Brennan  0:00  

You’re listening to Dodge Movie Podcast. Your hosts are Christi and Mike Dodge the founders of Dodge Media Productions. We produce films and podcasts. So this is podcast about films. Join them as they share their passion for filmmaking.

Christi Dodge  0:16  

Alright, welcome back everybody to the Dodge Movie Podcast. This is episode 125 and we are going to be talking about the 1990 film Mermaids. If you have a subscription to max formerly known as HBO Max, you will be able to watch it for no extra charge. It stars share Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder Christina Ricci, Michaels Shoeffling, Caroline McWilliams or as we as most people over the age of what like 45, the secretary from Benson?  

The director is Richard Benjamin, who I recognized from, I guess a Disney film or something he looked very familiar, but he is known for directing the 1982 My Favorite Year in 1886 is my favorite The Money Pit and 1980 It’s My Stepmother is an Alien. Do you remember that movie?

Mike Dodge  1:19  

And now that you bring it up? I do remember that movie.

Christi Dodge  1:22  

This film was written by a novelist Patty Dann and June Roberts, the 2001 All the Queen’s Men. If you That sounds familiar, the DP was Howard Atherton who also did 1995 Bad Boys 1989’s Black Rain and 1998 Deep Rising. You see a water theme there?

Mike Dodge  1:47  

Him and his thing with water.

Christi Dodge  1:50  

Let’s go down to the synopsis. The synopsis for this film is an unconventional single mother relocates with her two daughters to a small Massachusetts town in 1963, where a number of events and relationships both challenge and strengthen their familial bonds. I’ve got two taglines for you. One is this is our mother pray for us.

Mike Dodge  2:18  

Very good. I think that captures the the humor of the film and the whole problem.

Christi Dodge  2:24  

And subtlely kind of the pray for us because her Catholicism, Charlotte is Yeah, obsessed with Catholicism. Mom has many things normal isn’t one of them.

Mike Dodge  2:37  

That is good, but not as good as preference you like.

Christi Dodge  2:42  

This one had a lot of trouble. Let me just read this bit of trivia from let me read this bit of trivia from IMDb because I think it’ll encapsulate and kind of let us know. Producers and initially engaged Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom to Direct mermaids as his English language feature debut, but he left the project to direct Once Around from 91. Then they hired Frank Oz as a replacement, but he also abandoned the project after clashing with Cher and Winona Ryder. Then ultimately, they hired Richard Benjamin to direct the project. 

So Hallstrom apparently wanted, and oz wanted it to be the film to have a darker tone. And including that Charlotte would commit suicide. Whoa, I know. I’m glad Richard Benjamin got it down in the film. Yeah. And then just as a little addendum, Emily Lloyd, who I did I look her up. She was originally casiplay Charlotte and they had already even started shooting some scenes and share complained that the fair haired Lloyd could not possibly look like her daughter, and she was replaced by Winona Ryder. Lloyd went on to sue Orion Pictures and mermaid productions and they reached a settlement on July 30 1991. The second day on the second day of trial and Lloyd received $435,000 and 2.5% of the firm’s profits.

Mike Dodge  4:18  

Wow. Lloyd did well. I know. They couldn’t just dye her hair. 

Christi Dodge  4:22  

Right? 

Mike Dodge  4:24  

Like I Yeah, Cher sounds like a handful.

Christi Dodge  4:28  

Well, they all kind of did a little bit, I guess. But I mean, but that kind of they should have at least said okay, well, let’s dye her hair.

Mike Dodge  4:37  

Yeah, and that seems like something that would have come up in pre production.

Christi Dodge  4:42  

Alright, Mermaids is set in 1963. The first scene is Charlotte and

Mike Dodge  4:50  

Kate. Kate is Christina Ricci character.

Christi Dodge  4:54  

Charlene Kate are watching TV and it’s a show about nuns just singing nuns and Charlotte has clearly watched his show before because she’s singing right along with them. And then we cut to share their mother who’s getting dressed all dressed up and glammed singing fever.

