Whitney (Barbara Hershey), daughter of strait-laced Degnan Boyle Realtors San Francisco aristocracy on an Atlantic City vaca- tion. Their long-distance best-friendship persists, supports the homeless mainly via letters, as they face adolescence, the Six- en ties, careers, the Seventies, sex, marriage, the m Eighties, divorce, success and disillusionment and the success, and, finally, fatal disease. For one youthful > interlude they room together in the Village as C.C. 38 O Screening goes through her struggling Bohemian artist phase, PC Hillary her social-activist ACLU lawyer phase. It's Room then that Hillary has her romance with a theater director (John Heard) who winds up marrying C.C. Everybody's fine. Ironically, in fact, Hershey and by Heard do some of their best work. Here his usual quiet style, which often ends up merely formless, is Dean Sluyter quite persuasive: we believe the modest, even strength that is his character's essence. His best scene (Left ro right) Karen Olsen, executive director of is one where, sitting on the steps of his theater, he and the Interfaith Council of Union County? William A, C.C. decide that their marriage is through. The Boyle, Jr. chairman of the board of Degnan Boyle understated realism of his emotions are arresting. Realtors; and Joan Irish of the Interfaith Council of Bette Midler in Beaches; Hershey. I have always found a baffling screen Morris County during presentation of Degnan Under the Boardwalk presence. Something about her is always fuzzy. I can Boyle's donation from the 1988 Holiday Fund for the never quite get a handle on what she's supposed to be Homeless, • • thinking or feeling. Some of that has to do with her (PG-13) face, which, until recent surgical intervention, always Proceeds from the 1988 lected nearly $3,000 I had a dream after seeing Beaches. (I'm not mak- had a spookily indefinite quality to it. Now that the Degnan Boyle Realtors' through contributions ing this up.) I was sitting across a small table from doctors have given her fashionably plumped-out lips Holiday Fund for the from Degnan Boyle sales Bette Midler. We were in love, and she kept uttering and sharpened up everything else, we can at least Homeless were presented associates, the company's the stickiest, most sentimental romantic cliches - remember what she looks like ten minutes after the recently to representatives corporate office and the something about sighing and always treasuring film. But her acting still makes one suspect she's an of the Interfaith Councils general public. In addi- things. But as she spoke (always with that delicate, alien who saw some human earthlings at a cocktail for the "Homeless of tion, more than 200 holi- self-mockingly precise diction), she kept turning on party once or twice and does a pretty good imitation. Essex, Morris and Union day gifts were collected that wonderful smile of hers - the one that, when she The best thing in the film is Mayim Bialik, who counties by William A. and distributed to families does it right, is like the sun rising. And my heart plays C.C. as a young girl. She's full of spunk and Boyle, Jr., chairman of in temporary shelters dur- melted. seems to have been born to play Bette Midler as a the board of Degnan ing the holiday season. This is the problem and the paradox of Beaches, child. She does a terrifically schmaltzy, Atlantic City- Boyle. Boyle made the Here's one of the great entertainment goddesses of style rendition of "The Glory of Love", as Lanie presentations during a A 1988 Department of the late twentieth century, at the height of her success Kazan (once again the Jewish stage mother, a role she meeting in his Union of- Community Affairs study as a born-again movie star, co-producing her own could have mailed in) stands offstage, mouthing all fice with Karen Olsen, ex- indicated a statewide films to ensure artistic control, and what does she the words and helping with the notions. The worst ecutive director of the In- figure of 30,000 homeless give us? Love Story with music. And not even good thing is Midler's recapitulation of the same song at terfaith Council of Union individuals in New Jersey, music. Why has the Divine Miss M decided to stop the end of the film, in a performance that's supposed County (also representing with a large majority be- being a first-rate rowdy rocker and become a second- to be a moving farewell to her deceased friend but is Essex County), and Joan ing families with children. rate Barbra Streisand? (Middle age has not compell- not nearly as interesting as Bialik's, and which Irish of the Morris County The local efforts of the In- ed Mick Jagger to become Barry Manilow.) divides the audience into two camps: those reaching Council. terfaith Councils provide As usual, I'm in the minority here. Beaches is a for their hankies and those going for the barf bags. Degnan Boyle establish- temporary shelter for a real crowd pleaser. (A sizable portion of the We're given precious little room in between by direc- ed the Holiday Fund for the limited number of families Saturday-night crowd I saw it with broke into ap- tor Garry Marshall, who plays things, as he does Homeless in 1987 as a through the Congregation plause at the end.) throughout the film, straight and to the hilt. social responsibility to the Hospitality Network, a Yes, there's a story. In case you missed the ad, they communities in which the group of churches and met on a beach 30 years ago, at the age of 11: C.C. company provides its real temples that work in * *'* Extraordinary * * * * Excellent # * * Acceptable estate services. The 1988 cooperation with the Bloom (Midler), a Bronx-born, all singing, all danc- * * Expendable •fcExerueiniing ing, show-biz-in-her-blood firecracker, and Hillary Holiday Fund drive col- councils. PRE-SUMMER PRICED AT $179,900

This very lovely home includes 4 huge bedrooms, master hath and walk in closet in master bedroom, 2 1/2 baths total, full central air and hi-efficiency gasheat, fireplace in family room. On a huge treed 60 x 150 lot. 10 year Home Owners Warranty. Landscaped and ready to move in. All you have to do is pick the color of your carpeting. Located in one of the nicest sections of Toms River just off Kettle Creek Road. Walking distance from a marina, and just minutes from grade school and a major shopping mall.

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