Rating: 
Summary: Neither Fish nor Fowl
Review: A gentle chick flick with a token male, Mermaids nominally stars Cher, but is really a dramatic coming out party for Winona Ryder. I'd forgotten how winsome (no pun intended) Hollywood's most notorious shoplifter could be.Mermaids is about a wandering "family" of mom "Rachel Flax" (Cher), and her daughters "Charlotte" (a teenaged Ryder) and "Kate" (a very young Christina Ricci). Following another of countless relationships gone bad, Rachel has moved the girls yet again, to a small town in New England, in the early 1960s. We are supposed to find the family endearingly eccentric, and though this shtick is forced, it works with Ryder's Charlotte, and early in the picture, with Cher's Rachel. Mermaids was made in 1990, when the "eccentric"/"fish out water" fad was heating up, beginning with Twin Peaks (and then Northern Exposure), etc., except that instead of a town full of eccentrics, here we get eccentrics in a staid town. Mom is supposedly a slut, but the locals do not make the family suffer for her "loose" behavior; indeed, the town's character is not fleshed out. As noted, Cher, who was then living off of her best actress Oscar for 1987's Moonstruck, gets top billing, but she basically bulls through her scenes on star power, and as the picture progresses, is on screen less and less. Her Rachel Flax neglects her daughters, who get into trouble in her absence. You might say that she neglects the viewer, too. How can a "star" be absent from the screen as much as she is? It's as if the director, Richard Benjamin, had a change of heart halfway through filming, and decided to shift the focus of the story. Or perhaps Benjamin, the third director - the others were Lasse Hallstrom and Frank Oz -- on a troubled production, was caught between two semi-rewritten, June Roberts scripts. (Some reports blamed Cher for the contretemps.) Whatever dramatic interest the movie generates is through Ryder, who herself replaced Emily Lloyd, who reportedly walked off with director #1, Lasse Hallstrom. To the degree that Mermaids functions as a movie, it is as the coming-of-age story of this demure yet blossoming Jewish teenager who wants to become a nun, and who when she gets her first kiss, thinks she is pregnant, bound for a virgin birth. And yet, such cutesy naivete doesn't fit the daughter of a mother who's been around the block as many times as Rachel Flax has. Bob Hoskins' character, "Lou Landsky," pops up early in the picture, has an affair with Cher's Rachel, and apparently employs Charlotte (for one brief scene, at least) in his odd, mixed-use store. While the affair continues for the rest of the picture, Hoskins' character is dribbled away. I guess the production team decided, "That's enough for the guy; this is a chick flick, not The Terminator." But Mermaids sank at the box office. Mermaids has been identified as a coming-of-age story, but that is merely one of the many tossed-off themes in June Roberts' underdeveloped script. While entertaining, Mermaids is a movie with only one fully fleshed-out character and some nice scenes, but something less than a story. The Critical Critic, September 20, 2003
Rating: 
Summary: I love Toast!
Review: A naurtic young jewish girl who wants to be a nun but stop can't thinking of sex or lying is the epitome of all things hilariously devious.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie about growing up -
Review: And getting your hands on the guy you really, really like, only to find out he's not what you expected.
This film probably taught me a lot when I watched it while growing up. Thankfully, my relationship with my mum is a lot better than the relationship between the two main characters, played fantastically by Cher & Winona Ryder. Sometimes the movie comes across as over ambitious: there's a little sister (Christina Ricci, in a very young role) and also two separate love stories run simultaneously with the mother-daughter theme.
Christina Ricci is the shining star in this movie, she's very cute looking, although at one point she does look like ET! She seems to be left to the side a lot, as the main characters are Winona & Cher, but when Christina is in a scene with them, she steals the limelight firmly away. Hard to believe she was only 10 in this movie, and has since rumoured to have a breast reduction - although it could be through to (severe) weight loss.
Winona was prefect to play this role. It concerns all the teenage angst you can possibly have in one movie, although the scene where she goes to the doctor thinking she's pregnant after one peck on the lips is positively cringe worthy. The climax in her & Joe's relationship with their drunken love making scene shows all the tenderness & pain of your first time, whether you're drunk or not. And how it could all go down the pan afterwards when you feel awkward around each other.
Bob Hoskins plays the loveable Lou, although I wasn't that keen on him in this movie. He seemed to eager to please all the time and dare I say it, almost sleazy in his pursuit of "Mrs Flax".
There's of course a lack of extras on this DVD, which I was epxecting, but afer seeing "The Shoop Shoop Song" video on a music channel's ultimate movie soundtracks weekend, I wish they'd put it on the DVD!
This a movie full of dark eyed beauties, and will probably remind you of your first love. It's a great movie for just thinking back over your life, and remembering all those stupid fights with your mother.
Rating: 
Summary: Cute and funny
Review: 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!"
Rating:
Summary: A fun movie with a great soundtrack
Review: 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!)
Rating:
Summary: Cher's BEST movie!!!
Review: For the past few weeks I have been on a mad hunt for thismovie. Only ONE Blockbuster has a copy of it. It is the bestmovie. Cher is amazing, Winona Ryder is the funniest she has ever been, and Christina Ricci is adorable. I love this movie so much, it makes you laugh, it makes you cry and it makes you p***ed because nobody has it!!!
Rating:
Summary: An unlikely addition to my favorites list
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: An unlikely addition to my favorites list
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Great movie!
Review: I enjoy watching any movie where Cher plays a "mother" with kids. Too many times when you think of Cher, you think of kooky hair and outrageous outfits and don't take her very seriously. Playing a mother always seems to bring out the softer, human side of her. She and Wynnona Ryder were incredible together. The movie was humorous but very realistic in portraying the difficult teenage years and the problems of both mother and daughter and how they eventually learn to "like" and even understand each other a little. The scene where Cher is at the hospital bed of the little girl telling her all about bringing her home from the hospital made me cry. Very touching movie!
Rating:
Summary: Dumb Title, Good Movie
Review: I have seen Mermaids 8 times and I still love it! It's touching, funny, and most of all it's my favorite movie! Cher plays a sassy widow who has two daughters, one strange teenage one(Winona Ryder), and one absolutely cute one(Christina Ricci). Later on in the movie Cher encounters Mr. Bob Hoskins, and he starts falling in love with her. I do not know why they named it Mermaids. I think they could have picked a better name. Rated PG-13 fo sensual thoughts, one scene with sensuality, and language.
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