The story of a deep friendship, lasting from childhood to beyond death, between two very different women--Bette Midler plays C.C. Bloom, a poor but ambitious Jewish girl from the Bronx who goes on to become a famous Broadway star, and Barbara Hershey plays Hillary, an attractive WASP from a wealthy San Francisco family who starts out with all the advantages in life yet manages to find nothing but disappointment. As they lead their separate lives, they come to realise and later rely on the strength that their friendship provides.

Jan 2002

Two very different young girls meet on a beach in a 1950s American resort. CC Bloom (Bette Midler) is a brash, confident minx determined to make it in the glitzy world of show business. Hillary (Barbara Hershey) is a wealthy, restrained and privileged WASP, who seems destined for a life as a trophy wife. Against all odds, their friendship survives, through broken marriages, diverging careers and the trials of life. Hilarious, moving and deeply satisfying, and boasting great performances by Hershey and Midler, Beaches is an unmissable film about what true friendship really means.

HMV DVD Editor

Everyone who knows about the film "Beaches" knows that this is a film about life long friendship and it requires crying - some may call this film your ultimate "chick flick", if there truly was such a thing. But the truth is this film is not just a "chick flick", it is entertaining, interesting, funny, and will most certainly bring you to tears. The tears part tends to make people lump "Beaches" into the "chick flick" genre, unfairly.

The film follows C.C (Bette Midler) and Hilary (Barbara Hershey), from the moment they meet as young girls through their elder years. The development of the relationship and the film itself is cliché in many ways, but it has a certain charm that is irresistible. The story develops as these two grow into the best of friends, drift apart, then reconnect and find that they are drastically different. The story only just begins when Hillary's world falls apart and her “happy” marriage ends while the two friends try and grapple with their different personalities and lifelong connection.

The film is corny, and there isn't a doubt that. Nevertheless, it is hugely entertaining and has moments that are funny and heart-warming. But more than that, it will leave a lasting impression on anyone who has ever had a best friend. The relationship between the two leading ladies is complicated, and yet they care deeply about each other, which adds to the charm and truth of the story. "Beaches" is that one film you can watch over and over again, and never get bored.

Julieanne Hill, HMV Belfast, Donegall Arcade