Mermaids (1990)
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73% of critics liked it
(22 reviews) -
64% of users liked it
(50,764 ratings)
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… More 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. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Richard Benjamin
- Written By
- Patty Dann, June Roberts
- Genres
- Comedy, Romance
PG-13,
- In Theaters
- Dec 14, 1990 Wide
- Studio
- Orion Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
The delightful Ryder, billing notwithstanding, is really the star.
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Derek Adams, Time Out
Self-conscious, eccentric...
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Vincent Canby, New York Times
Miss Ryder is so good, in fact, that "Mermaids" might have dared to be a tougher, more satisfying movie than the stylish sitcom it is.
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Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
I found a lot of it preposterous, but I enjoyed that quality. Why do we look at movies? To learn lessons and see life reflected back at us? Sometimes. But sometimes we simply sit there in the dark, stupefied by the spectacle.
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Hal Hinson, Washington Post
Having made something of a specialty of woe-is-me, adolescent angst, Ryder finds a deeper level here, a level of comedy with something genuinely painful mixed in.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Cher
as Mrs. Flax
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Bob Hoskins
as Lou Landsky
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Winona Ryder
as Charlotte Flax
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Christina Ricci
as Kate Flax
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Michael Schoeffling
as Joe
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Caroline McWilliams
as Carrie
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Jan Miner
as Mother Superior
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Caitlin Marie Bottomley
as Perfect Family Girl
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Denise Cormier
as Pretty Girl in Shoe Store
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Amy Gollnick
as Girl in Bathroom #1
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Baxter Harris
as Boss in Massachusetts
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Al Hodgkins
as Crying Man in Street
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Tamasin Scarlet Johnson
as Young Nun
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Russell G. Jones
as Judge at Swim Meet
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Pete Kovner
as Perfect Family Father
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Patricia Madden
as Perfect Family Mother
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Justin Marchisio
as Perfect Family Boy
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Richard McElvain
as Mr. Crain
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John McGee
as Kennedy Mourner
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Carol Moss
as Boss's Fiancee
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Seacia Pavao
as Girls in Bathroom
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Dossy Peabody
as Coach Parker
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Merle Perkins
as Nurse
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Paula Plum
as Mrs. Crain
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Bob Rogerson
as Charlotte's Dad
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Sandra Shipley
as Crying Nun
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William Paul Steele
as Boss in Oklahoma
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Shawna Sullivan
as Charlotte 5 years old
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Betsey Townsend
as Mary O'Brien
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Rex Trailer
as Dr. Reynolds
- Margery Simkin
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Tom Kemp
as Carrie's Husband
