little Kate has a mishap of her own, with potentially devastating consequences. For the first time, neither Rachel nor Charlotte have control over their own destinies; and they do not handle it well. Whilst they wrestle with their guilt and grief by engaging in the blame-fest from hell, it's Lou who attends to the practical details.

This is a stylish Hollywood set-piece that is better than average overall. The leads all turn in excellent performances, and whilst the conclusion was probably never in much doubt, it is a sufficiently engaging film to warrant lazy Sunday afternoon standby status. It bears watching more than once and is sufficiently quirky to maintain audience satisfaction. I quite enjoyed revisiting the film.

I saw this movie ages ago with my mom. We are both big fans of "Moonstruck." We both loved this movie. The combo of Cher, Winona Ryder, and Christina Ricci is phenomenal. Bob Hoskins is great as Cher's love interest. And the very cute Michael Schoeffling (he of Sixteen Candles fame--at least to us kids of the '80s) as the object of Winona Ryder's affection. Great writing, plot, and characters. These aren't some cartoony, 2 dimensional, cardboard cutouts. These are living, growing characters who hurt each other, love each other, and try to learn to be better sisters, daughters, mothers, and friends. Watch it with your mom.

Take an eccentric, single, Jewish mother who leaves town at the hint of the slightest problem, add a confused teenage daughter who wants to be a nun but has a healthy case of raging hormones, throw in a precocious younger daughter who amuses herself by seeing how long she can hold her breath under water, mix with a shoe salesman with the hots for mom and a caretaker from the local convent who is the subject of daughter number one's hots and you have a mess...and a fair little dramatic comedy.

Cher plays the mom. She is q quirky mess. Cher plays this sort of character excellently and this one is no exception. She plays her role as a 1963, single mom with all the angst that goes with having teenage daughters and does so with a sense of humor. You cannot otherwise survive the experience.

Winona Ryder plays the daughter. She doesn't get along with her mom. She hardly gets along with anyone. She is a very dedicated young lady though and cannot make up her mind about boys. She wants to be a nun and, possibly, a saint but she also wants to do "disgusting things" with the boy of her dreams. The birds and the bees are all very confusing as is evidenced when kissing the boy makes her worry that she will be the next virgin, jewish mother to give birth to a messiah. She does not think small.

Christina Ricci plays the younger girl. She is an elementary student with a talent and a passion for swimming. She is universally regarded as the "normal" one and is loved by all. That's the one thing Mom and Sis can agree on.

Bob Hoskins plays the love interest for Cher. He is good for her but straightening out her quirkiness is a fulltime job.

This is a chick flick but is different from most of that genre in that it is fun. Some guys may even enjoy it. I did.

Even though I'm not particularly fond of Cher, and I wasn't alive in 1963, this is one of my favorite movies. It has drama, excitement, laughter and tears. The characters are unique, even bizarre individuals, and yet they ring true. There's some great acting by everyone, and it's a "must see" for Winona Ryder fans.

The best part, though, is the soundtrack. Fun pop songs ("Johnny Angel", "Mambo Italiano") are worked into the movie, making certain scenes particularly memorable. In particular, I loved the scene with the song "If You Want to Be Happy". (Yes, the song is mean-spirited and offensive, but after seeing these women "reclaim" it, it always makes me smile!)

If you want to know what Mermaids is all about plot-wise, there are dozens of reviews to tell you that, but as for me, I'm here to gush praises on one of my favorite movies ever! When I was a teen I loved this movie to death! I saw it a few weeks back and you know what, it's still pretty much wonderful! When I think of this film I think of the good old days, not the pre-upheaval 1960's Mermaids depicts, I mean my own good old days of the early '90's when I'd watch this movie all the time, and life was so darn good. Mermaids is just an awesome movie, I don't see how anybody can NOT be enchanted with it, and that's really all I've got to say about it. :-)

"Mermaids,"(1990) starring the well-known singer-actress-entertainer Cher, is another good romantic comedy that came along on the heels of the 1980s. The clarion-voiced Cher, of course, has been singing since the mid-60's, with her then-husband, Sonny Bono and without him, and has had many chart-topping hits; they had a widely popular television show in the 1970s. The actress won an Oscar for "Moonstruck," also made "Silkwood," "The Witches of Eastwood," and "Mask."

"Mermaids" is, without doubt, a chick flick. It was orignally meant to be the Scandinavian director Lasse Hallstrom's American film debut; however, Cher didn't care for his work. Neither did she care for Frank Oz's. So it was directed by former actor Richard Benjamin. Unfortunately, many sophisticates can't say "Richard Benjamin," without, in the same breath, declaring "tv sitcom." And when it's a chick flick too, well, the scorn.

The movie also stars the English Bob Hoskins, playing Lou Landsky, lusty, unlikely love interest to Cher's Mrs. Rachel Flax. The child Christina Ricci made her debut as Kate, Mrs. Flax's younger daughter, born to swim. Winona Ryder holds the camera as the older daughter, Charlotte, in heavy flirtation with Catholism although the Flaxes are Jewish. Ryder was then a child star, more particularly a teenage star, until Angelina Jolie stole "Girl Interrupted," out from under her, and she had her regrettable adventure in shoplifting. Oddly enough, the English teenage star Emily Lloyd had been signed to play this part, but she was blond. Cher, who evidently had a lot of say on this picture, thought viewers were unlikely to accept a blond as her screen daughter. So Ryder was brought in, and Lloyd received a studio settlement.

The picture's set in a lovingly recreated 1963, and treats the major world event of that year, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, with considerable discretion and grace. Mrs. Flax is a hot-blooded single mother who gets herself into talked-about trouble with men, then moves on to the next randomly-selected town. Her daughters just must get in the car. We open with the Flaxes' relocation to a pretty Massachusetts coastal town, where Mrs. Flax and, this time, her older daughter, will meet men. Kate will win swim meets.

The cinematography gives us plenty of pretty. The soundtrack's chock-a-block with early 60's hits. Included on the soundtrack, for sure, is Cher's adaptation of "The Shoop Shoop Song," initially made a hit by Little Eva; now far better known as "It's In His Kiss," by Cher. The script's witty: in an often-quoted line, Flax dismisses one of her daughter's teachers as a guy who drives an Edsel. Does "Mermaids" have the heart of a sitcom? Well, it has heart, for sure-- it's really about family. And I don't watch tv sitcoms, can't abide them, but I love this movie. The final, touching scenes, where the Flaxes dance around their kitchen, setting the table to Jimmy Soul's irresistible "If You Want to be Happy the Rest of Your Life, Never Make a Pretty Woman Your Wife," perfectly express the relaxed intimacy, and joy, of family life, and present us another moving, off-handed movie dance scene.

Love Cher's character, but Winona's is by far the best. She tries to be pure but gives in to her lust for a handsome young man. Christina R's character is adorable and interesting. All characters are deeply probed and the movie is a joy to watch.

This Movie was a wonderful movie with a somewhat realistic view, i think it is worth the money and a great Movie for women everywhere.

I came across this movie while channel surfing and though I didn't expect to, I fell in love with it. It is sweet, entertaining, romantic, and the acting is very believable, especially from Winona Ryder as Charlotte. Also a lot of fun to watch is Christina Ricci, only nine years old when this movie was made. Although this film isn't a laugh-out-loud comedy, it certainly falls under the category of "feel good". It is definitely worth watching over and over again.