95 minutes – Drama
Release date: April 27, 2001
Canadian distributor: Odean Films

Marine Life is a lighthearted and entertaining look at the different forms a family can take, with a partcular focus on the trditional mother/daughter relationship told from the point of view of 12-year-old Adele Nordstrom. Cybill Shepherd plays Adele`s twice-divorced mother June, an aging cocktail pianist with a fondness for jazzy tunes, marriage and singing in the car wash. June can’t quite bring herself to decide about marrying her current beau Robert. Robert, played by Peter Outerbridge, is a tender but slightly confused younger man who continually tries to connect with Adele, but Adele is more interested in maintaining a relationship with her detached father. Rather than deal with the situation head-on, June shifts her reluctance onto her daughter, claiming that Adele is not ready. Robert sets out to win over both mother and daughter. Continuing in the vein of her box office success Better Than Chocolate, Anne Wheeler provides a masterful blending of comedy and socially relevant themes. Marine Life is filled with humour and music, and provides a heartwarming and entertaining look at the complex make-up of the modern family.