X
- 1990
- PG-13
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 50 m
- 1990
- PG-13
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 50 m
Summary An unconventional single mother relocates with her two daughters to a small Massachusetts town in 1963, where a number of events and relationships both challenge and strengthen their familial bonds.
Directed By: Richard Benjamin
Written By: Patty Dann, June Roberts
- 1990
- PG-13
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 50 m
- 1990
- PG-13
- Orion Pictures
- 1 h 50 m
Mermaids
56
7.5
Where to Watch
Summary An unconventional single mother relocates with her two daughters to a small Massachusetts town in 1963, where a number of events and relationships both challenge and strengthen their familial bonds.
Directed By: Richard Benjamin
Written By: Patty Dann, June Roberts
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
56
40% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
55% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
5% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
56
40% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
55% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
5% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
It's undemanding good fun, even when the script turns sentimental. [14 Dec 1990]
Though Mermaids moves in familiar circles, it tells its story (which is as much about mom's coming of age as the kids') in a nice mix of daft comedy and dramatic set pieces. It's a kind of Terms of Endearment without the tearjerking. [14 Dec 1990, p.G5]
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
7.5
77% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
8% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 13 User Ratings
7.5
77% Positive
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
8% Mixed
1 Rating
1 Rating
15% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.
What's lost in momentum is gained back in the unexpectedness of the jokes and the quality of the performances. Mermaids is an infectious, bouncy diversion, like the fruity dance the girls and their mother do around the kitchen table at the film's end.
All three leads are genuinely appealing here, with Ryder once again acting her bobby sox off and giving yet further reminder of just how sorely she was missed in Godfather III.
Cher plays a footloose, life-loving mother of two fatherless daughters who sports a bouffant hairdo and, at one crucial point, a Mylar mermaid costume that looks as if it were constructed, on a bet by designer Bob Mackie, entirely out of common household objects. The part isn't much of a stretch for America's reigning queen of wacky non-conformity, though it should please her established fans while scraping the nerves of the unconvinced as lightly as possible.
The film is burdened by curious details and observations, and its preoccupation with all things aquatic (little sister is an ace swimmer, Mom dresses up as a mermaid for New Year's Eve, etc) is overworked. Characterisation suffers, with Charlotte and her mother too self-absorbed to engage our sympathies. Crucially, they just aren't funny.
In the end, there’s something a little insulting about a contemporary movie that reduces women to either trashy bimbos or repressed virgins.
Awards
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
National Board of Review, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Young Artist Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
