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Mermaids (1990)

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49 comments in total

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21 out of 24 people found the following comment useful :-
A magic potion!, 27 March 2001

Author: budmassey (cyberbarrister@gmail.com) from Indianapolis, IN

A delightful period piece set appropriately in 1963. Appropriate because Charlotte (Wynona Ryder), like the nation, is about to shed a little of her innocence and face some difficult realities. Cher, Ryder and an adorably young Christina Ricci are perfect as a single parent family. Cher, in her best work ever, including Moonstruck, is a free-spirited mom who only cooks finger food because anything else is too much of a commitment. Ryder, who narrates the film from her character's perspective, is a high school student who, despite her fervent wish to lead a devout life, falls in love with the local handyman. Ricci is the youngest, a champion swimmer who steals the whole movie with scenes like her pumpkin scene. (Watch it and you'll know what I'm talking about. It's unforgettable.) Bob Hoskins is hilarious as the shoe salesman who falls head over heels for Cher, family and all.

Set in coastal Massachusetts, the scenery is breathtaking, and the idyllic depiction of life in a small town in the last days of American innocence is dead on. Director Richard Benjamin, who also gave us such charming films as Milk Money and My Stepmother is an Alien, rivals Penny Marshall and Rob Reiner with this gem.

This film is perfection, an absolute 10. It's a magic potion that can make me laugh and feel good even on the worst day. I sometimes wish I could step inside a la Pleasantville and stay there.

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13 out of 17 people found the following comment useful :-
**** Endlessly charming, 17 February 2000
Author: Bil-3 from Toronto, Ontario

I first saw this film as a preteen and have loved it ever since. Endlessly entertaining performances are the best thing about this underrated and understated coming-of-age comedy that features Cher doing what she does best--convincing you she rules the world, and she really does. As Rachel Flax, a headstrong and independent mother of two (Winona Ryder, Christina Ricci), she thinks nothing of jumping into her car at the slightest sign of trouble and moving to another town ("Life is change", she says). Ryder is excellent as the fifteen year-old Charlotte, a girl who thinks that the best way to fight her burgeoning hormones is to devote her life to the Catholic church as a nun, despite the fact that she's Jewish. Of course, the boy next door (the sadly now retired Michael Schoeffling) gets in the way of her holy ambitions. Bob Hoskins is also a riot as the awshucks shoe salesman who falls over himself for Rachel, first out of fascination, and then out of love. Great music, great period feel and very light, warmhearted direction by Richard Benjamin.

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12 out of 16 people found the following comment useful :-
Funny older and still can touch your heart., 7 July 2005

Author: seculardesign from Austin, TX United States

I have to say that this movie is incredibly underrated. The movie is from the daughter's point of view and Ryder does an excellent job playing the purtian to Cher's mother role. I can't believe Christina Richie's first role- even back then she was incredible. She has a way of stealing the movie. This movie has a sad vibe. Here's the point of the movie, once you see it , you can remember the feelings and 10 years later I'm able to remember how wonderful it is. The music to the movie is awesome. I, along with several of my friends have this soundtrack which makes me think this was one of the first true soundtrack purchases from the 90's

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12 out of 20 people found the following comment useful :-
"The 400 Blows", as seen through a girl's eyes, 7 August 1999

Author: Varlaam from Toronto, Canada

(Small-town Massachusetts fills in for Paris.)

Every shot, every nuance in this film is just right. That's mostly Richard Benjamin's doing, but the great cast got inspired -- maybe by the glowing fall colours, maybe by the nostalgic fashions of 1963 -- to really outdo themselves.

Richard Benjamin's direction deserves extra credit because he was not filming his own autobiography, the way François Truffaut was in 1959. Similarities in the two storylines encompass more than just the awkwardness of adolescence. (Charlotte watches the Singing Nun on television, while Antoine lights a candle before a holy image of Balzac.)

Cher is as good as she was earlier in "Moonstruck", while Winona exceeds her performance in "Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael". And they both prove they can be pretty in pink.

