One Of The Best
Added 9/14/2009
For many years I have always loved Mermaids, it has a kind of a feeling to it when watching it.
The beginning of Summer I tried to buy it off Amazon and realized it was discountinued from print.
Not losing hope I did look in other places online with no luck.
So here recently I was shopping at a Target store and came across a copy of Mermaids, I was so happy that it was on sale for about $8.00.
I couldn't beleive it!!
Although the DVD is out of print I guess some stores still carry a few limited copys that are still new.
The movie is amazing, Cher is amazing!!
The whole cast of Mermaids is suberb in this movie, one of my few faves with Cher & Winona Ryder.
If anyone comes across a copy of Mermaids on DVD, I truly recommend to buy as it is so hard to find a new copy to own.
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Sweet and charming despite its familiarity...
Added 2/6/2009
Teenage family crisis drama movies are really a dime a dozen, and sadly what you see in one you get in the other; there seems to be no originality. That said, `Mermaids' feels like a breath of fresh air to the genre, coupling the familiar prose with some charming performances and some bite, thanks in large part to Cher's dynamic performance. Sure, it's not the most original film, but it has enough going for it to be both memorable and entertaining.
The film tells of the Flax family. Mrs. Flax is a single mom dealing with her two young daughters Charlotte and Kate. The youngest, Kate, is occupied with swimming while Charlotte, the young teen, is occupied with Jesus. Yes, as an act of rebellion young Charlotte has decided to embrace Catholicism, despite being Jewish. Her mother just allows this to roll off her back, hoping that her carefree attitude will help not to encourage her daughter's rebellion. There is obvious resentment as Charlotte watches her mother act as if she were the teenager, flaunting her sensuality like it were her only attribute. Every time her mother ends a relationship they move, and this angers Charlotte, but their latest home brings a sense of stability and self awareness that neither Charlotte nor her mother had felt before.
When Mrs. Flax meets and falls for Lou Landsky, the local shoe guy, everything changes for the Flax girls. They now have a stable man in their lives, but is that stability something they can handle?
The acting really elevates this film, Cher, Ryder and Hoskins all delivering some of their finest work. I am becoming a huge fan of Cher. She repeatedly delivered very strong performances in the 80's and early 90's. From her comedic work here as well as in `Moonstruck' to her dynamic dramatic performance in `Mask', this is yet another flawless performance that proves this woman had a lot going on. Winona was also a wonderful actress in the early 90's. Her consistently strong work in films like `The Crucible' or `Reality Bites' and `Little Woman' should not be forgotten just because she happened to shoplift a few years ago. If any actress is in need of a comeback (and deserves one) I'd say it's this girl. She had so much natural talent. She is sublime here as well, holding her own against Cher. I love me some Hoskins, like always, and here is yet another wonderfully complete performance. He can do funny, he can do edgy, he can do scary...he can do anything and he continues to this day to impress me.
The fact that Hoskins and Cher have such undeniable believable chemistry is a true testament to talent; you just want to pinch both of them they are so cute together!
Sure, like I said, this is not a perfect example of originality (it is rather predictable when you think about it) but the character development is very strong and the performances really work to make this film above average in terms of genre. It's wholly enjoyable and touching, and is a film one can watch again and again without ever getting bored.
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worth the money
Added 12/24/2008
After seeing this movie in the theatre,I noticed that parts of the movie were filmed around where I live,and was brought up. I bought the movie on VHS,and eventually bought it on DVD. I bought a new DVD from rufuswarestore. It was a good price,came fast,and arrived in perfect condition. I would buy from them again.
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I Love This Movie!
Added 12/3/2008
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. :-)
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A quirky chick-flick
Added 4/2/2008
My wife and I recently watched this movie and when it was over, she called it a "quirky chick-flick." I couldn't agree more. Cher is a talented actress, but that talent is truly displayed when she plays an unusual character. That is the case here. In this movie, she is Mrs. Flax, a woman with two daughters that is ahead of her time. Abandoned by her husband during the birth of her first child and having been impregnated by a guest at the hotel where she was working as a maid, Mrs. Flax stays in a location for a short time and then moves on. Given the time setting of the early sixties, it makes her very unusual.
This is very hard on her children, particularly the oldest daughter Charlotte. Having been unable to establish roots, Charlotte's goal is to become a Catholic nun, even though she is Jewish. Throughout the early part of the movie, there are voiceovers of what is going through her mind as she encounters various forms of temptation. These voiceovers add a degree of seriousness and comedy to what is the very serious problems of a teenage girl. Kate is the youngest daughter and a great swimmer with Olympic hopes. She practices holding her breath in the bathtub, which makes for occasional humorous interludes.
On a whim that is a stab on a map, they end up in a small town in Massachusetts, where Mrs. Flax meets Lou, a shoe salesman played by Bob Hoskins. Mrs. Flax and Lou hit it off immediately and they enter into an unusual romance. The degree to which Cher and Hoskins blend and play off of each other is amazing, it seems that their opposite actual personalities serves them very well as they play opposites on the screen.
There are two high points in the movie. The first is the assassination of President Kennedy and the reaction of the people. This is very well done, the tenseness of the people surrounding television sets in stores and businesses and the looks on their faces. The second is when Charlotte is experiencing her first sexual encounter and Kate falls in the water and almost drowns. This brings all of their tensions and problems to the surface, where Charlotte finally expresses all of the frustrations about her life and admits that her father will not be coming back.
Not by any means a great movie, this is one with many unusual twists and turns as people with problems try to cope and overcome them. It has the unusual aspect that you feel happy for Charlotte when she is engaging in sex for the first time, even though it clearly is the wrong thing to do at that time.
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