macpet49-1
The usual--been done to death--two friends share different lives and one dies to save the other. It'd been much better film if Bette Midler died at the beginning. However, since she is a self-proclaimed JAP, that wasn't about to happen and it also meant the world revolved around her (both in fantasy and real life). She just had to be the successful one who lived because she was Bette!!!!! They must've had a cheap budget because they dredged up the worst B movie actress of that or any time, Barbara 'Seagull' Hersey. LOL. She could be the epitome of trite. Ms. Seagull's chief claim to fame was being in a relationship with one of the you know who brother actors who ended up hanging in a closet in the Far East while on vacation. I guess he was trying to avoid the press.
ianlouisiana
Cecilia Bloom,aspiring Shirley Temple,sings "The glory of love" at an audition right at the beginning of "Beaches",minutes after she has met her new friend Hilary.Its a innocent and simple song and she sings it innocently and simply.Cecilia herself is innocent,if a tad precocious. Next time she sings it she has knocked about a bit,the song has altered its tempo,the accompaniment pushier.By the time we have reached the end of the movie it gets the full Gordon Jenkins - type treatment,altered chords,brilliant string and brass arrangement,C.C. Bloom,moulded by the sad events that have led her to where she is,has become a grown - up person with responsibilities,no longer a maverick. The movie could be summed up as "A star is born.Her best friend dies. Cue music for Big Number"if I were cynical,but mostly I went along with it because I enjoy Ms Midler with her "Barbra Streisand without the restraint" schtick. Miss Barbara Hershey is appropriately milquetoast as her WASP friend. Dominated by her father,controlled by her husband,a person less likely to retain the friendship of such a hugely talented but eccentric star would be harder to imagine.And I guess that's the point. At the end of the day there's only room for one big ego in "Beaches",and Ms Midler goes full tilt at everything. She sings beautifully and overacts madly.And it just about balances out.
Melissa Mendelson
In this life, we are fortunate to meet the people that change our lives. Most of the friends that we find seem to fade away over time, but there will always be the ones that would never leave our side. And through all the trials that we face, the dark moments that come, they stay with us, taking us by the hand, and holding us tight, and these are the people that we would never forget. They are our heroes, and the bonds between us would never break but strain under the weight of this world. But they would stay with us until we reach our journey's end, and friendships such as this echo strongly in a beautifully written masterpiece called Beaches.
gcd70
Either this film improves with each viewing, or I'm just getting more and more sentimental as the years go by.Garry Marshall's best film to date ("Pretty Woman" and the depressing "Frankie and Johnny" followed), "Beaches" tells the story of a lifelong friendship, its ups and its downs, its trials and its triumphs. Bette Midler gives another solid performance as the showy C.C. Bloom, yet to her credit Barbara Hershey is not overawed by Midler's strong presence and gives an equally fine performance as Hillary. The two share a bond which lasts through all their good and bad years.This is a nicely balanced picture which always stays true to life, never becoming melodramatic nor manipulative. A poignant and often funny film which benefits from Ms. Midler's fine voice and music.Monday, October 4, 1993 - Video"Beaches" is a strong drama which tells the tale of two lifelong friends whose bond survives both thick and thin.Director Garry Marshall's stable control keeps the film well balanced while he shows a good understanding of the "genre", as it were. The two lead performances, both world's apart, cap off a most enjoyable film.Sunday, March 13, 1994 - T.V.
AD
