A Mermaid's Tale

A Mermaid's Tale is “mostly harmless”: a light romantic fairytale with added cupcakes and shopping. A sort of Hannah Montana meets Sabrina by the sea.

There are few plot surprises – and despite copious teen girl tears, everything is for the best in the best of all possible seaside worlds. Ryan (Caitlin Carmichael) and father, Matt (Jerry O'Connell) must leave the big city and move in with her grandfather, Art (Barry Bostwick), because he is getting on in years and needs his son around to take care for him.

Not that you'd believe that for a moment, because Art is an old grump, obsessed with finding a mermaid. Which, of course, Ryan manages on her very first outing down by the dock (“Don't go down to the dock! It could be dangerous.”), where she meets a young mergirl called Coral (Sydney Scotia). Of course she is.

Instant BFFs. Bonding is instant, as are teen giggles, and hugs, as Ryan introduces Coral to shopping and cycling and flirting with a lad down the local dress shop. A little later, Coral repays the favour, taking Ryan down below the sea into her very own ocean playground.

And that is pretty much it, except... the little matter of the mystery of what became of Ryan's grandma... and just why grandpa is so obsessed with mermaids. And how come Ryan can hold her breath for ages and ages under water without even trying? No spoilers: but it really is not hard to guess where this story is headed.

And if you are a teenager – and probably a teen girl - looking for a little non-challenging light relief, and a tale with an upbeat ending, you won't do much better than this.

The acting is competent, the dialogue straightforward. The scenery is pretty, with some highly attractive camerawork as the two girls explore Coral's undersea wonderland. Not exactly Jacques Cousteau, but if you like fish (and turtles) you'll like this.

Just don't worry too much about continuity, and whatever you do, don't focus on Coral's necklace, which not only plays a significant role later in the film, but appears capable of moving itself mysteriously from girl to girl without any human (or mermaid) intervention!