AllMovie

If every generation needs its mermaid fantasy, then 21st century tweens could do a lot worse than Aquamarine. Sara Paxton has a huge amount of fun playing the cheery sea creature from the title, proving she avoided typecasting after playing a popular jerk in Sleepover. But the mermaid is really only a MacGuffin here. It's the two best friends, played by Emma Roberts (Julia's niece) and Joanna "Jojo" Levesque, who give Aquamarine its significant doses of heart. Alice Hoffman's book, adapted here by John Quaintance, smartly sets the action in the kind of coastal Florida town that just screams "escapism," and one friend's imminent move to Australia gives the story its end-of-the-summer urgency. The mermaid's appearance is perfectly timed for her to grant them a wish, so they won't have to separate. Of course, she's really there to help them locate the confidence and self-esteem they'll need to flourish, and to give them the perspective that will help minimize the geographical distance between them. Elizabeth Allen's film gets to have it both ways. There are frivolous scenes in which the girls introduce their new friend to teenage life on land, then race the sunset to keep her identity as a mythological creature concealed. (Naturally, they also avoid random splashes of water.) But what stands out are the more heartfelt scenes between Roberts and Levesque, each adorable in her own way, but each displaying the clear depth of character to which other tween films only pay lip service. Even the hunky lifeguard (Jake McDorman), who could have been just a prop, has surprising dimension. Aquamarine satisfies by keeping it simple. This is the story of a friendship between two ordinary girls, and if a pair of starfish earrings, or some harmless mermaid profanity ("Bullshark!"), happens to appear, then all the better.