Beaches (1988) Film Review

As eleven year olds, CC Bloom (Mayim Bialik) and Hilary (Marcie Leeds) meet on holiday. They are from very different backgrounds – CC is working class Brooklyn, and Hilary is from a very wealthy other part of the world. As adults (now played by Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey), they share parts of their lives, but flit in and out. And that’s about it. (Oh, ok, sad ending – but this is a well-known tear jerker, so I’ll leave you to decide that).

I was a mega-fan as a teenager, so much so that I was surprised to find I can still quote large chunks! Now, it is dated and I find some things annoying that didn’t bother me before (like the amount of mooning at any single man in the film was a bit tedious) and the whole structure of it being an extended series of flashbacks was extremely tedious and unnecessary, but overall, it was totally good. Though if I think about it, if you didn’t love it at the time, it might be a bit hard to love it now.

Beaches was nominated for an Oscar for Best Art-Direction- Set Direction.

The First Wives Club (1996) Film Review

When their college friend Cynthia (Stockard Channing) commits suicide after her husband remarries a much younger woman, friends Elise (Goldie Hawn), Brenda (Bette Midler) and Annie (Dianne Keaton) realise they have all been thrown over by their husbands in the same fashion. Instead of risking bottoming out, they support each other in seeking creative revenge.

One of the characters mentions that what they are doing is just what people expect – and it is ugly and makes them seem very ugly. And there is an aspect of that – but what it seems to be more about is three women who had become defined by their marriages, none of which were that healthy, who stand up and take charge of their lives. They are not prepared to just let their ex-husbands treat them like crap but it become about more than simple revenge. Oh, and did I mention that it is a really funny film with some great female characters? Well, it is.

The First Wives Club was nominated for an Oscar for Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score.