A Mermaid Movie Review: Mermaids (2003)

No, this isn't the movie with Cher, just the titles are the same. This wasn't actually a film, but the two-hour pilot to a television series that never got picked up. (I don't know why, but it would have been awesome!)

Mermaids follows the lives of three very different sisters who gave grown apart over the years. Diana is the eldest, a kick-butt fighter armed with a mean-looking trident; Venus is the middle sister, promiscuous and a siren; and then there's June, the youngest sister who is just like Andersen's little mermaid in that she is in love with a human, a man named Randy, that loves another, and she desires to have a human soul.

The mermaid sisters must come back together when their merman father is killed by fishermen. The nastier of the fishermen is a cruel man named Mallick, who has the body of their father and plans on exploiting it for cash. Diana wants vengeance by killing him, but June protests, and soon the sisters join together to bring their father's killer to justice.

While the acting is hokey, the mermaids are so beautiful, and their tails are just gorgeous! The mermaids' tails look so realistic; they even blend with their skin at the waist, so it's hard to tell they're wearing a costume.

Diana's definitely my favorite sister (gotta love kick-butt heroines!), but I also like Venus and her hilarious attempts at reeling in the human. June was...eh, she was okay, but her story's been told so many times, it was just bland. Mermaid saves human, mermaid falls in love with human, human doesn't love mermaid back. But there were some sweet moments with her, and I couldn't help but sympathize with her as she watched her human love from afar, always on the outside looking in. And yes, there's definitely a sweet moment between June and Randy, but I'm not going to say what happens next! You'll just have to watch the film!

The mythology was also interesting. Some of it wasn't original, like the whole thing about a human loving a mermaid means the mermaid gets a soul, but the part where a mermaid is given a magical artifact at birth that gives a human control over them if stolen was also a nice touch, as it hearkens back to what happens if a human steals a selkie's sealskin or a merrow's red cap. Nice add-in of mythology there! The mermaids also have individual powers, which were nice to see, especially how each power affected their personalities (i.e. Diana & superstrength = hot-tempered; Venus & siren powers = sultriness).

The movie is very difficult to find. Occasionally, one pops up on eBay, so you'll have to act fast to get it, but you might be able to find it on some online DVD vendor. I have a copy, because I couldn't resist! Besides The Little Mermaid, it's easily my favorite mermaid movie! The mermaids are just...you'll just have to watch it!

I also know YouTube has the entire movie posted. So, go check it out and see what I mean!