Mermaids (film) 961777 224078875 2008-07-07T05:38:48Z Lightbot 7178666 Units/dates/other {{for|the 2003 film of the same name|Mermaids (2003 film)}} {{Infobox_Film | name = Mermaids | image = Mermaidsposter.jpg| image_size = | caption = Theatrical release poster| director = [[Richard Benjamin]] | writer = [[Patty Dann]] (book)<br />[[June Roberts]] (screenplay) | starring = [[Cher]]<br>[[Bob Hoskins]]<br>[[Winona Ryder]] | producer = [[Lauren Lloyd]]<br>[[Wallis Nicita]]<br>[[Patrick J. Palmer]]<br>[[Suzanne Rothbaum]] | music = [[Jack Nitzsche]] | cinemetography = [[Howard Atherton]] | editing = [[Jacqueline Cambas]] | distributor = [[Orion Pictures]] | released = [[December 14]], [[1990]] | runtime = 110 min. | country = [[United States]] | language = [[English language|English]] | budget = [[United States dollar|$]]24,000,000 (estimated) | imdb_id = 0100140 | }} '''''Mermaids''''' is a 1990 drama film directed by [[Richard Benjamin]] and starring [[Cher]], [[Bob Hoskins]], [[Winona Ryder]] (who was nominated for a [[Golden Globe Award]] for best supporting actress for her role), and [[Christina Ricci]] in her first film role. The film is based on the 1986 novel of the same title written by [[Patty Dann]]. == Synopsis == It is narrated by 15-year-old [[protagonist]] Charlotte who lives with her mother, Mrs. Flax, and her 8-year-old sister Kate. Mrs. Flax is a [[promiscuous]] and flamboyant woman who is constantly getting herself into situations from which she flees by uprooting the family and relocating. Charlotte and Kate have different fathers; Charlotte's left when she was just a girl, while Kate's, an [[Olympic Games|Olympic]] [[swimmer]], fled before she was born. The story is told in the first person as the Flaxes move into a new home near a [[convent]] in a small town in [[Massachusetts]] . Charlotte has an obsession with [[Catholicism]] and decides to be a [[nun]] (her family is [[Jewish]]). This is mostly a byproduct of her desperate desire to be different from her mother, and contradictory to her own sexuality. She is especially interested in the much older and ruggedly handsome Joe, a handyman and [[school bus]] driver. The story, set in the 1960s, culminates in Charlotte's ultimate act of rebellion as she and her sister get [[drunk]] and head over to the convent. Charlotte makes love to Joe in a church tower and Kate nearly [[drown]]s in a river running through the property. ==Cast== *[[Cher]] as Rachel Flax *[[Bob Hoskins]] as Lou Landsky *[[Winona Ryder]] as Charlotte Flax *[[Michael Schoeffling]] as Joe Porretti *[[Christina Ricci]] as Kate Flax *[[Caroline McWilliams]] as Carrie == See also == *[[Mermaids (soundtrack)]] ==External links== *{{imdb title | id=0100140 | title=Mermaids}} *[http://www.mgm.com/title_title.do?title_star=MERMAIDS ''Mermaids'' at MGM site] [[Category:1990 films]] [[Category:Films based on fiction books]] [[Category:Orion Pictures films]] [[Category:Films set in Massachusetts]] [[Category:Films set in the 1960s]] [[Category:American films]] [[Category:English-language films]] [[Category:Films directed by Richard Benjamin]] [[de:Meerjungfrauen küssen besser]] [[fr:Les Deux Sirènes]] [[it:Sirene (film 1990)]] [[he:בתולות הים]] [[nl:Mermaids]] [[ja:恋する人魚たち]] [[pl:Syreny (film)]] [[ru:Русалки (фильм)]] [[sv:Kärleksfeber]]