Beaches

Rating:
Summary: FRIENDS FOREVER LASTING: LIFE'S LIKE A BEACH I SUPPOSE...
Review: "Beaches" is the story of two little girls, Hilary Whitney (Barbara Hershey)and C.C. Bloom (Bette Midler)who develop a life long friendship under the boardwalk in Atlantic city that sees them through their respective good times and rough spots. Yes, it's over acted and full of schmaltz. Yes, it's terribly contrived and not very realistic. But word to the wise: bring Kleenex in advance. You'll wind up crying by the end. This is one of those slick packaged and even more slick marketed Touchstone films from the mid-eighties that proved irresistable to the general public. Midler gets a chance to sing some truly awful tunes and one real show stopper - "Wind Beneath My Wings". If you haven't heard it I've one question for you - "What planet have you been living on?" Yes, the film is maudelin in its premise and execution but the syrup works and has proven to be a highly durable in the intervening decades.
Disney Inc. gives us the movie in anamorphic widescreen and that's pretty much it. While the colors have dated and slightly faded, the transfer is generally smooth throughout, with minimal edge enhancement. There is no aliasing or fine detail shimmer. The soundtrack is typical 80's 2.0 surround. There's some nice spread during the musical sequences but overall this is a very dated sounding soundtrack. No extras. Perhaps we'll see this as a Vista Series double disc one of these days. Bottom line: Good movie, mediocre transfer - still worth the price and your time.

Rating:
Summary: Great Soundtrack with the always wondeful Bette Midler
Review: When I saw the movie Beaches, I cried. I have no idea why, being a 14 year old boy, it was touching to me, which is hard to do. It also made me laugh, which is another hard thing to do when it comes to movies. When Hilary Whitney gets lost on the beach in Atlantic City, a small actress by the name of CC Bloom, helps her back to her hotel, therefore revolutionizing a great friendship. As the two become closer through their letters, their Friendship also grows. Never hearing eachothers voices or seeing each other for over ten years, the two finally reunite for the best. Though the two may fight, they can still be friends no matter what. The songs on the movie were Fantastic, with a capital F. Bette Midler is so good at singing, it's almost indescribable how calming it is, yet interesting. I was overwhelmed when I heard there was a soundtrack, and bought it right away. It includes such songs as Bette Midlers, "Under the Boardwalk" and new songs like, "I know you by Heart". Don't hesitate on buying Bette Midler at all. You won't regret your choice.

Rating:
Summary: Made me feel dirty
Review: Watching this movie was a very unpleasant experience for me and left me feeling like an emotional voyeur. It was just too harrowingly weepy. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with a movie that appeals primarily to the emotions, but I felt that Beaches went way past the saturation point. By the end I was simply tired of feeling!
I have, however, given Beaches three stars because the fact that it is so well loved by so many suggests that it must successfully fulfill some sort of need for many viewers. Just be warned that, depending on your tastes, you may want to fulfill that need elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: ENTERTAINING SUDS
Review: Barbara Hershey and Bette Midler form an unlikely alliance in this contemporary/traditional "woman's picture". Well-produced musical numbers, charting CeCe's (Bette) singing/performing career, add zest and emotion, though the central relationship is exceptionally well-played by both the young and older versions of the characters. I particularly loved the way this movie grows with the characters; the story evolves over much time, and, unfortunately, spends too much time, and the film's most overrated song (Wind Beneath My Wings, which has a bizarrely self-involved lyric) in its final half hour wallowing in suds. However, the actresses retain a power throughout, and the tears this movie works to summon forth do not feel shameless -- an age-old friendship will likely always suffer its highs and lows, though perhaps not with this many strings playing in the background.

Rating:
Summary: Touching Tale of Friendship
Review: Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey star in this touching movie about friendship. Bette Midler plays CC Bloom, and Barbara Hershey plays Hilary Whitney. Two very different people, but a bond that would carry them through a lot. In the beginning as children they meet under the boardwalk. CC is very different from Hilary, an aspiring child star, whereas Hilary comes from a high class background. Two differing lives are told through letters to each other over the years, when finally Hilary rebels and decides to visit CC and live with her. They both meet a director, CC falls in love with him but he falls for Hilary. CC ends up marrying him, and Hilary goes back when her father is ill and ends up marrying a lawyer. When the four meet up again, Hilary and CC fight an awful lot and CC tries to make up by writing letters to her, which are sent back unopened. Hilary finds out her husband is cheating on her, and finds out she is pregnant as well. Hilary goes back to see CC and they make up, Hilary was jealous. Hilary gives birth to her daughter, and finds out she has the same heart disease that killed her mother when she was a child. Sadly Hilary ends up dying, and leaves her daughter to be taken care by CC. It is an incredible movie about the power of friendship, and it will make you laugh and cry. one of my favorites.

Rating:
Summary: FRIENDS FOREVER LASTING: LIFE'S LIKE A BEACH I SUPPOSE...
Review: "Beaches" is the story of two little girls, Hilary Whitney (Barbara Hershey)and C.C. Bloom (Bette Midler)who develop a life long friendship under the boardwalk in Atlantic city that sees them through their respective good times and rough spots. Yes, it's over acted and full of schmaltz. Yes, it's terribly contrived and not very realistic. But word to the wise: bring Kleenex in advance. You'll wind up crying by the end. This is one of those slick packaged and even more slick marketed Touchstone films from the mid-eighties that proved irresistable to the general public. Midler gets a chance to sing some truly awful tunes and one real show stopper - "Wind Beneath My Wings". If you haven't heard it I've one question for you - "What planet have you been living on?" Yes, the film is maudelin in its premise and execution but the syrup works and has proven to be a highly durable in the intervening decades.
Disney Inc. gives us the movie in anamorphic widescreen and that's pretty much it. While the colors have dated and slightly faded, the transfer is generally smooth throughout, with minimal edge enhancement. There is no aliasing or fine detail shimmer. The soundtrack is typical 80's 2.0 surround. There's some nice spread during the musical sequences but overall this is a very dated sounding soundtrack. No extras. Perhaps we'll see this as a Vista Series double disc one of these days. Bottom line: Good movie, mediocre transfer - still worth the price and your time.

Rating:
Summary: Sad but Good!
Review: I never read the book this movie is based on but we rented Beaches and I thought it was a good movie. It is a tearjerker that is really sad and I don't always like sad movies because sometimes they can be too melodramatic and real downers but I liked this movie and I think Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey gave good acting perfomances and I was also impressed with Mayim Bialik (Blossom) who played Bette Midler's character C.C. when the character was 11 years old. I recommend this movie!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding- I love this movie!!
Review: I only recently discovered this movie. Years ago, I watched it through the beach scene and was bored so I never finished it. More recently I watched the whole movie - and wow! This is honestly one of my favorite movies of all time. It is very heart-warming!

Rating:
Summary: great
Review: it was great, the most greatest movie I saw in 2003 :)

Rating:
Summary: HEY!!! BETTE's A DARN GOOD ACTRESS
Review: She may not be the greatest singer, but she can act and bring tears to your eyes!!! And even sings halfway decent on Wind Beneath My Wings and on Cole Porter's I've Still Got My Health, too bad her recent Clooney tribute cd couldn't be more like how she sounded on I've Still Got My Heath with jazz trio!!! OH WELL it's a NICe tearjerker film!!!