ARTHUR HILLER

Bil’s rating (out of 5):  BBBB. 

USA, 1987.  Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners II, Interscope Communications.  Screenplay by Leslie Dixon.  Cinematography by David M. Walsh.  Produced by Robert W. Cort, Ted Field.  Music by Alan Silvestri.  Production Design by James Dowell Vance.  Costume Design by Gloria Gresham.  Film Editing by Tom Rolf.  

Two fantastic lead performances plus a clever screenplay by Leslie Dixon make this an outrageously fun comedy to watch. Shelley Long is marvelous as an aspiring actress who falls in love with a costume shop retailer (Peter Coyote) only to witness him die in a bombing. Another student in her acting class is a brash, brazen bartender (Bette Midler) whom it turns out, was also sleeping with him. Once the two confront each other to decide who was the better woman, they discover that their man might actually be alive and so begin a journey that takes them across the entire country from New York City to New Mexico. The character interaction is as fun as the adventure these women undergo, one which results in their own friendship. The relationship could definitely have been deeper, and the film would have done better to concentrate less on some of its sillier jokes, but it is still excellent entertainment that will please anyone who watches it.

Golden Globe Award Nomination:  Best Actress-Musical/Comedy (Bette Midler)