Mike Dodge  5:11  

And it sets up. It’s a fun line because it tells us a lot about the characters. Mrs. Flax. That’s how she’s credited Cher’s character? Yes, although we do hear a first name in the film, I forget what it was. But how do I look in Charlotte says like a woman about to go forth and sin. So clever turn of phrase, it shows us that Charlotte is is a quick thinking quick witted gal who also is not so keen about her mom’s wandering eye.

Christi Dodge  5:41  

What not only wandering eye but kind of just she’s a she’s a ramblin woman. At one point, Charlotte says we’ve moved 18 times it’s easier to see the signs and then we watch her watch Mrs. Flax go through some motions that she’s familiar with. And she knows that they’re going to move again. And she’s not looking forward to it.

Mike Dodge  6:04  

There’s just an absolutely hilarious line where Mrs. Flax is in a car with her current beau. And he says, Honey, she’s not just another woman. She’s my wife. That shows us kind of who Mrs. Flax was.

Christi Dodge  6:20  

Yeah. I think a lot of times she would get involved with her boss that seemed

Mike Dodge  6:24  

Yeah, yeah. She and she was kind of a town tramp, and then she buggy.

Christi Dodge  6:28  

Yeah. And I feel bad for Charlotte because as a teenager especially she was probably like, what freshman or..?

Mike Dodge  6:38  

They said and die like she’s 15.

Christi Dodge  6:40  

Yeah, I thought she was pretty young. It’s so hard to just keep bouncing schools, especially in high school. I mean, it just, I did feel bad for Charlotte having Mrs. Flax as a mom because they just they obviously, they were at odds because Charlotte was just so much into, like Catholicism and religion and ritual, but yet, I felt bad cuz she was like tortured, because she she had what she called impure thoughts that I would call normal teenage thoughts. 

Mike Dodge  7:11  

Well, she was obsessed with nuns, not just Catholicism. And I think that’s a reaction to her mother’s. sweatiness issues going she went the other direction. Yeah. However, her lower regions had a mind of their own.

Christi Dodge  7:28  

Well, they just they were normal. That’s a normally Yes. Coming into your sexuality. You’re trying to figure it out. You’re trying to understand these now new urges that you have that you didn’t have maybe like three years ago?

Mike Dodge  7:41  

Right, right. Yeah. But it’s extra conflictory, because your mom is gotten used to, like it’s caused a lot of costs and turmoil following her urges.. It’s difficult for the young child.

Christi Dodge  7:57  

Like normal mothers and daughters, they clash, but even more so because of Charlotte’s complete, kind of going the other way. I thought it was good when she said, I feel like sometimes you’re the child. And I’m the grown up. I think a lot of kids from the, I wouldn’t think of it as the 60s, but definitely I’ve heard a lot of people our age. So I would say 70s and 80s just talked about parents kind of just not being there. And and what that that makes you feel like nobody cares what I’m doing. So therefore, like, I’ve got to step up and kind of run the show.

Mike Dodge  8:44  

I know very well the feeling of being the child who has to take over Right, right. And we see with the little sister Kate, right. They obviously have a relationship where Charlotte is kind of the parent for the younger and I knew a girl when I was in high school is the same thing. Her little brother was like five or six and the parents were going through a divorce so she was basically in charge a little brother and I don’t think that’s very fair to do to a child. Now I have to say though, in Mrs. Flex defense, she comes up with marshmallow kabobs.

Christi Dodge  9:24  

She can’t cook anything. Everything is an hors de’ ovres. She kabobs everything.

Mike Dodge  9:29  

And I have to say that’s a fantastic idea. I need to put some thought into what would constitute the different other than marshmallows. What would go on a marshmallow. She put fruit with it. Well you know I’m guessing Pinterest or Etsy probably

Christi Dodge  9:43  

Remember the Ambrosia salad that was like fruit and marshmallows and I think she just did a kebab for him and just left out the Cool Whip.

