Mermaids
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Movie Reviews of Mermaids
Movie Review: An quirky,entertaining piece!
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Sweet and charming despite its familiarity...
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Pretty cute and funny movie
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie is defintely cute and funny and Winona Ryder is a talented and beautiful and perfect actress, she is very good and cute and charsmatic and smooth. I admire her acting abibty. She is very cool. I think she is a cool person. I like her so much. Anyway this movie plays like a cable TV movie and it's a little out there and silly but it's a funny and serious and dark film. A mother who has lots of relaionshops with men has two daughters: a 15-year-old who wants to be a virgin Catholic and who is embarassed by her flamoyant mother Charlotte and her little sister Kate who is a swimmer and very atlethic. She is very cute but too young to notice her mother's eccentic ways. Charlotte, however, can see them flat out. The whole family moves to a small New England village where Charlotte falls for a cute boy and also runs away from the town and is dragged back by her mother. She feels bad for even kissing the boy she loves, and she hopes her life will make a drastic change. She isn't like her mother, but certainely does act like her sometimes. She imamtes her mother one night, and she and her sister get drunk and her sister nearly drowns while she fools around with a boy. This angers her mother, because her sister nearly dies. She want to know why her daughter is trying to be the town slut while her daughter furiously replies, "I don't need to be that Mom, the town's already got one!" The two argue until they both come to their senses and her mother (thank God) actually settles down with a nice mild-mannered man who she dates and thinks is a worthy propose. Her daughter blooms and gets together with the man of her dreams. Her sister gets better and goes back to her swimming. I guess the three live happily ever after. "Mermaids" is a funny and cute and cult coming-of-age comedy and it's also very serious and well-acted and good. I liked Winona, she was awesome. She's very talented and a seriously mature actress when she did this movie when she was very young. Her mother is played by Cher, and she is alright. Chrisina Ricci was cute and good at this age and very mature. The rest of the actors are alright. I think this movie is a good movie, and it's also interesting to watch. I love Winona's movies, they're so perfect. And she's very perfect in every sense of the word.Movie Review: A Good One!
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Movie Review: Very good film
Summary: 4 Stars
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.