READ THIS FIRST: This is a 12-inch Diameter Laserdisc, which is NOT the same as DVD and cannot be played on a DVD player!

Laserdisc Title: "MERMAIDS"
Edition: Fullscreen Edition (Single Disc)
Directed By: Richard Benjamin
Starring: Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder, Michael Schoeffling, Christina Ricci
Production / Year: 1990 Orion Pictures Corporation
Running Time: 110 Minutes / Color
Audio Format: Digital Sound, Dolby Surround, Stereo, CX Encoded
Video Format: NTSC, CLV (Extended Play)
Miscellaneous Features: Rated PG-13, Closed Captioned
Distributed By: Image Entertainment
Catalog / Spine Number: ID8281OR

Cosmetic Condition:
Disc (s): Very Good - Few very light to very minor hairline surface swirls or very light fingerprint marks
Jacket: Good - / Below Average / Acceptable -Excessive shelf wear, creases, scuffs, dirty jacket, worn-out corners or edges and taped-up all spines

Synopsis:

In the early '60s, nomadic single mom Mrs. Flax (Cher) packs up her two daughters, Charlotte (Winona Ryder) and Kate (Christina Ricci), in a beat-up Chevy wagon and moves to small-town Massachusetts. Preteen Kate is obsessed with swimming, while 15-year-old Charlotte is searching for ways to rebel against her mom (and mom's flirty ways). The route she chooses is to become fascinated with Catholicism and all its arcane rituals, even though the family is Jewish. Her coming of age is handled with plenty of Wonder Years-style voiceovers as she fantasizes about Christ, the saints, the Pope, the Church--all things Catholic. Cracks in her religious armor begin to appear, though, in the form of a hunky local guy (Michael Schoeffling) who works at the convent. Meanwhile, her mom strikes up a romance with the town shoe-store proprietor, Lou (Bob Hoskins). Though Richard Benjamin's movie is a bit slow and tends to lose its focus somewhat in the last third, Mermaids also has fairly credible dialogue and surprisingly believable chemistry between Cher and Hoskins. The segments dealing with JFK's assassination are handled particularly well, and while Ricci's role is a rather small one, she's charming nonetheless. It's all too easy for coming-of-age movies to veer toward the maudlin, but thankfully this engaging comedy-drama seldom does. Cher, by the way, reprises her 1966 Sonny and Cher look, substituting a tight skirt and pumps for her turtleneck and fur vest.

Cher plays a free-spirited, uninhibited and saucy mother of two. Charlotte (Winona Ryder) and Kate (Christina Ricci), who are about 15- and 8-years old respectively, are her daughters. Cher's behavior and appearance is an embarrassment to Charlotte who is trying to think "pure thoughts" on her way to becoming a nun. Ironically (considering Ryder's recent troubles) the part she plays has no interest in new clothes and even refuses new shoes, content with her old square boots that look like they were made in the former Soviet Union during the reign of Stalin. This is a nice (but increasingly familiar) switch on the mother who is embarrassed by her daughter's precocious sexuality, and Cher and Ryder play their parts well.

The story, from a novel by Patty Dann, begins with the trio moving into yet another town, this time somewhere in New England. They are always on the run, so to speak, because Cher is afraid of commitment or of staying around long enough to lose her heart to some guy. Enter predictably a man (Bob Hoskins) with the right stuff to win her over and a cute guy (Michael Schoeffing) to rearrange Charlotte's priorities. Director Richard Benjamin plays it as a romantic comedy ... coming of ager with wit and charm. Ryder is adorably cute as a conservative Christian miss goody two shoes who is always lecturing mom while Cher is voluptuous as the kind of woman who says yes, early and often, but underneath it all has strength and a kind of intuitive wisdom about herself and the people around her. Little Ricci really is the mermaid since she likes to practice holding her breath under water.

Part of the strength of the film is in the dialogue and the sharp repartee between Ryder and Cher. My favorite line is from Charlotte who is always dialoging with God. After seeing Schoeffing, who drives the school bus, and realizing what she is feeling, prays "Oh please God, don't make me fall in love and want to do disgusting things!"

THIS IS NOT A DVD!!! THIS IS A 12" LASERDISC AND WILL NOT PLAY IN A DVD PLAYER

Thanks for checking my other auctions!
eCrater ID Verified!