Mermaids [Blu-ray]

Director: Richard Benjamin Richard Benjamin

Overview

There's no point in recounting the many production problems and personal hostilities which plagued the filming of Mermaids: the end result is all that matters. Set in the 1960s, the film details the relationship between an unorthodox, unmarried vagabond mother (Cher), and her two daughters. The 15-year-old (Winona Ryder), continually embarrassed by her flamboyant mother, wants to be the world's greatest Catholic; the nine-year-old (Christina Ricci) would be satisfied with becoming the world's champion swimmer. Moving with her family to New England, the older daughter falls in love from afar with the groundskeeper (Michael Schoeffling) from a nearby convent, while Mom takes up with a lonely salesman (Bob Hoskins). Mermaids is perceptively adapted from the warmly comic novel by Patty Dann.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/24/2018
UPC:	0887090141215
Original Release:	1990
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Olive
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	1:50:00
Sales rank:	12,952

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Winona Ryder	Charlotte Flax
Cher	Mrs. Flax
Bob Hoskins	Lou Landsky
Michael Schoeffling	Joe Peretti
Christina Ricci	Kate Flax
Caroline McWilliams	Carrie
Jan Miner	Mother Superior
Betsey Townsend	Mary O'Brien,Mary O'Brien
Richard McElvain	Mr. Crain
Paula Plum	Mrs. Crain
Dossy Peabody	Coach Parker
William Paul Steele	Boss in Oklahoma
Rex Trailer	Dr. Reynolds
Pete Kovner	Perfect Family Father
Patricia Madden	Perfect Family Mother
Justin Marchisio	Perfect Family Boy
Caitlin Marie Bottomley	Perfect Family Girl
Merle Perkins	Nurse
Baxter Harris	Boss in Massachusetts
Carol Moss	Boss's Fiancee
Denise Cormier	Pretty Girl in Shoe Store
Al Hodgkins	Crying Man in Street
Tamasin Scarlet Johnson	Young Nun
Sandra Shipley	Crying Nun
Russell Jones	Judge at Swim Meet,Judge at Swim Meet
Shawna Sullivan	Charlotte, 5 years old
Bob Rogerson	Charlotte's Dad
Tom Kemp	Carrie's Husband
Amy Gollnick	Girl in Bathroom #1
Seacia Pavao	Girls in Bathroom
Bill McCann	New Year's Partyer
Dottie Healy	New Year's Partyer
Arnie Cox	Kennedy Mourner
John McGee	Kennedy Mourner
Margery Simkin	Actor
Jack Nitzsche	Composer

Technical Credits

June Roberts

Patty Dann

Richard Benjamin	Director
Lauren Lloyd	Producer
Wallis Nicita	Producer
Patrick Palmer	Producer,Producer
Brian Ricci	Stunts
June Roberts	Screenwriter
Patty Dann	Screenwriter
Mary Andrews	Sound Effects
Mark Berger	Sound Effects
Jeff Bushelman	Sound Effects
Virginia Cook-McGowan	Sound Effects
Suzanne Rothbaum	Producer
Al Laverde	Key Grip
Margery Simkin	Casting

Editorial Reviews

The coming-of-age comedy-drama Mermaids is a warm look at an eccentric family as well as a good example of Winona Ryder during her youthful angst years. Based on the novel by Patty Dann, the comic moments are heavily drawn from the reverse mother-daughter relationship of the zany man-chaser Mrs. Flax (Cher) and the sternly religious Charlotte (Ryder). Portraying a Jewish girl with dark, brooding Catholic obsessions, Charlotte gets some rich comedy out of her peculiar conflict and some genuine moments of adolescent distress. With her funny and delusional narration, Ryder brings her best talents to the character as both a smart grown-up and an innocent kid. Her struggle to be unlike her mother is intensified when she meets Joe (Michael Schoeffling), who is appropriately adorable as the love interest. Even at the age of nine, Christina Ricci is the perfect accent to the family trio, bringing a unique presence as the youngest daughter, Kate. As Lou, the shoe salesman boyfriend, Bob Hoskins adds the right amount of husky charm to fit in with the other strong personalities. Director Richard Benjamin brings a workmanlike approach to the material, perhaps because he was a replacement director due to the problems early on in production. However, the film doesn't miss on style, with the colorful art design and punchy '60s soundtrack adding to the quirky atmosphere. Mostly due to the excellent casting, Mermaids is a delightful movie that celebrates nontraditional families without too many layers of sentiment.

All Movie Guide - Andrea LeVasseur