Mike Dodge  9:52  

Yeah, perhaps the the the like set dressing people the the art department could tell Tell me what was the actual ingredients, but I think better. The Internet probably has some ideas. But so it it shows kind of though. The fact that she feeds her kids basically what Kate would want to eat that she is. I don’t even think she’s trying to be a friend. She is a child. She’s basically emotionally and intellectually as old as Kate.

Christi Dodge  10:24  

What is it? She’s all ID or whatever. What’s the one? 

Mike Dodge  10:27  

Yeah, I think is 100% it just.

Christi Dodge  10:32  

Poor Charlotte. Because Mrs. Flax? Well, Mrs. Flax maybe tried to have the sex talk with her. But I could see Charlotte just rebuking her kind of like, I don’t want to hear it from you. That when she kisses Joe, which we’ll talk about Joe in a minute. She thinks she’s pregnant.

Mike Dodge  10:53  

Right? So I’m gonna say there is a line of dialogue I made a note of when Mrs. Flax says near the end of the film. Well, I guess it’s a little too late for our birds and bees talk. So I don’t think she actually talked to her. Okay. And but I think I would buy that it was because Charlotte want to know, part of that.

Christi Dodge  11:10  

She probably knew that. But also, when you watch your kid be so obsessed with like the nuns and Catholicism, you’re probably like, I don’t have to worry about her then.

Mike Dodge  11:21  

Right, you know, and it was interesting, because they didn’t go into it too much. But they established that the Flaxes were Jews. So that would also be a little hard if if your child was you know, going in different direction, culturally,

Christi Dodge  11:34  

That makes sense then when she is that it was funny, she goes into the bathroom to talk to her mom finally. It’s great setup with the set is Mrs. Flax is in the tub. They have the curtain. The way that the curtain is falling, Charlotte is sitting on the toilet and so the curtain falls between them. It very much mimics a confessional. Yeah, they did that. When she confesses, she says I think I’m pregnant with the next Jewish Catholic Messiah. 

Mrs. Flex does one thing, right. She meets Lou Lansky, played by Bob Hoskins. And he is just, I think if we all had to have a stepdad he would be the guy that you would hope to have. You know, he has the some good characteristics. He cares for the girls and for Mrs. Flax a lot. He wants to marry her. Lou is a painter. He does a mural for Kate because she’s obsessed with water. And so he creates this whole ocean mural in, in a bedroom and it’s just, it’s lovely

Mike Dodge  12:45  

A bedroom in his house. 

Christi Dodge  12:47

So he very much wants to settle down with the flax girls basically.

Mike Dodge  12:53  

Right? Yeah, he is pretty wonderful. I think it’s awesome. But it was a little it caught my eye. How confident he was. So nothing against Mr. Hoskins. He’s a fine fellow. But he’s shorter and hairier than then Cher. And he plays that character. Like he is enchanted with Mrs. Flax. But he thinks he’s got a shot. And that I thought was amazing that I feel like today, if we did that, they would write him as being neurotic and anxious. And oh, you would never be interested in me. I’m older, I’m shorter. But he played it like, like, he was not doing her a favor.

But there’s a line I love there. He’s like I normally trying to get involved with women, when the World Series is about to start. So he you know, he was like, I have a wife and I like you in it. But he’s not, you know, he treated her as an equal. There’s a they get into a fight there at some point. He talks about us and she thinks he’s talking about like, or something about the girls. He’s like, No, I was talking about us, like the relationship. And so I just I liked his approach to that character. Of he wasn’t apologetic. He wasn’t begging. He was like, Look, I’m interested in you, but not that much.

Christi Dodge  14:23  

I wonder if because he was they were both like, as the story goes, I believe they would have both been in their early 40s At least. And so does he kind of have as you get older and kind of more settled and, and he’s like, Look, I’m a good catch for all these following reasons. And so take me or leave me kind of is that where the confidence came from?

