Aquamarine Review
Posted by Jacob Ziegler on 03.03.2006
Yeah, I saw this...
AQUAMARINE
March 3, 2006
Claire: Emma Roberts
Aquamarine: Sara Paxton
Hailey: Joanna "JoJo" Levesque
Twentieth Century Fox presents a film directed by Elizabeth Allen. It was written by John Quaintance and Jessica Bendinger, based on the novel by Alice Hoffman. The running time is ? minutes. It is rated PG for mild language and sensuality.
BY JACOB ZIEGLER, 411Movies
Allow me to say something shocking, if you will. "Aquamarine," the new film in which a mermaid teaches two young girls about the value of being best friends forever (or BFF, as I learned while working at a promotional event for the movie today), really isn't bad at all.
Okay so it's not like I plan on seeing it again (though I will if they pay me, just as they did the first time), but it's a perfectly pleasant film that will go over HUGE with its target audience. This is like the "Citizen Kane" of pre-teen girls' films.
The story starts with two best friends, Claire (Emma Roberts) and Hailey (pop sensation (I'm told) JoJo, who looks a lot like a young Lindsay Lohan), distressing over the fact that Hailey's mother is soon going to move her from Florida to Australia. To hear that your best friend is moving at that age is probably the worst thing a kid can hear, and these girls are taking it particularly hard. They hope for some kind of miracle that will allow them so stay together, so that they can spend all their days admiring that cute lifeguard Raymond (Jake McDorman).
They get their miracle when a storm comes in and with it comes Aquamarine (Sara Paxton of "Sleepover," which I actually watched part of today while I was at work – I work at a video store), who is actually a mermaid. It turns out that this mermaid has come to try out her sea legs in an effort to avoid an arranged and loveless marriage. If she can prove to her father within three days that true love exists, he will allow her to marry whomever she wishes.
Now, this is where Claire and Hailey come in, as Aquamarine has no idea how to attract boys. I wouldn't think she'd have much trouble (hey, she's ALMOST 18), but she tells the girls that if you help a mermaid you get a wish, so they decide to try and hook up their new mermaid friend with Raymond, the man of their dreams.
Now this is all pretty pedestrian stuff, but when you're playing to a pre-teen girl audience it's going to seem like much more. Truth be told, this is a pretty harmless little movie; not at all insulting to the intelligence… once you get past the whole mermaid thing. There are actually several amusing "fish out of water" comedy bits, and Paxton is bubbly enough to be likable, but not so effervescent that it becomes irritating. Roberts and JoJo seem content to concede the spotlight to Paxton, and they three of them have a good chemistry together.
It doesn't even end in the way one might think it would, which was a pleasant surprise. The more I've thought about the ending the more pointless the movie has become, but at least they made an effort, and it was totally appreciated. "Aquamarine" is destined to become a slumber party hit for years to come.
The 411: Sara Paxton, JoJo, and Emma Roberts star in a likely crowd-pleaser that aims hard for its target audience. If you’re not in said audience you won’t fall in love with it, but if you get dragged to it for one reason or another, you could do a lot worse. You could be seeing “Date Movie.”
