Mi amiga la sirena

Even though I was forced to watch this with younger siblings, I actually enjoyed myself. Besides the movie Splash which was made years ago, I don't think there has been many mermaid movies. This one, although a little bit on the cheesy side, had a pretty good underlying message. Graphics were not extraordinary, but they weren't terrible. Jojo turned out to be a sarcastic, funny actress and Sara Paxton did a pretty good job on being the clueless mermaid. Emma Roberts was a little bit rusty on acting, but she can sure tear up. Yea it was cheesy, but what'd you expect, at least it wasn't unbearably cheesy. It was really just cute and I enjoyed watching it with my siblings.

I wanted to hate this movie. Everything from the constant squealing of "Oh My God", the stream of clichés and the sheer ridiculousness of some of the dialouge pointed in the direction of a complete waste of time. Somehow however, Aquamarine managed to win me over through charm and its child like determination to please. The movie centers around two teenage girls (Emma Roberts and JoJo) who are spending their last summer together before Hayley (Jojo) moves away to Austrailia. Their summer takes a surprising twist when they discover a mermaid (Sara Paxton) in a pool after a terrible storm. They spend the rest of the summer trying to help her find true love. Both Emma Roberts and Jojo are newcomers to the screen and do a surprisingly good job at playing bubbly girls without making the audience want to wring their necks 10 minutes in and though each have yet to develop their skills especially at showing a wide range of emotions, they certainly are charming and enjoyable to watch. Sara Paxton looks and talks the part and though this role wasn't one to exhibit any real acting abilities she embraces the part full on. Yes, Aqaumarine features a mean blonde girl and yes there is the "hot" guy but if you watch this movie for exactly what it is, a fluffy escape from life, then it shouldn't bother you. So if you are ever in the mood, wait until it comes out on video and don't pay 10 dollars on it, it is definitely a rental.

I promised my sister I would take her to a movie for her birthday and buy her popcorn a few weeks ago, and today was the day we settled on. I was pushing for Failure to Launch or She's the Man, but my sister was determined to see Aquamarine. So fifteen dollars later we were all nestled in. The movie starts off extremely slow and was, in my opinion, painful to watch. I must admit I was much more entertained with thinking of ways that I could sneak in to The Hills Have Eyes, which was playing at the theater across from ours. But in the end I stayed for the movie, giving me plenty of time to think over my criticisms. I think Emma Roberts (timid and diminutive Claire) may be a rare star who started out acting fairly well and is getting worse. I thought her early Unfabulous days were good, but now I can barely stand to watch the show. Her over-the-top mugging drives me insane. I wasn't expecting much out of JoJo (bold and strong Hailey) at all. I knew it wasn't exactly fair writing her off for being a singer, but that's what I did. And I was extremely, pleasantly surprised. She did a great job, I thought. I wasn't expecting much from Sara Paxton (the titular mermaid Aquamarine) judging by the painful "I see we're going to have to take this slow: Mer Maid" in the trailers, but she ended up doing okay. All in all, it wasn't a great movie, but it picks up in the second half and finishes well, so it was a pretty decent way to spend almost two hours on a cold Saturday afternoon. Although next time, I think I'll pick the movie.

This movie was obviously aimed at the teen set, but I found plenty to enjoy in it. The story concerns two girls (one of whom is about to move with her mother to Australia) who find a mermaid. The mermaid informs them that they can have one wish for finding her. They must decide what it is. Also, Aquamarine (the mermaid) must find love within three days, or else her father will make her marry someone she does not want to. She thinks she loves a lifeguard hunk the girls also have a crush on, but he initially does not return her feelings.

There are several well-done scenes, including a bathtub scene, a dinner scene,a shopping mall scene, and a bike-riding scene. All in all, I think this was a charming little movie and recommend it.I think the girls were well cast and the mermaid scenes were cute, charming, well-made, and funny. You might like it.

** 1/2 out of ****

"Aquamarine" seems the typical teen romantic comedy, and it is, but I'm not saying that this movie is bad, because is not. This movie is cute, funny and entertaining. It is a good comedy about friendship and love.

All begins when two teenagers, Claire and Hailey discover in their beach club's swimming pool a young mermaid called Aquamarine, who has escaped from an arranged wedding. She must find a love in three days, to show her father that love exists. Then she falls in love with the lifeguard Raymond. Claire and Hailey help her to get Raymond because if they help a mermaid they can get a wish, so they use their wish to stop Hailey' mom moving to Australia.

The cast includes Sara Paxton as Aquamarine, Emma Roberts as Claire, Joanna "JoJo" Levesque as Hailey and Jake McDormand as Raymond. "Aquamarine" is a cute comedy full of funny situations and love and friendship scenes. Don't miss this movie, it's not a waste of time.