That awkward friend…
We all have that one friend. You know the one. You bump into them and you’re actually a little nervous to catch up but you try to appear enthusiastic. And as soon as they start talking you realize you’re about to have your patience tried yet again. Only this time, that friend tells you all about the time they fell in love. With a mermaid.
In MERMAID, Doug Nelson (Johnny Pemberton) loses his job as the technician for an ill-advised floor-to-ceiling saltwater aquarium in the VIP room of his local Florida strip club. Between that and his strained relationship with his daughter, her mom, and stepdad (surprisingly played by Kevin Nealon) and the fact that he lives in his dead dad’s house, Doug doesn’t have much going for him. Especially since he owes a few thousand dollars to his friendly neighborhood methed-out loan shark duo, played by Robert Patrick and Tyler Rice.
So after a few Percocets he decides to take his boat out on the water and end it all in spectacular fashion. Instead he finds an injured mermaid who he decides to take home and nurse back to health. Not a beautiful Disney-princess mermaid mind you, but a seaweed and barnacle encrusted, razor-toothed scaly fish person. Her appearance, the lack of a shared language, nor the fact that she consistently tries to eat him dissuades Doug from developing deep (non-sexual) feelings for her. He names her Destiny and soon shares his favorite meal with her (SpaghettiOs with crushed Percocet on top).
A familiar sense of humor.
From the mind that brought us BUTT BOY and TINY CAMERA, MERMAID is the third film from writer and director Tyler Cornack and is clearly his love letter to Florida. I mean, he includes an interstitial telling us as much after the opening scene with a fun Tom Arnold cameo. But even without it, his love for Florida comes through every frame. Beautifully and vibrantly shot on the same beach he spent his childhood on, Cornack lovingly paints an honest portrait of his home state — both the good and the bad. From the beautiful sunshine and blue waters you can practically smell salt air wafting off of to a kid’s birthday party at a flashy McMansion and Robert Patrick’s cracked, leathery skin.
Y’all, it’s actually kinda sweet.
Unfortunately Doug’s relationship is as real as his love for the stripper he left a poem for at his previous job. And this is really where the movie shines. Pemberton’s insecure and lonely Doug is expertly played for empathy so much so that despite never making a single smart choice (like taking Destiny to his daughter’s birthday party), you’re always in his corner, hoping the next opportunity goes better for him. Paired with this are incredible practical makeup effects by Wayne Beauchamp and team as well as an amazing performance from Avery Potemri bringing the mermaid Destiny to life.
As things spin further out of control for Doug, the third act becomes a little overstuffed. While I appreciate the fact that it’s all Doug’s fault as his choices just make it worse and worse, the complications often introduce more questions than they answer and only delay the mostly satisfying conclusion we eventually get.
Our take?
Amusingly awkward, unexpectedly sweet, and a visual treat, Mermaid delivers laughs and “oh shit”s in spades. And while the third act does drag a hair, it makes room to add an unexpected Kevin Dunn cameo to an already stacked cast who all execute their characters’ Florida personas expertly. So pour your friends (two) pina coladas, kick your feet up and get ready to repeatedly think, “I wish you weren’t so fucking awkward bud,” while you laugh and gasp your way through Doug’s misadventures.
And if, at the end, you realize Cornack’s sense of humor vibes with your own, throw on Butt Boy because… well, just do it. You’ll thank me later.
MERMAID was screened and reviewed as part of our SXSW 2025 coverage.
Kev is a member of the Fantastic Fest features programming team, an aspiring screenwriter, and a seasoned marketing copywriter. They are a passionate champion of festival midnighters and loves to amplify the voices of underserved filmmakers — the weirder their films, the better.