Mike Dodge  14:49  

Yeah, it could be so speaking of it I did look it up. Cher was 41 when they film this, but her character would have been 30 or 31. Oh, she says to Charlotte. I was your age when I had you and I was 15. Okay, now, I don’t think shear looked 30. But it didn’t bump me it’s. You know, she looked like she could be her mom and she was young and, and attractive enough that it fit the character.

You’re right, though, but he had a business. Right. He was a small business owner and a member of the community. He had a life there a much nicer house than they had. I think he did have things to bring to the table. It was just, I just felt like in today’s day and age, I don’t know if we would have written it that way. And I think there’s a loss. I like the way they wrote that character.

Christi Dodge  15:36  

Yeah, it was a sweet relationship. I was you were rooting for those two to get together. Right. But definitely, he’s the hero. Right? Right. 

Mike Dodge  15:44  

Everybody loves that character.

Christi Dodge  15:45  

Okay, so let’s talk about Jake. Although that’s what it’s saying.

Mike Dodge  15:53  

No, he’s Joe.

Christi Dodge  15:55  

Joe, he plays you. He’s Jake from 16 candles, and I have a whole thing to share with everyone. I guess maybe it will fall under either “about the numbers” or or maybe when we finish this discussion, but it was one of our pauses, you definitely were bumped. Seems mild. Right? By the age difference between Jake/Joe and Charlotte.

Mike Dodge  16:23  

They are in dialogue, they establish that she is 15 and that he is 26.

Christi Dodge  16:29  

Which is problematic. Then sadly, Mrs. Flax isn’t even. And probably when we find out his age, Mrs. Flax was in the car or nearby. So she knew.

Mike Dodge  16:42  

Yeah, she knows.

Christi Dodge  16:44  

So it’s disturbing that she wouldn’t shoo him away or discourage Charlotte from lusting after him?

Mike Dodge  16:57  

Well, I think as a parent of a teenager, you can’t be particularly like, you can’t get hung up on who they lust after. Because is, you know, at that age is probably everyone. But yeah, you would put a pretty firm butt down, because not only is he 26, he’s basically this side of unemployed. He has a ton of odd jobs in town. There’s a little bit of scandal attached to him. We’ve heard, right, which turns out is not the case. He tells Charlotte the truth later on. But in town, that would have been the perspective of this guy. He drove this girl away, perhaps to have his baby. And now he just you know, has odd jobs for the nuns. And suddenly he’s sniffing around your 15 year old daughter. Yeah, you load up the shotgun with rocksalt.

Christi Dodge  17:50  

I said, cuz I watched this probably when I was, let’s see. 83 Yeah, I probably was about 15. So I said from the perspective of a 15 year old, and this handsome guy shows you around, of course, you’re gonna want to hang out with him. Oh, yeah. But it’s up to him to then say, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Mike Dodge  18:16  

Yes. And having been a 26 year old. Okay. And if I’m going to try to get the exact but I think I actually was 26. around someone who was probably 12 or 13. Yeah, that’s a non starter. Yeah. Right.

Christi Dodge  18:33  

It’s problematic today. I mean, when we watched it, I’m so curious if this was at all mentioned in 1983. Yeah, I’m not sure what 90 my God it was 1990.

Mike Dodge  18:50  

Right. So so we should have known better right then for 1963. I could say, Okay, that was a slightly different time. Right. All right. This, Priscilla Presley thinking? Yeah, I mean, in 63, aged consent for women was maybe 15 in that state. But

Christi Dodge  19:13  

So that’s interesting. Maybe the filmmakers even had this discussion, but then said, Yeah, but in 1963, and they rattled off everybody, you just said it was kind of like this was done. I mean, sadly,

Mike Dodge  19:26  

Okay. But just because, um, people did it. Do we need to have it in the film now, it that is key to the whole dramatic part at the end of Act Two is she has to get together with Joe right. And again, it’s like realistic but it still gives me some achiness. So there’s a film we will go into that you and I saw in the theater that had a rape scene that really disturbed me, and I think it was historically accurate answer It really happened at that time. I still didn’t enjoy it. Yeah.

