 beaches (also known as forever friends), is a 1988 american comedy-drama film adapted by mary agnes donoghue from the iris rainer dart novel of the same name. it was directed by garry marshall, and stars bette midler, barbara hershey, john heard, james read, spalding gray, and lainie kazan. the film's theme song, hot 100 #1 "wind beneath my wings" won grammy awards for record of the year and song of the year in 1990. the film was released on vhs in august 1989, with a dvd release on august 13, 2002, followed by a special edition dvd on april 26, 2005. ==plot== the story of two friends from different backgrounds, whose friendship spans more than 30 years through childhood, love, and tragedy: cecilia carol "c.c." bloom (bette midler), a new york actress and singer, and hillary whitney (barbara hershey), a san francisco heiress and lawyer. the film begins with middle-aged c.c. receiving a note during a rehearsal for her upcoming los angeles concert. she leaves the rehearsal in a panic and tries frantically to travel to her friend's side. unable to get a flight to san francisco because of fog, she rents a car and drives overnight, reflecting on her life with hillary. it is 1958, and rich little girl hillary (marcie leeds) meets child performer c.c. (mayim bialik) under the boardwalk on the beach in atlantic city, new jersey. hillary is lost and c.c. is hiding from her overbearing stage mother. they become fast friends, growing up and bonding through letters of support to each other. a grown-up hillary goes on to become a human rights lawyer, while c.c.'s singing career is not exactly taking off. they write to each other regularly and give updates on their lives. hillary shows up at the new york city dive bar where c.c. is performing, 
1980s_comedy-drama_films 1988_films American_comedy-drama_films American_films English-language_films Female_buddy_films Films_based_on_American_novels Films_directed_by_Garry_Marshall Films_set_in_New_York_City Touchstone_Pictures_films