Winona Ryder Movie:

				Salesrank:
		Used Price: $32.97
		MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
In the early '60s, nomadic single mom Mrs. Flax (Cher) packs up her two daughters, Charlotte (Winona Ryder) and Kate (Christina Ricci), in a beat-up Chevy wagon and moves to small-town Massachusetts. Preteen Kate is obsessed with swimming, while 15-year-old Charlotte is searching for ways to rebel against her mom (and mom's flirty ways). The route she chooses is to become fascinated with Catholicism and all its arcane rituals, even though the family is Jewish. Her coming of age is handled with plenty of Wonder Years-style voiceovers as she fantasizes about Christ, the saints, the Pope, the Church--all things Catholic. Cracks in her religious armor begin to appear, though, in the form of a hunky local guy (Michael Schoeffling) who works at the convent. Meanwhile, her mom strikes up a romance with the town shoe-store proprietor, Lou (Bob Hoskins). Though Richard Benjamin's movie is a bit slow and tends to lose its focus somewhat in the last third, Mermaids also has fairly credible dialogue and surprisingly believable chemistry between Cher and Hoskins. The segments dealing with JFK's assassination are handled particularly well, and while Ricci's role is a rather small one, she's charming nonetheless. It's all too easy for coming-of-age movies to veer toward the maudlin, but thankfully this engaging comedy-drama seldom does. Cher, by the way, reprises her 1966 Sonny and Cher look, substituting a tight skirt and pumps for her turtleneck and fur vest. --Jerry Renshaw

Mermaids [Region 2] Reviews:
worth the money
2008-12-24 - 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.

I Love This Movie!
2008-12-03 - 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. :-)

A quirky chick-flick
2008-04-02 - 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.


Gypsy Mama
2008-02-06 - Cher plays the gypsy mama to two daughter who moves every time she gets her heart broken. Winona Ryder plays the older daughter who finds being 15 and a parent to her mother difficult when she finds herself competing with mom for the attention of a handsom older classmate. An interesting film about the chaos of frequent moves and uncertainty in the early 60's.

Charming movie about mother-daughter relationship
2007-07-07 - This is a great movie filled with likable characters, good acting and wonderful setting. Mermaids revolves around a single mom, Mrs Flax [played by Cher] who has the tendency to uproot her two daughters and move whenever the going gets tough. They end up in a town on the east coast and settle into a rather unconventional lifestyle, for Mrs Flax is quite an eccentric and quirky character, whose volatile relationship with her oldest daughter, Charlotte [well-acted by Winona Ryder] makes for great viewing [their on-screen chemistry as sparring mother & daughter is very believable]. Charlotte is passionate about Christ, and fantasises about a career as a nun, a bit odd since the Flax's are Jewish! The younger daughter Kate is played by an adorable Christina Ricci, who is a talented swimmer, and has her share of quirks too.

Bob Hoskins plays Lou, the small-town shoe store owner who lusts after Mrs Flax...though both Lou and Mrs Flax hardly seem compatible, both physically and in terms of personality, Cher and Hoskins make it work, and they share great chemistry on-screen.

The time setting for this movie is the 60s, and the sets and costumes are wonderful and authentic, reflective of the time period. An important historical event such as JFK's assassination is handled with sensitivity and decorum.

The only grouse I have with this DVD release is the lack of any special features. Otherwise, this is a movie that will warm your heart, and make you laugh.