For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

A single mother, Mrs Flax (played by Cher), relocates to a small town with her two daughters, Charlotte (Winona Ryder) and Kate (Christina Ricci). We see how their relationship evolves and new relationships are formed.Beautiful, funny, moving movie. Tackles a range of issues, and tackles them well. Plus, add in some hilarious one-liners and scenarios and you have a great movie.Cher surprises by proving herself a competent actress. Winona Ryder is gorgeous and great as her oldest daughter. I am not usually a fan of precocious kids in movies, but 10-year old Christina Ricci, in her first movie role, is great - adorable, bubbly and funny. Bob Hoskins is his usual solid self.Wonderful movie.

Charlotte is the older sibling in a family of three. Her mom is always moving her two girls from town to town, so both Charlotte and her little sister Kate have trouble making friends. Charlotte is like any other girl her age, but there's one exception... she is obsessed with the Catholic religion and while other girls are thinking of The Beatles, Charlotte dreams of one day being a nun.One day Charlotte meets a boy and her mom meets a man, who happens to work at the local school. As events such as the J.F.K. assassination and kissing her new boyfriend Joe come up, Charlotte's life gradually stops making sense, until a horrible accident makes her family stop and think.This movie is GREAT, I've loved it since grade 5. The acting is amazing with actresses Cher (Silkwood and The Mask), Winona Ryder (Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands), and Christina Ricci (The Addam's Family Weird is Relative and Casper). The soundtrack is excellent and suits the date in question (takes place in 1963), and the plot is a fictional memoir of one of the most original characters you'll ever see. I highly recommend this movie, it's one of the best 1990's movies I've seen.

I recognised the title because of the two leading actresses and leading actor, but I was interested to know the origins of the title, and I knew it would feature the song that the singer/actress got to number one with, from director Richard Benjamin (The Money Pit, My Stepmother Is an Alien). Basically, set in 1963, fifteen year old Charlotte Flax (Golden Globe nominated Winona Ryder, who also narrates throughout) lives with her glamorous but eccentric mother Rachel who she refers as "Mrs. Flax" (Cher) and her little sister Kathryn 'Kate' (introducing nine year old Christina Ricci). The family are forced to constantly move when the mother's relationships or circumstances go wrong, they have now relocated to Eastport, Massachusetts to a small town near a convent, Charlotte is fascinated and idolises the nuns despite being reminded by Rachel that she is Jewish, while Kate loves swimming and ocean, she has won many swimming competitions. In the town, Charlotte has feelings for twenty six year old handsome convent caretaker and local school bus driver Joe Porretti (Michael Schoeffling), while Rachel has affection for local shop owner named Lou Landsky (Bob Hoskins), while remaining selfish, self obsessed and hopelessly promiscuous. Following the assassination President John F. Kennedy, Charlotte kisses Joe in the church bell tower, and being naive she wrongly assumes that she is pregnant, and she cannot talk to her mother about her fear, but later an obstetrician examining her confirms that she is still a virgin, she is relieved. At a New Year's Eve costume party Rachel dresses as a mermaid (hence the title), and Lou, dressed as a pirate, asks her to move in with him, but she refuses and they fight, and being driven home she is kissed by Joe, and watching them Charlotte thinks her promiscuous mother is trying to steal him. Later that night Charlotte takes the mermaid costume and goes with Kate to the convent with Joe, while the little sister collects rocks the older sister loses her virginity (for real), and distracted she does not realise Kate fell into the river and almost drowned, she was saved by nuns. Rachel is very angry and wants to move house to avoid embarrassment of her older daughter and Joe being talked about, but Charlotte fights her corner to avoid this, and the argument ends with the mother convinced to stay at least one year. In the end Rachel stays in the town where her relationship with Lou continues, Joe keeps in touch by postcard after moving away, Charlotte is studying her passion subject Greek myths, Kate has recovered with only some deafness, and for the first time in ages the family sit down at the table to dinner. Also starring Caroline McWilliams as Carrie, Jan Miner as Mother Superior, Betsy Townsend as Mary O'Brien, Richard McElvain as Mr. Crain and Paula Plum as Mrs. Crain. Cher is good as the oddball and out there mother, Hoskins does his accent okay and is likable, Ryder is a great surprise as the opinionated and confused girl, and Ricci is so adorable and cute with her sweet nature and attitude. The story is simple, a quirky family living the nomadic lifestyle, the love interest plots with the two women is interesting, the bickering and emotional arguments are engaging, the period of the film is convincing, and of course it is great to hear "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" (both the Betty Everett and the number one version by Cher), it is a nice gentle, funny and light-hearted romantic comedy. Very good!

A plot synopsis makes this film sound weird, and I think maybe it is. Told through the eyes of older daughter Charlotte (Winona Ryder), who is at that awkward teenage stage when, well, you know, it concerns the Flax family in 1960s middle America. Mother Mrs Flax (Cher) has trouble settling down. Every time anything close to permanency approaches, Mrs Flax ups sticks and she, Charlotte, and little Kate (Christina Ricci, cute as a button an an early child role) move somewhere else. Charlotte badly needs to put down some roots, especially as she has an eye on this handsome local lad. But local shoe shop proprietor Lou (Bob Hoskins) has his eye on Mrs Flax, and things are nearing the tipping point again.This film is quirky and quite charming, with terrific performances from the four principals, a lot of laughs, and a little bit of heartbreak too. The period era is nicely evoked and there is a good selection of music from the era. And the closing sequence, with the Flax family preparing a meal (with Mrs Flax's typical selection of picnic finger foods - she's not a big fan of cooking) while singing and dancing along to the Shoop Shoop Song, is absolutely joyous.Recommended.