Okay, so now that I have a daughter I guess I need to prepare myself for some of the mind-numbing things she will begin to enjoy once she becomes a 'tween. This will include phones, jewelry, sickly sweet movies… and boys. That last one I'm really not looking forward to, not so much because of the fact that I'll have to keep a sawed-off shotgun within arms reach upon meeting any of these… boys, but more because of the 'progressive' direction our culture has been heading over the last few years. Actually I guess the two go hand in hand, the 'progressive' direction closes the gap in the hand-to-shotgun distance ratio.

That said, I also worry about a lot of the supposed celebrities that girls look up to nowadays. If all they have is Lindsey Lohan and Paris Hilton, God help fathers everywhere. Fortunately, my little girl won’t hit those 'tween years for another 8 years, so perhaps their 15 minutes of fame will have finally landed tem in drug rehab and job at the local Subway. Of course, we have no idea who will be the 'stars' then. In the meantime, I guess the best I can do is try (like every other parent) to raise her right and check out movies she may want to eventually watch so I know ahead of time if they're good or bad.

One I saw recently that falls into the 'almost' good category is a little heard of film called "Aquamarine." It's a 'tween movie thru and thru, revolving around two best friends, Claire (Emma Roberts) and Hailey (JoJo), who do everything and go everywhere together. The news that Hailey's Mom is accepting a job in Australia devastates them as they know that it is unlikely they will ever see each other again. All seems lost until they come across a mermaid (Sarah Paxton) washed up on the beach. She tells them that she wants no more than to find love and while she has the power to grant wishes, cannot grant one for herself. The girls conspire to find the mermaid some to love in exchange for a wish for Hailey to stay in Florida. They set their sites on one of the local lifeguards (Jake McDorman), sure that they can get him to fall in love with the mermaid.

So, with a description like that, the question begs, "Is it silly?" Sure it is, but the whole feel of the movie is like that of a cartoon. Even the color palette that is used for the production screams, "LOOK AT ME." The movie is cute, at times a little too cute, but remembering the audience the movie is aimed at begs for it to be forgiven. There are a ton of one-liners, mostly groan-worthy and there are plot holes you can drive a Mack truck through, but overall the movie still exudes an undeniable sense of fun.

The DVD release offers up a commentary by director Elizabeth Allen and producer Susan Cartsonis, and it isn't really one that I would recommend. They know their audience and absolutely talk down to them, explaining the world of moviemaking in extremely simplified terms. Actually, in retrospect it might be good for much younger aspiring filmmakers to listen to, as there is a lot of useful information. There is also a bit of scene specific commentary by Roberts and Paxton, but 'great-googly-moogly', it’s like listening to a slumber party full of 12 year olds. You'll also find a few deleted scenes and an audition reel. Beyond that, most of the better extras involve featurettes that delve 'lightly' into the production design end of things. Here you'll get to see a little bit about the design of the mermaid and (OH MA GAWD) the clothes fashion.

"Aquamarine" isn't a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but I did find a lot to enjoy about it (once my brain was checked at the door), and it was a darn sight better than anything you'll see Lindsey Lohan in.

Directed by: Elizabeth Allen
Starring: Emma Roberts, Sara Paxton, Jojo
Extras: Deleted Scenes, Awesome Auditions Featurette, It's all About the Fashion Featurette, Kickin' It On Set Featurette, Scene Specific Cast Commentary, Director Commentary
Specifications: Widescreen (1.85:1), Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Fox
Release Date: 6/13/2006
Region 1
MPAA Rating: PG
Website

We'll give Aquamarine a C+.