Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9387 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-07-23
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish
• Dubbed in: French, German, Italian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 105 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Richard Benjamin's off-beat 1990 comedy Mermaids found Cher at the peak of her big-screen form. She plays Mrs Flax to the manner born. The eccentric mother feeds her two daughters on hors d'oeuvres and sticks a pin in the map to decide the family's next destination when her love affairs have run their course. When they reach New England, however, events--and an unlikely but amiable suitor (Bob Hoskins)--interrupt her self-centred progress and bring the facts of life home to roost with a vengeance. It's a well-made comedy with good performances from Cher and Hoskins, although neither of them is particularly stretched. There is also enough tension in the relationship between Mrs Flax and her eldest child to make it poignant as well as funny. As the Flax daughters, Winona Ryder (neurotic, unworldly Charlotte) and Christina Ricci (swimming-mad "fishhead") show plenty of the promise which has since made them two of America's most appealing film actresses. Stuffed with authentic 1960s detail, Mermaids is actually a modern "woman's picture" which affirms the often precarious bonds of family relationships.

On the DVD: Presented in widescreen format, optimised for high-resolution television sets, Mermaids is a vibrant visual treat for anybody with an affection for 1960s kitsch and fashion. The picture quality is superb and the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack sharp; some cracking dialogue has to share the sound waves with thumping hits of the day and, over the final credits, Cher's global smash hit rendering of "It's in His Kiss". But apart from a multilingual choice of soundtracks and subtitles and the original theatrical trailer, there are no extras. --Piers Ford

Special Features
1.85 Wide Screen
16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
DVD 9
French\German\Italian\Spanish
English\German
English
Region 2
Original Theatrical Trailer
Interactive Menu Screens
Chapter Selections
Danish\Dutch\English\French\German\Italian\Norwegian\Spanish\Swedish

Synopsis
MERMAIDS is the story of the turbulent relationship between a flamboyant, outrageous mom (Cher) and her two daughters (Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci) who just want a normal, stable life. Socially rebellious and provocative, the mother is reluctant to settle down, even at the request of her two daughters (one of whom, despite being Jewish, longs to enter a convent). The unusual family has moved 18 times in the last 15 years, usually whenever Mrs. Flax senses she might have to commit to a relationship. But this time the girls hope the family will stay put, and their conflicting desires lead to a final, near-tragic result. The film is based on the novel by Patty Dann.

Customer Reviews

Something special
This film is about a disfunctional family consisting of rachel(cher) the mother, charlotte(Winona Ryder) the 15 year old daughter who seeing her mum go through dozens of boyfriends is attempting to lead a good christian life and little Kate(Christina Ricci) who has a talent in swimming, just like her father who her mum never caught the name of!
The family end up moving to a new state everytime rachel ends a relationship, which seems to be alot, we see them as they leave their home and head for boston. Once there we see them struggle to become more fuctional and settle down, its got a bit of everything in this film, but best of all is the way this film leaves you feeling, after all the ups and downs they really are just like everyone else.I should also mention how great Winona Ryder is in this , it's probably one of her best. I saw this film as a teenager and always remembered how much I liked it, now I have bought this dvd at a bargain price and I'm over the moon as I can watch it as much as I like.

Ricci, WInona and Cher make a great trio
Oh yeah, another incredible performance by Cher. Sure, it's no Moonstruck, but Mermaids is very entertaining. I also have to mention that Winona Ryder did a fantastic job, and young Christina Ricci is absolutely adorable. I only have a couple of problems with the film. The first is Cher's character. The character is very predictable and equally as hard to swallow. She is almost too abrasive and inept to be real. Winona Ryder's character experiences much more growth during the course of the movie than Cher's does, and I find that disappointing. I had higher hopes for her character. But she remained stagnant for the most part. Still, Cher does a great job portraying the wacky mother who scorns main courses. My only other problem is with the story itself, which is just a bit contrived. The plot resolves itself in a very unnatural way that would not occur in real life, most likely. The movie seems to hurriedly race to the happy ending in a very improbable way. But, Mermaids is still worth watching over and over again because it is hilarious, and because every teenage girl can relate to Winona Ryder's character. Mermaids is also very well-written and numerous laughs are thrown in everywhere. As others have said, it's a `feel-good' movie. It's nothing brilliant or life altering, but it's definitely worth seeing and if you're at a certain point in your life (like your teen years, specifically) it can be very moving. It's also great as a period piece. The soundtrack goes with the time period and includes Cher's version of `The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss),' as well as the late Peggy Lee's `Fever.' The references to JFK's assassination fit in perfectly as well. Anyone who lived during that time would tell you that it's just wrong to make a movie set in that time period without mentioning JFK's assassination because it was so devastating to everyone.

Where's the storyline?
Mermaids is a film set in the mid 1960's starring Cher as Rachel Flax, the single mother of a somewhat disfunctional family consisting of a young Winona Ryder as Charlotte Flax, a naive 15 year old with an aspiration to become a nun and her younger sister played by Christina Ricci.
The Flax family never stays in one place for too long with Cher's character moving the family from town to town every time a problem/scandal arises rather than face the situation head on.
After moving to a new town after flirtatious Rachel's affair with her married boss where they previously lived, the story begins. Mermaids is more a 'coming of age' drama than anything else with the film seen mainly through the eyes of Charlotte accompanied by her voice-over at regular intervals telling us how she's feeling about certain situations that arise in the film. The main 'storyline' is Charlotte being drawn into lustful feelings after falling for an odd-job man by the name of Joe (played by Michael Schoeffling), who works at the local nunnery. Obviously this poses a problem for Charlotte considering her all-encompassing desire is to be a nun.
We do also have a side story of Cher and the evolution of her relationship with shoe retailer Lou (played by Bob Hoskins), and her struggle to remain self-sufficient despite letting a new man into her life.
There are a number of problems with this film, one of these being the distinct lack of anything remotely interesting happening. Most films or anything which tells a story for that matter usually has a beginning, a middle and an end. Unfortunately, Mermaids seems to have a middle, a middle and yes, you guessed it - a middle. This film never really gets going and is littered with pointless dialogue which would probably have been better left on the cutting room floor. It peters out at the end leaving you unsatisfied and slightly disappointed. None of the scenes in the film display the acting talents of a pretty impressive cast. The whole film is a tad, well .... lame is probably the most appropriate word. Also, Bob Hoskins accent is woeful. For a veteran actor like him you'd have thought that he would have worked on that a little more.
On the plus side, this film is relaxing to watch. What I mean by that comment is that it is a total no-brainer therefore if you're knackered and want something uncomplicated to watch, stick this in your DVD player. If nothing else, it may send you to sleep. I've still given this 2 stars though because even though this film isn't that good there are still a lot worse out there.
The only extra on this DVD is the original theatrical trailer so that's nothing to write home about. Should this film be better off left as a book? I'll let you be the judge of that.