Charlotte Flax is a fifteen-year-old girl who may look like a mature girl. Charlotte feels that her mother is somewhat stupid because she moved from their place to a different city when she felt it was necessary at the time. This may be the reason for the change of events when they move to a small town in Massachusetts in 1963. In this small town, family members discover many things where there will be many events that strengthen the family ties they need.
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.
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
January 01, 2000
When "Mermaids" is on the mark it's a riot - but often it bogs down with pointless set-pieces that seem to go nowhere and suffers from an ending that feels contrived and overly sentimental.
A pleasant but dull coming of age story that doesn't quite swim.
Washington Post
January 01, 2000
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.
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.
a Cher fan's dream come true, a lively tale that allows her to play the kind of free-loving free spirit she used to sing about in 1970s numbers like 'Dixie Girl' ('waitin' on tables and passin' myself around' went the lyric)