Beaches (Bette Midler)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s nine years since we watched the film ‘Beaches’, and we’d totally forgotten what it was about. It was made in 1988, in a time when people had longer attention spans, so it’s over two hours - and last night, when we watched, we were captivated right from the start, unaware of the time passing.

Bette Midler is the main character, playing ‘CC’, who’s clearly a well-known and popular singing when we meet her at the start. She’s just finished rehearsing for a major concert when she’s handed a note - perhaps a telegram - which causes her to abandon everyone, and race to the airport. She doesn’t even tell anyone why she’s leaving.

CC is unable to get on a plane, so she rents a car and drives through the night. As she does so, she reminisces, and the majority of the film is a series of flashbacks, telling the story of her friendship with Hillary (Barbara Hershey) a girl who is different from her in just about every respect.

CC and Hillary meet when they are eleven. CC is street-wise, with a pushy mother who wants to exploit her talent. The 11-year-old CC is brilliantly played by Mayim Bailik, so much so that it was hard to believe she is not closely related to Bette Midler. I have no idea when the actresses switched during the years that are covered.

Hillary (whose 11-year-old self is played by Marcie Leeds) is wealthy, pretty, naive and lonely. Her father is distant, her mother died when she was younger, and she’s being brought up by an aunt. But she and CC decide to stay in touch, and they write letters over the years although they don’t meet again until they are adults.

It’s a wonderful friendship, which only starts to fray at the edges when CC gradually becomes more successful. She’s a remarkably self-centred person who doesn’t seem to care much for anyone (other than, perhaps, Hillary) as her career is all-absorbing. Hillary is a brilliant lawyer, but gives up her career when she gets married, and CC is very disapproving.

The script is excellent, the pace exactly right to tell the story. There are some light-hearted parts, and one very bawdy scene where Hillary and her husband disapprove of a musical CC is in. There’s also a great deal of poignancy towards the end, and both the women have to come to terms with what their friendship really means.

It’s only at the very end that we discover why CC has rushed away from her concert, finally putting her ambition aside for the sake of someone else. It’s all extremely moving, with some positive scenes right at the end.

The rating was originally 15 but it was changed to 12 (PG-12 in the US) which seems about right to me. There are a few instances of bad language, but they’re not inappropriate or excessive. There are a couple of intimate scenes but they’re tastefully done, and while there are innuendoes and casual talk about one-night stands and infidelity, there’s nothing too overt. I don’t suppose anyone younger than about twelve or thirteen would be interested in it anyway, but I’d have no problem showing it to a reasonably mature teenager of about thirteen or older.

Definitely recommended if you like films of this kind: a character-based drama with a heart-wrenching climax.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews