Mermaids kiss better

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Movie
German title Mermaids kiss better
Original title Mermaids
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1990
length 110 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Richard Benjamin
script June Roberts
production Lauren Lloyd
Wallis Nicita
Patrick J. Palmer
music Jack Nitzsche
camera Howard Atherton
cut Jacqueline Cambas
occupation

Mermaids better is an American film by Richard Benjamin from the year 1990 . The film is based on the novel Mrs. Flax and her daughters (original title: Mermaids ) by the American author Patty Dann from 1986.

action

The film is set in the USA in the 1960s . The story is told from the perspective of 15-year-old Charlotte Flax, who lives with her sexually permissive mother Rachel and her eight-year-old sister Kate and never met her father. The big problem and the only constant of this small family is the constant change of location, caused by Mrs. Flax, who moves with her daughters after every failed relationship, only to repeat the mistake in a new town.

The daughters have created their own escapes from reality: Kate is a keen swimmer and feels most comfortable underwater, Charlotte shows a great interest in the Catholic Church , even though the whole family is Jewish .

Another move takes the three to a small town in New England . There, Mrs. Flax throws herself into a relationship with the shoe seller Lou, abandoned by his wife, who not only cares about her, but also becomes a surrogate father for Charlotte and Kate. For the first time, Mrs. Flax develops serious feelings for a man.

Charlotte unexpectedly discovers love too, which confuses her strictly religious worldview. The man of her dreams is the young silent school bus driver Joe. Gradually they both get closer. One evening there is an accident: Charlotte leaves her little sister to play alone by the river while she exchanges caresses with Joe. Kate falls into the water and loses consciousness. She can rescue nuns who happen to pass by.

While Kate is in the hospital, there is a heated argument between the mother and Charlotte. Mrs. Flax accuses her older daughter that her neglect of duty almost led to Kate's death. She slaps Charlotte and tells her to pack her things and leave the house. But Charlotte replies to her mother that she never cared about the needs of her daughters, but rather selfishly placed her husband's acquaintances at the center of her life.

After this discussion, the two are reconciled. From then on, Mrs. Flax had a serious relationship with Lou, Charlotte no longer flees into religion, and she no longer met Joe. She appears self-confident in her school and is embraced by classmates. Kate is still the best of her age in the swim club. In the final scene, the mother and her daughters dance together in the kitchen of their house while they prepare the meal.

background

  • Emily Lloyd was originally supposed to play the role of Charlotte , but was replaced at short notice by Winona Ryder on the grounds that she looked more like Cher . Emily Lloyd later received financial compensation for her termination.
  • Finding a suitable director also turned out to be difficult: Both Frank Oz and Lasse Hallström dropped out because they didn't get along with Cher . In the end, Richard Benjamin got the job.

Soundtrack

On November 13, 1990, the soundtrack for the film, produced by Geffen Records , was released. Two of the tracks are cover versions sung by the main actress Cher.

Title List:

  1. The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss) - Cher
  2. Big Girls Don't Cry - The Four Seasons
  3. You've Really Got A Hold On Me - The Miracles
  4. It's My Party - Lesley Gore
  5. Johnny Angel - Shelley Fabares
  6. Baby I'm Yours - Cher
  7. Just One Look - Doris Troy
  8. Love is strange - Mickey & Sylvia
  9. Sleepwalk - Santo & Johnny
  10. If You Wanna Be Happy - Jimmy Soul

The following additional songs can be heard in the film:

Reviews

  • Video week: A witty comedy in the ambience of the 60s with lots of funny ideas and a helping of melodrama.
  • film-dienst 11/1991: Undecided between drama and comedy, the experienced but listlessly staged film entertains only in the first half with witty and emotionally charged dialogues as well as some acting; The color of the time is mainly conveyed through the music of those years.
  • epd Film 6/1991: Because there is no compelling structure and no central conflict, the action babbles away. That hardly bothers during the first half, when the characters are still being established from all their quirks and quirks, when the film still amazes with its biting wit and precise timing. But then the author June Robert seems to have run out of breath a little, suddenly the action comes to a standstill and the images begin to creep.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ www.allmusic.com
  2. ↑ IMDb soundtrack