Christi Dodge  20:07  

Well, I mean, that’s tough though, because I don’t believe in whitewashing history. I think we have to acknowledge that.

Mike Dodge  20:18  

Yeah. Like I said, it’s I think it was realistic for the time. Yeah. But it’s kind of Whoa, it got my attention immediately.

Christi Dodge  20:26  

It did get your attention. Yeah. Okay. So I loved all of Cher’s dresses, the pink polka dotted dress and Winonna wears it later, but I loved it that when Winona word it well, I should say when Charlotte wore it, it was loose in the hips, which I thought was perfect, because for the most part it fit. But it just showed us that Charlotte wasn’t yet a woman, like, you know, especially a woman post childbirth, and not that, you know, there was nothing there’s nothing wrong with shares physique, but it just Charlotte wasn’t a woman yet.

Mike Dodge  20:59  

Right. So I noticed that they both had I wish that I could knew the right word for it. So perhaps, you know, costume designer, Miriam could call him but it’s like a pencil skirt. But for jeans. They were jeans and they’re they’re kind of Capri length. They were called pedal pushers. Yeah, that’s it pedal push at the very, very tight fit on the leg. Yeah. 

There was a scene where they were cooking in the kitchen. And you could see they both had very slender bills, but you could see the difference. Shear had hips, and Winona Ryder at that time was 19. I think I looked up. And she did not have those kinds of hips. She was a very young woman. So I think you’re right great job of the costume department to kind of show us the difference, you know, and highlighted that difference in it

Christi Dodge  21:43  

because she’s in that scene where she’s wearing her mom’s dress. She’s very much trying to act and embody a woman

Mike Dodge  21:49  

right and she put on was period accurate but like lacey under things, right. So teased out her hair like her mom did. Yeah. Which is, you know, that’s also neat, because they kind of fought and didn’t know she didn’t want to be like her mom. But then she begins

Christi Dodge  22:05  

Yeah, if I’m gonna go get this guy, I have to write kind of code switch to how my mom. 

Mike Dodge  22:12  

Well mom is successful at getting guys. We’ve established that that is her wheelhouse. 

Christi Dodge  22:16  

So I have to put on that uniform, to go woo. 

Mike Dodge  22:22  

And not to overly focus on that. But if you’re a 26 year old Feller, and a bell tower, and a 15 year old, Winona Ryder starts grinding up on you. Maybe you say, Okay, now from a writing perspective, I had a much bigger problem with the way they wrote that. Because if you were next to that bell, they would both be deaf. Well, that’s not when they get together, they get together. But the bell tower part I’m just talking about there’s this scene where they’re both in the bell tower and he’s ringing the bell. We’re standing right next. I’m sorry, you would be deaf. 

Christi Dodge  22:56  

Yeah. Cuz I can’t remember what but he’s crying.

Mike Dodge  23:01  

It’s after Kennedy was shot. And yes, I can’t. I I was not alive. When Kennedy was shot. I was alive when Reagan was shot. And I can’t imagine crying over it.

Christi Dodge  23:14  

No, I think back then, because he was. I’ve, I’ve just seen many movies where they show us. I mean, women definitely crying but I’ve seen him where they show men crying too. I think he was the symbol of hope. And, you know, like a new kind of way of being.

Mike Dodge  23:35  

Okay. Well, he he was famously the first Catholic president and they we established the Jo and the nuns were Catholics. So maybe they took it closer, but it’s a politician, maybe back then we didn’t realize what they were like.

Christi Dodge  23:48  

I guess but you have to take your own feelings of politics out of it. To understand where Joe was that.

Mike Dodge  23:56  

I would argue that there were other people at that time who were aware of what politicians are like, but for the movie buy the premise buy the bit, the people who were like cut off about it, we didn’t see in the scene, that’s fine. But it was just to me it was a little bit odd that he was that choked up over it. So I had made a note that was he playing up that as an opportunity to get some some love and affection from Winona Ryder.

