I looked at 2006 Aquamarine in my first slumber party. At the same time, which inspired me for the style of each long-sleeved shirt I had and taught me to wait for the guys to shake out his hair, because apparently that meant that I really liked. The teenager is one of the underrated films that I don’t think or see very often, but when I do, it brings me a wave of the tide (ha, get it?) of endless summer nostalgia.
If I have somehow not seen this gem, it’s about two shy, boy-obsessed best friends, Claire and Hailey (Emma Roberts and JoJo), during his last few days of summer before Hailey moved to Australia. A large coastal storm is washed to the sea at the edge of your swimming pool in the complex, bringing a mermaid (Sara Paxton) along with it. Aquamarine, named after a rare and precious gemstone, it has the legs when the sun is up and when it is dry. The problem: she must find true love before going back to sea in three days of her arranged marriage.
If you have seen this in their teen years, you simply can’t claim you never daydreamed in the last fleeting days of summer that a mermaid was going to wash and turn your world upside down. When I recently rewatched, it brought all the magic and fantasy that comes along with mermaids, summer, romances, and adventures with his best friends. It’s like The Little Mermaidbut for high school students.
I want to feel what that times have changed? Put this baby. The phones are connected to the wall outlet and the fashion is equivalent to low-rise everything, Bermuda (who just happen to be back in style), and wavy hair. Aquamarine has a rude way of the decade of 2000, the soundtrack (Mandy Moore! The Jonas Brothers!), a popular bad girl, the love and the interest, which carries the cargo shorts. Rewatching it also reminds me of all the hours I spent reading teen magazines as a Tiger Beat, J-14and The balance of payments to know how to flirt with a guy (“It’s called the fluff and retreat. Fluff his ego then walk away, not only will this leave you wanting more, but is under the impression that it is his idea.”) and the style of my hair. Very Of the decade of 2000.
As someone who has moved several times, hated her parents, and would have done anything for a desire of a mermaid, to make it go away, Hailey and Claire’s friendship during their last days together is very special, even if they are only eighth grade students. I know the feeling of trying to make the last days count and be in absolute denial of the situation (and yes, even unpacking some full of boxes).
Maybe I’m partial because I have this faint memory of seeing her in this slumber party, and thinking that it was the best thing ever, but, today, I think Aquamarine it is still the ideal summer watch. Even if we do not have the blue streaks in the hair or the earrings of starfish that whisper compliments in our ears, at least we have the perfect movie to make us feel like us. And on a final note, I’ve definitely found myself saying: “the only two men I need in my life are Ben and Jerry.” While I always thought I was so smart, in fact, I only got the line of Aqua (which was even eating my favorite flavor, Stealing Food).
