Mermaids (1990 film)  Mermaids is a 1990 American family comedy-drama film directed by Richard Benjamin, and starring Cher, Bob Hoskins, Winona Ryder, Michael Schoeffling, and Christina Ricci in her film debut. Set in the early 1960s, its plot follows a neurotic teenage girl who moves with her wayward mother and young sister to a small town in Massachusetts. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Patty Dann. Originally planned as the American debut of Swedish director Lasse Hallström, the film was ultimately directed by Benjamin after both Hallström and Frank Oz abandoned the project. Filming of "Mermaids" took place in various locations in Massachusetts in the fall of 1989. Released in December 1990, "Mermaids" was met with critical acclaim, particularly for the performance of Ryder, who received a Golden Globe Award nomination and a National Board of Review Award. Ricci also won a Young Artist Award for her performance. In 1963 Oklahoma, Charlotte Flax is a neurotic 15-year-old whose carefree single mother, Rachel, relocates Charlotte and her 9-year-old half-sister, Kate, each time she ends a relationship. Rachel's parenting approach—which more resembles friendship than mothering—is troubling to the anxiety-ridden Charlotte, who is embarrassed by her mother's flamboyant nature. After ending an affair with her married employer, Rachel and her daughters move to the small town of Eastport, Massachusetts where she also gets a job as a receptionist for an insurance adjuster. Charlotte is ecstatic about their new home's location, as it borders a convent, and she is obsessed with Catholicism. Charlotte soon becomes enamored with Joe Poretti, a 26-year-old caretaker of the convent and local school bus driver. Meanwhile, Rachel meets a local shoe store owner, Lou Landsky, and slowly begins a relationship with him. After the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Charlotte finds Joe ringing the convent bell and consoles him. However, they begin to kiss and feeling filled with sin, she flees. After the encounter, she begins fasting in order to purge her sinful thoughts, but eventually passes out from hunger. Uneducated about sex, Charlotte fears that God will punish her with pregnancy via immaculate conception, and decides to steal her mother's car and run away. She drives all night before stopping at the home of a young family in New Haven, Connecticut, claiming to have suffered car troubles.