Christi Dodge  24:26  

I don’t think so. Okay. I loved the beautiful scenery with the fall leaves that the bulk of this film was taken in it was filmed in Massachusetts, and Big Lake Texas and Rhode Island. So that goes with all of the beautiful fall leaves that were abound.

Mike Dodge  24:49  

And then there are several times you have a shot where they use the mirrored pond surface to to to show the leaves as well. Hmm, gorgeous work there.

Christi Dodge  25:01  

This movie has a great soundtrack. Johnny Angel, Fever, Big Girls Don’t Cry, It’s in His Kiss, Just One Look, Get the Girl to Marry You. And it’s just really a fun addition to put you in that 60s era. And then at the very end when you see them all dancing in the kitchen while the credits roll, it’s just, I loved the soundtrack of this film.

Mike Dodge  25:26  

So I made a note that I think it was period. Correct. They were in costumes for New Year’s Eve. When did we stop doing that?

Christi Dodge  25:36  

I never did that.

Mike Dodge  25:38  

I mean, that like that was 50s and 60s, that was a thing.

Christi Dodge  25:41  

Oh, I don’t know. I’ve never seen it before. I just assumed it was this person loved dressing up. I mean, I was always on my couch with Dick Clark kind of girl. So I never really went to a party.

Mike Dodge  25:54  

Maybe that was only in the movies. But I feel like we saw that in that era. It was a costume party for New Year’s Eve.

Christi Dodge  26:02  

But maybe it was like, were you supposed to dress in? Like who you wanted to?

Mike Dodge  26:06  

Yeah, I don’t know. Like, I’ll have to do some research on that and see if I can figure it out. Back to the story on that. Get back to me before I read these show notes. Right, right. Or, again, people who know things about costumes who are listening to the podcast could also write text email. Let us know.

Christi Dodge  26:23  

Let us say you’re out there. By the way, I’m just going to take this moment. Thank you so much to our fans in Japan.

Mike Dodge  26:32  

Konnichiwa

Christi Dodge  26:33  

And thank you to our new Israeli fans. We are hitting the charts in Israel. It is so exciting to me. So thank you to all of you who are listening in Israel. Shalom. Was there any head trauma?

Mike Dodge  26:45  

Yes, I made note of Charlotte faints due to low blood sugar and she falls at 50 minutes. I think it’s safe to assume there’s so head head bump there. And then Mrs. Flax slaps her quite hard at one hour. 37 Yes, he does. She really lays into her. So that’s that’s my listed head trauma.

Christi Dodge  27:06  

Poor Charlotte. Okay, how about a smoochy? Do we get a Bob Hoskins/Cher kiss?

Mike Dodge  27:12  

Smoochy smoochy smoochy. Holy cow. I made no no notes. Yes, we did. Of course. Get some kisses there. I

Christi Dodge  27:20  

don’t know. And then I know Charlotte kiss Joe. Yeah, yeah. And the bell tower. Yeah. And while she kissed him once because he does kind of pull away. I don’t know if it was when they were fishing. That he does kind of pull away, but then maybe kisses her back. But then definitely when after Kennedy dies, they kiss and they do a

Mike Dodge  27:41  

little bit more. Yeah, I think that’s why I didn’t make a note of it. I was a little newer. Yeah.

Christi Dodge  27:46  

Okay, how about a driving review? I know you’re gonna want to talk about this.

Mike Dodge  27:49  

So lots of gorgeous cars in this film. So tip of the cap to the automotive folks in the art department. He did a great job. Mrs. Flax is driving a 1957 Chevy 210 Townsmen. This is just a few years old at the time because it was set in 63. So I’m curious how a woman who keeps moving from place to place could afford that car. And it looks like it’s lavender. Which is I don’t know if GM had a lavender color scheme, but that’s what it look like.

The picture of Charlotte’s father. He’s actually sitting on the front of a 1950 Dodge Wayfare that’s the only one of ours that made this film. I think it’s hilarious that Joe drives the school bus and it’s an International Harvester not a bluebird. 