Bob Hoskins and Cher have a genuine chemistry. Who ever would have predicted that they would make the ideal romantic couple?

If there's a better, truer, or funnier story of a girl's coming of age, I haven't been lucky enough to see it.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A Fun Way to Spend an Evening, 21 September 2007

Author: Real_Girl from United States

Cher and Wynona Ryder are very believable as Mrs. and Charlotte Flax, respectively. Mrs. Flax is a single mom who lives by the motto "Real women never get too old." Her bright, bold, sexy ways make her a special woman but aren't enough to spare her from all the characteristic pains of single motherhood. Moving from town to town with every new relationship, she finds herself at odds her 15 year old daughter, Charlotte.

Charlotte wants to be everything her mother isn't - pious, proper, humble, and pure. Her good intentions, however, are constantly in conflict with her basic nature, which is more like her mothers. Charlotte develops a fierce crush on Joe, the caretaker at a nearby convent. When Mrs. Flax's potentially serious relationship with the endearing Lou, played by Bob Hoskins, hits a rough patch, she too finds herself attracted to Joe. With competition for his affection to add fuel to the fire between Mrs. Flax and Charlotte, the only thing they can seem to agree on is caring for Katie, Charlotte's little sister, charmingly played by a young Christina Ricci. As things come to a head in the small town where the Flaxes are living, Katie's well-being hangs in the balance while both her mom and older sister try to work through their impulses.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Winona's finest hour, 25 May 2000
Author: Boyo-2

Winona Ryder is fantastic in this movie - its a helluva part and she plays it for all it is worth. Whether she is worshipping Joe (the local hunk-deluxe), or watching 'The Singing Nun' on television, she is completely believable. Her relationship with her less-than-perfect Mother (Cher) is also believable. As a bonus, you get Christina Ricci and Bob Hoskins and some beautiful cinematography. It also has a real feel for the 60's.

Downsides are one cliche too many (WHY does every movie that takes place in the 60's have to feature JFK's assassination?) and it goes on a tad too long, but its worth watching for sure.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Well worth it, 5 September 1999

Author: Julien-11

I first saw this film in 1991, and thought it was pretty bad. but now, eight years later, I've matured. So I rented it again, and I thought it was very good. The photography was startling, the acting was overall excellent, but it would be fair to mention Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci as the standouts. The whole thing of Charlotte (Ryder) thinking she's pregnant was initially moronic, but became more and more convincing. Winona is perfect at portraying an embarrassed teenage girl. Well worth the time and money to watch it. Plus it hasn't dated much; it still looks very modern, even though it's set in the early sixties.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
great movie to start the nineties off., 14 November 1998
Author: jmac 78 from Bronx, ny

Cher may not be a true actress, but she plays a hard part with ease. with 2 daughters, (winona ryder & christina ricci), she does a great job of raising them. for some, this is where both ricci & ryder may have gotten their breaks and who better to star with than cher.A 8.5 on my scale, very authentic and direct to the audience.

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0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Delightful coming-of-age film, 1 October 1998

Author: anonymous from Eugene, Oregon

I think this is a delightful movie. The period details are fun, Cher is GREAT, and the chemistry between Hoskins, Cher, Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci is excellent. Ryder is especially good at capturing that mixure of idealism, angst and embarrassment which is adolescence.

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1 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Plenty of laughs, 21 May 2007

Author: gcd70 from Melbourne, Australia

"Mermaids", from director Richard Benjamin, is quite a funny movie, and it needs to be. The comedy is definitely the only thing that really holds it up.

Set in the early sixties, the material from novelist Patty Dann sadly has little substance for the big screen. Yet the cast do well with the script from screenwriter June Roberts, and all of them manage to entertain us.

Cher and Winona Ryder are good, but Bob Hoskins really wins you with his smile and his uncanny ability to make you laugh. Also starred Christina Ricci. Not bad at all.

Friday, May 17, 1991 - Knox District Centre

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