Mermaids (1990) Review

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(More customer reviews)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!"

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Barbie in a Mermaid Tale (2010) Review

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(More customer reviews)Our three and a half year old daughter wanted to see this movie after seeing a preview on the Nick Jr website. The only other Barbie movie we have watched was the Nutcracker, and while it was a cute movie with beautiful ballet sequences, it had too many scary parts for her. We watched A Mermaid's Tale tonight as a special treat after a particularly traumatic day involving blood testing for allergies. I was pleasantly surprised in this movie. The animation is fantastic, beautiful and lifelike. The characters are sweet. And the story line (you must realize we are talking it's for small children who love Barbie and fantasy) is easy to follow and fun. My daughter loved it. The "scary" parts weren't too scary, some sharks, a few jelly fish, and the mean Queen. And while she is mean, it's nothing like the Queen in Sleeping Beauty that can give very young children nightmares for weeks. The movie's message is that it is okay to be different. We are very particular about what we let our daughter watch. She watches Max and Ruby, the Wonder Pets, The Berenstain Bears, Little Bear, Olivia and occasionally Maggie and the Ferocious Beast. She has seen the Tinkerbell movies, but didn't enjoy the other Disney movies, as the bad guys are always too scary. She doesn't see any network TV or commercials in general. She saw the commercial for this on the Nick Jr website, and only after we had watched it first. My husband and I especially appreciated the fact that there weren't references to things she wouldn't understand, there weren't jokes thrown in for the adults only, and that is was sweet and simple with no violence, no name calling and nothing offensive. I would gladly watch it again with her, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a parent who was looking for a sweet, fun movie for little girls who love pretend and make-believe and believe it's possible Mermaids are really out there in the ocean somewhere.

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Barbie' stars as Merliah', a surfing champion from Malibu. One minute she's a normal teenager and the next she learns a shocking family secret: she's a mermaid! Merliah' and her dolphin friend Zuma set off on an undersea adventure to rescue her mother, the queen of Oceana. With help from her new mermaid friends, Merliah' saves the ocean kingdom. In the end, she discovers what makes you different can also be your greatest strength.

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