Years ago, on the beach at Atlantic City, two 11-year-old girls strike up a friendship. One is a poor Jewish performer from the Bronx and the other is a rich WASP tyke from San Francisco. Although they are very different, the youngsters immediately bond. They keep in touch by writing letters. For some unexplained reason, the girls do not see each other in person until they are all grown up. Still struggling to make in on the stage, obviously Broadway-bound Bette Midler (as Cecilia Carol "CC" Bloom) welcomes beautiful attorney Barbara Hershey (as Hillary "Hill" Whitney) as her New York City roommate...
Trying to separate herself from her father's millions, Ms. Hershey wants to help poor people with her lawyer skills. Things take an expected turn when Ms. Midler's handsome director John Heard (as John Pierce) notices Hershey's beauty. The event foreshadowed in the opening and throughout becomes a reality. Near the end, Midler sings her #1 Grammy-award winning hit "Wind Beneath My Wings". This is a formula-type movie which doesn't add anything interesting to the genre. One improvement could have been to show more form Hershey's perspective; nonetheless, she makes an equal or superior impression...
During the pregnancy portions, Midler and Hershey are shown in a few clips - just having fun together. This elevates their friendship for the viewer and should have been done earlier, when they met as adults. Instead, we almost immediately see them in conflict over the silly (Christmas carols) and the serious (men). For half the film, the chemistry is missing. Still, it's a good story for Midler and her hit single is used to great effect (and it's about a friend, not a lover). Young performers Grace Johnston (as Victoria), Mayim Bialik (as little CC), and Marcie Leeds (as little Hill) benefit beautifully from Garry Marshall's direction.
****** Beaches (12/21/88) Garry Marshall ~ Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, John Heard, Grace Johnston
Trying to separate herself from her father's millions, Ms. Hershey wants to help poor people with her lawyer skills. Things take an expected turn when Ms. Midler's handsome director John Heard (as John Pierce) notices Hershey's beauty. The event foreshadowed in the opening and throughout becomes a reality. Near the end, Midler sings her #1 Grammy-award winning hit "Wind Beneath My Wings". This is a formula-type movie which doesn't add anything interesting to the genre. One improvement could have been to show more form Hershey's perspective; nonetheless, she makes an equal or superior impression...
During the pregnancy portions, Midler and Hershey are shown in a few clips - just having fun together. This elevates their friendship for the viewer and should have been done earlier, when they met as adults. Instead, we almost immediately see them in conflict over the silly (Christmas carols) and the serious (men). For half the film, the chemistry is missing. Still, it's a good story for Midler and her hit single is used to great effect (and it's about a friend, not a lover). Young performers Grace Johnston (as Victoria), Mayim Bialik (as little CC), and Marcie Leeds (as little Hill) benefit beautifully from Garry Marshall's direction.
****** Beaches (12/21/88) Garry Marshall ~ Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, John Heard, Grace Johnston