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Aquamarine

Mermaid fantasy has nothing to do with Splash

By BRETT MICHEL | March 1, 2006

2.0 Stars

AQUAMARINE: Cast is decent, but they're landlocked by the script

Daryl Hannah can breathe easy — this mermaid tale based on Alice Hoffman’s book will do little to erase memories of Ron Howard’s Splash. Nevertheless, tween girls too young to recall 1984 (either the year or the Orwell novel) should be swept along by the relaxed performances of Emma Roberts (Julia’s niece) and Foxborough’s Joanna “JoJo” Levesque as 13-year-old best friends Claire and Hailey, who discover something very fishy in their beach club’s swimming pool – a spirited water nymph (Sara Paxton) who’s looking for love. “Aqua” thinks she’s found it in lifeguard Raymond (Jake McDorman), but she faces competition (“All the girls are after him — even a few boys”) that’ll include local beauty Cecilia (Arielle Kebbel). Director Elizabeth Allen gets a lot from her largely female cast, but they’re landlocked by a screenplay that loses much of the magic of Hoffman’s book. Will love conquer all? Do fish smell?

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