Did you enjoy 'Mermay'? A few words on "Splash" and "Siren"

by Nathaniel

You guys. I only just recently learned about "Mermay" in which you celebrate mermaids during the month of May. How did I not know about this? We could have been celebrating mermaids in film and television all month long! The least we could have done is pay tribute to Tully's mermaid dream imagery. Because that film did NOT get enough attention. Jason Reitman + Diablo Cody + Charlize Theron = dream team (see also: Young Adult)...

I thought I could whirlpool up a top ten list of movie mermaids but realized I hadn't seen some key texts like Mr Peabody and the Mermaid (1948), Night Tide (1961), the silent film The Mermaid (1904) and a few others. Sadly merman films seem all but nonexistent... 

But maybe there's no point in talking about mermaid movies because how could anyone top the one-two punch of Splash and The Little Mermaid in the 1980s?

Part of the problem of making good mermaid movies might well be CGI. It just doesn't look half as good as however Ron Howard and cinematographer Donald Peterman shot those underwater sequences with Daryl Hannah in her fish tail. That underrated actress (she didn't even get a Globe nomination for this iconic comedy) must have some crazy lung power because there's not even a lot of editing in those sequences. Nor will onscreen nudity ever feel as innocent again -- somehow Daryl's breasts and butt were okay for families in 1984 but now all mermaids are definitely required to wear shell bras... and sometimes the fish scales even go all the way up to the sternum nowadays. 

If you like the idea of mermaids that are better suited for adults, it's surprising to relate the news that Freeform's new series Siren is actually highly watchable. I wasn't sure about it at all in the first episode. How on earth can you sustain that premise about vicious mermaids arriving in a fishing town? But it really gains momentum and I'm eager for Season 2 if it gets one. It helps that the leading lady Eline Powell, really grows on you. At first I thought her a beautiful blank but that was purposeful. Powell deftly handles conveying a otherwordly humanoid who is all too curious about humans and she really sells the difficult shifts in both physical comfort and verbal / mental language acquisition.

It's not surprising to learn that she's not American and speaks three languages (Dutch, French, English) in real life. It's the kind of performance that never gets any praise (hello, starring in genre pieces) but she's really quite good in it. 

Because I learned about Mermay through online artists doing mermaid illustrations, and because we miss that ol' Curio column, I thought I'd share a few of the illustrations that really make me want to see more mermaid movies...

Is there such thing as a ballerina mermaid? #mermay #cutiesaturday pic.twitter.com/qWCrYHBirr

— Giulia wants coffee (@guillylia) May 26, 2018

(18/31) 🌸 betta fish princess 🌸
🌺#mermay🌺 pic.twitter.com/QAU0oMYhde

— gwen! @ mer🧜‍♀️may (@mrpibmo) May 28, 2018

my contribution to #mermay #mermay2018 pic.twitter.com/fHze6bYayk

— VetroWolf (@VetroWolf) May 25, 2018

I dont think I will be able to finish it, so here are the Avengers #mermay I did pic.twitter.com/E3trfg5RrK

— Debbie Balboa (@DebbieBalboa) May 30, 2018

this is prob the most love i've put into a piece in like... a year
happy almost late #mermay ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/EePVwGEJzO

— manda 🔥 (@bbbreakfasttt) May 29, 2018

Last AU sketch for #mermay! Thank you all for indulging me in this all month 🐠💕 pic.twitter.com/dkfq08TwtT

— lacey (@byelacey) May 31, 2018

It's. Finally. Done. //Dies
NSFW version available on Patreon.#overwatch #reaper76 #mermay pic.twitter.com/g0dRacaVM4

— Void Demons (@Tsurili) May 28, 2018

Comments

[James from Ames]

CABIN IN THE WOODS HAS A MERMAN!!

[Brevity]

Sadly merman films seem all but nonexistent...

What’s the point? ZOOLANDER captured the merman experience: “Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty."

[thevoid99]

I like the one of the Avengers.

[adri]

I liked "Ondine", directed by Neil Jordan with Colin Farrell.

I think there was a Broadway play of the same name with Audrey Hepburn?

[adri]

Sorry, spoke too soon. I guess one is a selkie and the other a water sprite.

[par]

now that drag race mermaid runway finally makes sense...

[DJDeeJay]

It's a little embarrassing to admit seeing this, but Another Gay Sequel has a romantic storyline with a merman.

Also, Hannah really wasn't that underrated. She was fine in Splash but not so great in just about everything else...until the Kill Bill movies. That was a completely one-note performance but what a fun note.

[Choog]

Has anyone seen that Polish movie ‘the Lure’?