Apparently at that time International Harvester still a strong in the bus market. Yeah, maybe Bluebird came later. He drives Joe drives for his own purposes, a 55. Ford F 350. That was an interesting choice. Because at one point, Mrs. Flax, they talk about somebody and she says, Why would I talk to him? He drives an Edsel for Christ’s sakes.

Obviously, Mrs. Flax is not a fan of the Ford Motor Company. It’s interesting. I said, don’t put a snapshot over the gauges in your vehicle. So it’s nice to put a picture on the dash I guess that same maybe you used to do that back in the day, but not over here. gauges, you need to be able to see those. And then lastly, if we didn’t love Lou enough already, he has a really nice black 56 Packard patrician. That was a nice car he drove. So tip of the capital loop. Good job, buddy. Good job. 

Christi Dodge  29:35  

All right. I’m gonna interrupt going to the numbers just really quick to give you an update. Michael Shoeffling is best known as Jake Ryan, the hot guy who is standing next to the red Corvette, Porsche Oh are the red Porsche in 16 candles. So he was in 16 candles in 84 and 85 and 85. He was in Vision Quest. And he did really good Vision Quest because he was a wrestler in high school. In fact, they had to tell him

you’re hurting Goose’s neck or no Modine?

Yeah, Matthew Modine. He was in a film called Let’s get Harry in 86, the Hitchhiker, oh, that’s a TV series. Then he did Mermaids in 90. His last film was Wild Hearts Can’t be Broken in 91. And then he thought he would get it big, which you would think with 16 Candles, Vision Quest, and some of these others, maybe he would have become a leading man. I wonder? Yeah, part of it was he was kind of I don’t know if he was acting like this. But he seemed very shy.

Mike Dodge  30:46  

Well, it so Wild Hearts Can be Broken came out in 91. But they may be filmed at 90. I wonder if there’s a little bit of that 26 year old 15 year old that will stop it. So I wasn’t being obnoxious. I was telling the truth.

Christi Dodge  31:02  

So he just couldn’t get the juice in Hollywood, he couldn’t get the rolls. I mean, if you think about it, this is the height of like, Top Gun. If we’re doing 16 candles, that’s Breakfast Club. And, you know, there’s all those movies and he’s just not getting any Hollywood juice. He left Hollywood, he got married, had a couple kids, and he lives in the New England area. As a furniture maker, just living his best life. He loves making furniture and shys away from most, like doesn’t have any social media. Apparently, he’s seen his daughter has posted him and a couple things of her on her social media. But for the most part, he left Hollywood and didn’t look back.

Mike Dodge  31:49  

Well. I’m gonna kind of second what you said. I feel like he he was a little stiff and all those roles. He just didn’t have the twinkle in the eye. And I think this was, you know, when Rob Lowe was out there, so right, it would have been hard to compete with that. That kind of I mean, he had the look. Absolutely. But he didn’t really have like the the charisma, the animation,

Christi Dodge  32:17  

it almost reminded me of a Matt Dillon, who I never really liked very much. He always Matt Dillon always played kind of like the jerk. I mean, he’s very funny. And I’ve seen him and stuff since and I feel bad kind of letting his characters bleed to how I feel about him as a person. Sorry, Bradley Cooper. But yeah, I guess we all do it. Right. But he’s so he has a very Matt Dillon look. So I can’t believe that. I wonder if he just didn’t have like, you know, they talk about the it factor and the sparkle and the charisma and the, you know,

Mike Dodge  32:52  

I don’t know he because he was in some pretty big films to then just disappear. So bad representation to think whether who’s the producer for The Kid Stays in the Picture, Robert? Oh, something but or it was either him or or Goldman who wrote for Princess Bride, but they talked about, they said, the way you know, a Hollywood leading lady, is when she walks down the street, she literally stops traffic. They said it’s not just a euphemism that the people that we know these big stars have this one in 1,000,001 and a billion maybe charisma. They just grabbed the eye and you can’t look away. And he’s a good looking guy. But he maybe didn’t have that. Right. But he just had like this

Christi Dodge  33:43  

quiet like both in 16 candles. And this film. Women were or I’ll just say, kind of that shy, quiet guy. You were almost like, Okay, what’s in there? I gotta thump that melon. I gotta know what’s going on?

