Mermaids

Top 10 Fun Facts

1. The film is adapted from Patty Dann's 1986 novel of the same name, and is not, surprisingly, a sequel to Splash (or Splash, Too).
2. Christina Ricci made her film debut in Mermaids opposite the likes of Cher and Winona Ryder, which surely prepared her for an incredible career co-starring with such Hollywood heavy hitters as Johnny Depp, Samuel L. Jackson and Casper the Friendly Ghost.
3. Ricci's first film appearance didn't go unnoticed-she won a Young Artist Award for her performance. Not content to rest on her laurels, she would go on to earn six more Young Artist nominations before reaching the ripe old age of nineteen.
4. Cher chose Mermaids to follow-up her Oscar-winning turn in 1987's Moonstruck and her Golden Globe-nominated role in 1985's Mask. Fans call it her "M" period.
5. Déjà viewing: after Kate's accident in the river, Charlotte and Mrs. Flax have an argument during which Charlotte breaks a plate and Mrs. Flax slaps the tar out of her. A very similar scene occurs in Mask, only Cher wallops Eric Stoltz instead of Winona Ryder.
6. British actress Emily Lloyd was originally cast in the role of Charlotte, but Cher complained that audiences wouldn't believe the fair-haired, blue-eyed girl as her daughter. No one mentioned the fact that both of Cher's real-life kids were blonde as tykes, presumably for fear of getting slapped.
7. Don't feel too badly for Emily Lloyd-after being booted from Mermaids, she sued Orion Pictures and received a hefty cash settlement in addition to 2.5% of the film's net profits. Plus, she didn't have to kiss Michael Schoeffling. Okay, maybe feel a little badly for her.
8. Even though she wasn't the original choice for Charlotte Flax, Winona Ryder certainly capitalized on the quirky role-earning her very first Golden Globe nomination.
9. Lasse Hallstrom was signed on to direct, but locked horns with Cher and left the project. He was replaced first by Frank Oz, and finally the one that stuck, Richard Benjamin. That means Mermaids had one more director than Cher's had husbands.
10. We always knew Cher was a woman ahead of her time: Mrs. Flax comments that AstroTurf is going to ruin baseball. The film is set in 1963, when AstroTurf was still in development under the name Chemigrass. In the case of both Cherilyn Sarkisian and the fine folks at Chemigrass, good call on the name change.