The Thirteenth Year Reviews

This special effects comedy about a Merman is a whopper of a fish-out-of-water tale about an adolescent who receives a stunning explanation for his aquatic abilities. A mermaid (Stephanie Chantel Durelli) abandons her half-human son in the boat that belongs to childless Whit (Dave Coulier) and Sharon Griffin (Lisa Stahl Sullivan). Thirteen years later, the Griffins are justly proud of their adopted son, Cody (Chez Starbuck), a popular member of the Mahone Bay swim team. Then Cody notices scales on his arms, and discovers that he can generate intense static-electric energy. With the aid of his nerdy pal, Jess (Justin Jon Ross), Cody discovers his deep-sea origins. Unfortunately Cody's condition is exacerbated by exposure to water: If he wants to stop his transformation, he'll have to disappoint the swim team that's come to rely on him. What if his mother comes looking for him, and how will Cody fit in to land-locked society? Adolescence is always tough, but Cody is having a particularly difficult time of things. This family friendly Disney film is the sort of picture parents make a concerted effort to enjoy with their kids, but it never gets within hailing distance of the classic SPLASH (1984). Robert Baird, Jenny Arata and Kelly Senegal's script skims over Cody's divided nature as a metaphor for adolescent angst, instead tossing in a useless teen romance and wasting time on swim-meet footage; to their credit, they compare Cody's unexpected outsider status with Jess's ostracism for being a non-athletic egghead.