Diving into the complex heart of this mother/daughter dramedy
Even though no one asked for it, the film world has unleashed Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. Serving as both sequel and prequel to the 2008 runaway hit, the film has already claimed the title of July’s feel-good crowd pleaser as it features a host of recognizable stars belting out ABBA songs with all their might in an effort to make up for the flimsy plot.
One of those stars is Cher; the elusive, yet forever iconic entertainer who appears in the film as Meryl Streep’s Las Vegas mother. If the casting screams WTF at first, the character is far from outside the actress’s realm. Olive Films must have agreed, at least judging by the recent blu-ray release of Cher’s 1990 effort, the touching mother/daughter tale Mermaids.
Told from the point of view of 16-year-old Charlotte (Winona Ryder), Mermaids tracks the relationship between divorcee Rachel Flax (Cher) and her daughters, which also includes 9-year-old Katie (Christina Ricci). When the trio arrive to start life in 1963’s Massachusetts, Charlotte sees it as a way to finally come into her own while Rachel sees it as just another stop along the way. However, Rachel’s new relationship with store owner Lou (Bob Hoskins) and Charlotte’s growing pains force mother and daughter to discover a new side of one another.
As expected from the synopsis, the bulk of Mermaids deals primarily with Charlotte’s struggle to become the woman she wants to be, namely the complete opposite of Rachel. Charlotte is fascinated by catholicism, despite being raised jewish and is longing for a simple conventional life when she grows up. At the same time, she can’t help but be fascinated by the same traits which make her turn up her nose at Rachel. She likes the idea of being desirable and attractive and even more significantly, craves the same sort of individual freedom Rachel has continued to enjoy well into adulthood. When an attraction to local bus driver Joe (Michael Schoeffling) provides Charlotte with a sexual awakening, she both indulges and loathes it for the sheer fact that it makes her feel closer to being like Charlotte than she’d ever care to acknowledge. Adding to the confusion are the sort of monumental events taking place during the family’s time in Massachusetts. Moments in Mermaids such as the Kennedy assassination and Katie ending up in the hospital as a result of Charlotte’s momentary carelessness cannot help but have a profound effect on the young female mind already grappling with so much on the way to becoming the woman she’s meant to be.
Since Mermaids is told primarily from Charlotte’s point of view, and is likewise narrated by the teenager, it would be safe to assume that this is simply the story of a daughter coming into her own. However, once we to get to know Rachel, we begin to recognize that this is the story of a woman coming into her own as well. Rachel is such a dynamic character. On the one hand, she is brash and ballsy; never afraid to trust her instinct or settle for anything less than she feels she deserves. It’s easy to imagine the sort of stifling, probably troubled, past Rachel must have experienced since every aspect of her nature indicates a survivalist. Still, there’s something undeniably stunted about her when it comes to her role as a mother. While she loves her daughters and makes sure they’ve got everything they need, there’s no questioning that Rachel has fought tooth and nail with herself to not let motherhood take away the free spirit she fought so long and hard to become. When circumstances finally force her to embrace the side of being a mother she typically resisted, she discovers a new world outside of herself; one which she never felt she belonged until she at last realizes, she does.
All eyes were certainly on Cher in what was her first role following her Oscar-winning turn in Moonstruck. The actress more than delivers, once again proving her versatility as an authentic screen presence, full of the kind of magic and mystery that allows her to carry a character such as Rachel. Yet it’s Ryder however, full of depth and soul as Charlotte, who keeps the film eternally grounded. The actress never makes her character someone to dislike, but instead beautifully conveys the genuine struggles surrounding growing up in the world she comes from. While Mermaids belongs to the two actresses, Hoskins also manages one of his more sensitive turns as a man who cares enough about Rachel to break the spell she’s under. Meanwhile, Schoeffling is poetic as the mysterious Joe without really trying and Ricci is a delight in her first film role.
For all its thoughtfulness and honesty, Mermaids received kind reviews at best and was a flop at the box office, despite the popularity of its two stars. Yet Ryder did enjoy some acclaim by winning both the National Board of Review award and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Had the film been more successful, an Oscar nomination would have been almost certain. Cher meanwhile enjoyed success in the music world thanks to Mermaids when her track for the film, “The Shoop Shoop Song,” became the artist’s first solo U.S. number one hit.
In the age of Lady Bird and the renewed empowerment of women across the country, looking at Mermaids today in the years since its 1990 release has a significantly new meaning. It’s hard not to see the sort of disdain Rachel and Charlotte have for one another and the unquestionable love that continues to overpower it. Charlotte may not agree with the majority of her mother’s choices, leading her to chart her own course in life, while Rachel struggles to do right by her family while fighting to hold onto the woman she is. At the core of Mermaids though, are two individuals at opposite ends of the spectrum, trying desperately find each other in the middle.
Mermaids is now available on Blu-Ray from Olive Films.