Mike Dodge  33:59  

I went to college with a guy that was like, that looked a lot like that too. Quiet. wasn’t interested. And there were some gals that it was like moths to a flame. They had to know what’s in there. Why are you not interested in me? And I find that fascinating because I don’t feel that works the other way around. I think if a girl is like, like their last she’s a cold fish. I know part of that. She’s not interesting. But yeah, so maybe in person, people were chasing him. But just on screen in the end, like you said, it’s maybe not his fault was he given that direction? Right. And that was just kind of the role but then yeah, he was just like,

Christi Dodge  34:38  

I would love to get VisionQuest into the rotation to see if his character and that because I feel like in wildhearts can’t be broken. He’s going to be that quiet one again. But I feel like in VisionQuest like if he was hurting people, maybe his character was a little bit more alive.

Mike Dodge  34:55  

So Cusak a kickboxer in which film itself That era there’s one of the is it. It’s not saying anything, is it? John Cusak, he’s into kickboxing in some film of that era. I bet we could come up with a bunch of those like sports themed. Like, there’s gotta be another couple of we could fill out a month with those. So we go to the numbers. Let’s go to the numbers,

Christi Dodge  35:20  

I love this. The budget for Mermaids was 20 Mermaids. I think I met 20 million.

Mike Dodge  35:28  

I like it. How many mermaids is this film gonna cost me it’s 2 million mermaids Boss

Christi Dodge  35:33  

Mermaids made 35 million so if you add in marketing million

Mike Dodge  35:38  

or 15 Mermaids of profit, yeah.

Christi Dodge  35:41  

Adjusted for today. That’d be like 76 million. It got to 6.7 out of 10 on IMDb critics gave it 72% and audiences alike did a little bit more than that. 75% it is just under two hours and an hour and 50 minutes. It was is rated PG 13 and is listed as a Comedy, Drama, Romance. It comes from Orion Pictures. And Christina Ricci one that year for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a motion picture at the young artists awards. And Winona Ryder won for best supporting actress that year.

Mike Dodge  36:23  

This film did not feel long, at an hour 50 I wouldn’t have thought it was actually that long. And I like this much better than Terms of Endearment. So isn’t that fascinating? Worse IMDb score liked it better a lot better.

Christi Dodge  36:38  

Yeah, no, it was 10 points less. Almost then. Then Terms. I think this one definitely gets overlooked. I don’t know if it was because it was the 90s I don’t know. Or it just people just didn’t respond. Like it wasn’t as dramatic. Nobody died. Right? I mean, maybe Frank Oz is like see? Yes. Shut up. killed off Charlotte. 

Mike Dodge  37:00  

Kill that. Charlotte. You want to put butts in seats? I’m glad we kept went on.

Christi Dodge  37:05  

Yeah. Good job. Richard Benjamin, we approve. 

Mike Dodge  37:08  

Yeah, it’s funny. Every time you say that. I think I’m thinking of Richard Belzer. Is that a comedian?

Christi Dodge  37:13  

No. I’ll have to show you a picture. Or did I? Because I think you would recognize him. He was like a character. He was in things too.

Mike Dodge  37:18  

And so was Frank Oz. He was a Knives Out even so yes, yeah.

Christi Dodge  37:23  

All righty. That does it for this week. This is your second clue. So Terms of Endearment. Mermaids. What is the theme and this is a theme? What is the theme for July? Let us know look in this in the show notes for how to let us know but never forget,

Mike Dodge  37:41  

Dodgers never stop and neither do the movies. 

Brennan  37:43  

Thanks for listening to Dodge Movie Podcast with Christi and Mike Dodge of Dodge Media Productions. To find out more about this podcast and what we do. Go to dodgemediaproductions.com. Subscribe, share, leave a comment and tell us what we should watch next. dodges never stopped. And neither do the movies.