Aquamarine



Aquamarine is a 2006 children's film directed by Elizabeth Allen and loosely based on the children's book of the same name by Alice Hoffman.

It tells the story of two friends, Claire (Emma Roberts) and Hailey (Joanna "Jo Jo" Levesque) who are due to be separated in five days when Hailey moves to Australia. After a violent storm, they discover a mermaid named Aquamarine (Sara Paxton) in the swimming pool of their beach club. The mermaid tells them that she came to find love, which she has heard of but never experienced. Furthermore, she made a deal with her father that if she cannot prove love exists in three days, then she will have to return to enter an arranged marriage. She notices handsome lifeguard Raymond (Jake McDorman), also desired by the girls, and promises them that if they help her win his heart, then she will grant them one wish.

The girls immediately agree, seeing the promised wish as their opportunity to avoid being separated. But can they find proof of love in time?

-

This movie contains examples of:
"She's right. I mean, all the girls are after him. Even a few boys."
 * Alpha Bitch: Cecilia.
 * Arranged Marriage
 * The Boo Radley
 * California Doubling: While the plot involves Hailey moving from Florida to Australia, the film was shot in Australia - and except for the three leads, Arielle Kebbel (Cecilia) and the actor who plays Raymond, the entire cast's Australian (and in the case of Sean Micallef, as Cecilia's father, it shows).
 * Cassandra Truth: Cecilia when she starts trying to tell people that Aquamarine is a mermaid.
 * The Cast Showoff: Two of the three leads sing on the soundtrack (ironically, Joanna Levesque - best known as a singer - is the only one who doesn't).
 * Chick Flick
 * Mr. Fanservice: Raymond.
 * Even the Guys Want Him: Raymond.


 * Everyone Loves Blondes: Raymond is a rare male example. Aquamarine is also blonde but veers more into Hair of Gold.
 * Fourth Date Marriage: Aquamarine hopes that Raymond will have fallen in love with her after three days..
 * Freudian Trio: Claire = superego, Hailey = ego, Aquamarine = id
 * Girl Posse: Cecilia's friends.
 * Godiva Hair: Aquamarine, anytime she is in mermaid form.
 * Going Commando: Aquamarine, shortly after her first use of legs and a modesty t-shirt (which is big enough on her to be a dress), it's specifially mentioned she still needed undies (and shoes)
 * Hair of Gold: Aquamarine.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Claire and Hailey really push this trope to the edge. See Les Yay.
 * Interspecies Romance: Between Aquamarine, a mermaid, and Raymond, a human.
 * It's All About Me: Cecilia.
 * Karma Houdini: Cecilia's ultimate punishment is "getting her driving privelages revoked" by her father. Yeah, even though in a few years she'll be old enough to get her own car and not follow her parents' rules, so it's really a rather pointless punishment.
 * Les Yay: Claire and Hailey. And how! They sleep in the same bed and spend the whole movie not wanting to be separated, acting like Star-Crossed Lovers. Also both of them and Aquamarine. At the end, they even say that they love her.
 * Makeover Montage: Part of a shopping trip.
 * Our Mermaids Are Different: The movie uses the Splash method of wet = tail and dry = legs. In the original book she cannot change shape at all. However she must change back into her mermaid form at sunset.
 * Power of Friendship
 * Power of Love
 * Rule of Three: Aquamarine has three days to find love.
 * Supporting Protagonists: Claire and Hailey.
 * Swiss Army Tears
 * Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Claire is afraid of water because her parents drowned.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: Aquamarine has blue streaks in her hair and later so does Hailey who gets it in imitation of Aquamarine.