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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.

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 sexually promiscuous 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 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. 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 drowns in a river running through the property. The tale is a cautionary one, symbolizing mother-daughter relationships and the importance for parents to confess their mistakes so that their children are not doomed to repeat them.

• 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

• Winona Ryder replaced Emily Lloyd because it was thought that Lloyd looked too genetically dissimilar to Cher.

• When Charlotte is arguing with her mother after Kate's accident, she gets angry and smashes a dish. The scene ends with Mrs. Flax slapping her after a rude comment. There is a similar scene in another film in which Cher also stars, Mask.

• Massachusetts: Cambridge, Manchester, Essex, North Easton, Waltham, Ipswich, Gloucester, Malden and Rockport
• New Hampshire
• Rhode Island

• Mermaids (soundtrack)

• Mermaids at the Internet Movie Database
• Mermaids at MGM site