Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

rudeskin2000 Gawd This Movie I Awful!!! So superficial. So fake. Such a vehicle for Bette Midler. And she is horrible as herself. And these contrived scenes after "she made it big" in the movie. Poorly directed scenes and no character development for Barbara Hershey and James Read. The onslaught of press when it came out, i.e. Oprah and the like was a major RED FLAG! This movie was an assault on the eyes, ears, and heart of anyone with a brain. Oy Vey!!!

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.

hiris I saw this movie 20 times and all 20 times I cried. It's the best movie about friendship I've ever seen. From their childhood to the adult age, the movie tells the story of two women, CC Bloom and Hillary, from the beach in Atlantic City where they are 10 years old, to the gorgeous beach in Crystal Cove,California, where they spend the last summer together. Hillary dies at the end of the movie, leaving her daughter, Victoria, to CC, as a continuation of their friendship. The story is told with tenderness and every woman who has or ever had a real friendship can recognize herself. Bette Midler is just gorgeous! And the "Wind beneath my wings" makes this movie unforgettable.

EXodus25X Yes it's a chick flick, yes it's overly sappy, yes it's predictable to the very end, but so what. Bette Midler gives a great performance, there are a couple of very brilliant and fun singing numbers, and at times it is actually touching. The young girl who played Midler as a child was amazing, she had Midler spot on. I only wish that a little more time would have been spent with her on screen. She was more fun and interesting then all the characters in the whole film put together. Despite the predictability I still stayed interested, probably because the story moves at a pretty good pace, doesn't stay stuck on any one scenario. I don't feel like the opening moments were a good idea, they take any surprise or possibility of real drama away and bring nothing at all to the film. I'm not sure why the director chose to take that direction. I have heard people say this is the saddest movie they have ever seen, I'm sorry but it's far from that. Good for what it was intended to be.