MovieChat Forums > Mermaids (1990) Discussion > Couldn't believe that mother.....*some s...

Couldn't believe that mother.....some spoilers

posted 16 years ago by fiatlux-1
21 replies | jump to latest

*spoilers*

....getting all high and mighty with Charlotte about being off with Joe. Yes, she was supposed to be watching her sister and it was a horrible thing to do of neglecting her. But if that mother had been home watching her OWN kid and not whoring around with her boyfriend, it never would have happened!
Its not a teenager's job to watch their siblings, its the parents job!
The teen can watch them occasionally, but its the teen's job to be a TEEN, not a parent or convenient babysitter.

"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

[–] banders46 16 years ago

Well said. Then again, since she had already agreed to watch her, she should have at least done a decent job of it.

[–] hppg 15 years ago

I sort of agree, and I think the mother knew this deep down and that's why she was so angry - because she felt guilty as well.

But I think she asked the older one to officially babysit, and at 15 you would expect her to be responsible. I have a much younger sister and watch her all the time and have for years, I don't think it's irresponsible of my mother to do that. Though I'm over 18 now, I was left with her before which I think was fair enough.

[–] saruna1 15 years ago

also remember that this was set way back when... it wasn't frowned upon for parents to leave the house, or unusual for a teenager to be expected to look after a whole group of children.

[–] snoho 15 years ago

The older one was pretty mature for her age.
The ONLY reason this happened to her little sister was because of the fact that she was getting it off with another guy. Don't bitch about the mom, the mom actually got someone to look after her child while she was out having a good time, that teenager just left her little sister alone. The girl would've learned a valuable lesson about children that night, you are stupid and immature.

[–] homercles12000 15 years ago

hey, truth is, that shouldnt have happened. and we dont know why the mom was out. when she showed up at the hospital, she was with her friend which had been kind of a business relationship, you just dont know. but the older daughter messed up. it is not okay for the older child to leave the younger child alone while she sees her boyfriend. thats irresponsible. any parent would ahve reacted the way she did.

[–] confusedxalicexwonders 14 years ago

If my daughter agreed to babysit her younger sister, then yes, I would expect her to of done a good job. I would of been furious with her for neglecting her. Charlotte agreed to babysit... she should of treated that with responcibility... and not neglected it.

[–] Beetlehands 14 years ago

Winona AND Cher's drama in the end is some of the best acting I've seen.

http://www.youtube.com/user/doug86

[–] aniketagg87 14 years ago

I have watched this movie a couple of times on HBO here in India and I cannot claim to know much about USA of that era but I gotta say: it's not like she had any choice! The mother had imposed that responsibility on her and yes a teenager WILL behave like a teenager. I am not condoning her actions but just saying that the mother is responsible too.

[–] qt1923 14 years ago

i agree generally if a mother asks an older child to look after the younger they should do it. but given the way she raised her daughters i can see why charlotte was irresponsible as that is how her mother is.

[–] susannah2000 14 years ago

I think Mrs. Flax was furious with Charlotte not only because she was scared out of her mind for Kate, but also because she knew that Charlotte was having sex, at far too young an age, and didn't want her to repeat her mother's mistakes. Also, she probably knew that Kate was drunk or at least tipsy, and was even more enraged at Charlotte. She dropped the ball all the way around, and only by the grace Kate survived.

[–] LauraRoslin 14 years ago

how is hiring a neighborhood teen to babysit any different than asking an older sibling the same thing? and since the sisters were so close, I don't think it was a great chore for Charlotte to watch Kate.

[–] TheWumberlog 14 years ago

I think they were both responsible.

It was irresponsible of Charlotte to drink (and let her sister drink) and then go look for Joe while she was supposed to be watching her sister.

However, her mother provoked her. Charlotte was looking for a way to spite her mother after Rachel incited her by kissing Joe, when she knew her daughter had a crush on him. And in Charlotte's defense, it was unintentional as it was irresponsible.

If her mother hadn't done that, Charlotte would have continued to silently obsess over Joe instead of pursuing him aggressively.

[–] fiatlux-1 14 years ago

Their mother didn't act like a mother anyway. She was flighty, man-obsessed,immature, and what kind of mother raises her kids on star-shaped fluffer-nutter sandwiches and marshmallow kabobs?!

"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

Couldn't believe that mother.....*some spoilers*

Couldn't believe that mother.....some spoilers