Aquamarine 2006

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: Aquamarine isn't good enough to be a teen classic, but its audience will leave the theater happy. Read more

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune: Like its title heroine, it's sparkly, pretty and flirty -- but often all wet. Read more

Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle: The movie has a sweetness and innocence that makes it near perfect entertainment for its target audience. Read more

Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper: This film is entirely harmless. It's utterly forgettable. Read more

Melinda Ennis, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: If you are now or ever have been a girl of 8 to 13, you'll be occasionally charmed by the giggly bonds of girlfriends and 'guppie love' the film portrays -- but also occasionally green at the gills. Read more

Keith Phipps, AV Club: Everyone looks like they're struggling to appear human, and only one has a huge, fishy tail as an excuse. Read more

Kathy Cano Murillo, Arizona Republic: Think of Aquamarine as an eventful day at the marine park, with plenty of bubble gum to go around. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Girls will know Aquamarine is unique because it's the rare movie that fiercely respects the altruistic loyalty that bonds girls to one another. Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: It's hopeful, it's healthy, it squeals in all the right places and it offers proof positive that being stuck up is a bad thing. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: A filmy pool of tropes and tchotchkes stereotypically associated with Girls of Today. Read more

John Monaghan, Detroit Free Press: If there was more content in the Alice Hoffman book on which it is based, the screenwriters keep it effectively submerged. Read more

Nancy Churnin, Dallas Morning News: Aquamarine won't make the splash of Splash, but bless its little flippers, it tries. Read more

Ella Taylor, L.A. Weekly: Undemanding, unsurprising and really quite charming within conventional limits. Read more

Gene Seymour, Newsday: You can't begrudge its earnestness or even its corny puns -- None of it keeps Aquamarine from being as sweet and disposable as the gummy snakes its eponymous heroine loves so much. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Girls deserve a fun time at the movies, but they also deserve movies with a better message than Fib, Flirt and Shop. Read more

Jami Bernard, New York Daily News: Bouncy and sweet, Aquamarine has a mild feminist bent that's played for laughs, but it's definitely a movie for the shallow end of the pool. Read more

Neil Genzlinger, New York Times: In this sweet comedy for the crowd that has outgrown The Little Mermaid, two likable pals try to help a mermaid find love and learn how to use her feet properly. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Aquamarine really is just an adorable movie. And along the way, life lessons about love, friendship, adjusting to bad news and overcoming grief -- are passed along in a not-that-obvious fashion. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: It's a solid recommendation for young girls and those unfortunate parents trapped into chaperone duty. For everyone else, especially those possessing a Y chromosome, there's not much of interest. But then, you weren't planning to see it anyway, were you? Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: The plot is predictable, the emotions are obvious, and the mermaid reminds me of my friend McHugh explaining why lobsters make ideal pets: They don't bark, and they know the secrets of the deep. Read more

Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The tweener romantic fantasy Aquamarine is likely to strike a chord with junior-high girls, but other demographics are apt to find this fish-out-of-water story a bit dry. Read more

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: Both Roberts and Levesque are better known for their recording careers than their acting, and while they have regular-girl presence, their believability wavers greatly from scene to scene. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Aquamarine's modest charms make it an agreeable diversion for its intended demographic. Read more

Anna Smith, Time Out: Unfortunately, the performances are often clunky and the art direction and CG are wanting, so anyone over the age of eight is likely to find it cheap around the edges. One for very little mermaids. Read more

USA Today: Aquamarine rises above the flotsam filling theaters this time of year with a likable tale of friendship and charming performances. Read more

Joe Leydon, Variety: Sweet and sprightly in just the right measures, Aquamarine is one of the season's pleasant surprises. Read more

Gregg Rickman, Village Voice: This movie, in fact, is all about conformity. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: Aquamarine is better than nothing for its woefully underserved audience. Read more