MovieChat Forums > Beaches (1989) Discussion > Barbara seemed snotty and Bette more dow...

Barbara seemed snotty and Bette more down to earth


I know that they were just acting their characters, but if I was to be friends with one of them in real life, I think I would pick the Bette Midler character. She seemed more fun and down to earth. Barbara seemed to be stuck up. And to be honest she isn't as pretty as the people in the movie portrayed her to be.

"Munchkin doesn't like being pushed!" HP

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I would rather be friends with CC too. Even though she was flaky, she wasn't snobbish.
Hillary was a stuck up rich bore. She had everything (prior to her illness) and yet floundered all over the place!
And while Barbara Hershey is OK looking, I never thought she was the great beauty people made her out to be.


"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

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Barbara played a character in the film where as Midler played herself.

25 years after its release, Midler's performance, and hair, is like watching a eighties time capsule where as Hershey's performance of a woman who came from a family with several generations of wealth, who lost her mother at a very young age and dominated by her father, remains the only lasting credible element of the film.

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Well, I love them both, but yeah, if I could only be friends with one, it'd definitely be CC. She was the "wild child" from the beginning--down-to-earth, genuine, a bit crazy, opinionated, able to see things more clearly (despite her claim to be highly emotional and deeply feeling. Both are emotional and both are strong, but in different ways. Hillary's strength was the quiet, more passive, persistent type that people may not always notice or appreciate..."the wind beneath one's wings.")
When they fought, I usually was more apt to take CC's side.

Hillary came from a family that expected her to fit into the snooty, elitist "wealthy person" mold...and that was just not her. For a while she tried to change herself to suit others' expectations, but it only wound up making her dreadfully unhappy--not to mention bitterly envious of the free-spirited CC. Finally, she learned how to simply own herself and follow her own desires, although it took the demise of her worthless marriage to give her the kick she needed. When she showed up at the flamingo club and told CC that she forgave her, I thought, "Well, that's all well and good, but even more, you should be asking for forgiveness."

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The characters or the actors? Hillary is an obvious snob on the outside while CC is the opposite...that's the whole point of the movie...

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CC was awfully self absorbed. But then again, Hillary slept with the guy CC liked. I'm not sure I would want to be friends with either of them. The best thing about their friendship was the fact that they stayed in touch over the years. Even with today's technology (facebook and text messaging) I find enduring friendships like the one they had almost impossible to sustain.

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But didn't CC set them up?

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No she didn't set them up. They met through CC, but Hillary knew very well that CC was into him and chose to go for it anyway. CC handled it well, saying, "if it hasn't been you it just would have been some other woman". Personally, I think that if you know your friend likes a guy you don't sleep with him.

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I don't think she knew CC liked him.

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Sure she did. They have a conversation about it the morning that Hillary gets back from sleeping with him.

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