To understand Chantilly Bridge, you have to be old enough to remember 1993’s Chantilly Lace and to appreciate the cast of older actresses telling this story of love and friendship.

Chantilly Bridge has a history. Written and directed by Linda Yellen, Chantilly Bridge is a continuation of a story begun over 30 years ago in Yellen’s film Chantilly Lace.

The women in the earlier film were fast friends from childhood. Included in the group were Rheza (Lindsay Crouse), Val (Jill Eikenberry), Elizabeth (Ally Sheedy), Maggie (Talia Shire), Hannah (Helen Slater), and Natalie (JoBeth Williams). They spent a weekend together celebrating Natalie’s 40th birthday. They talked about everything, the way women do, and several momentous things happened.

In 2023 Chantilly Bridge was released. Things changed with the passing of time. Natalie died in her 40th year, but she’s still tracking her friends from the great beyond and does voice overs in the film. Among other things, she informs us that “the bridge between life and death is love.”

Natalie’s mother was a famous actress. She dies just before the movie starts. Natalie’s younger sister Shelley (Patricia Richardson) is charged with packing away everything in the house. All Natalie’s old pals show up to help. Hannah’s daughter Young Natalie (Naaji Sky Adzimah) is part of the packing. Elizabeth makes a couple of Facetime appearances, but isn’t there for the majority of the film. These friends talked about everything, the way women do, and several momentous things happened.

The present day events are sprinkled with flashbacks from the film from the early 90s. We see the women as they are now, and as they were then. The earlier film also had shots of them as children and we see some flashbacks of that, too. I thought it was a lovely technique. It tied current thoughts and feelings together with events and emotions from the past. It helped build a portrait of lifetime friendships among women.

We live in a man’s world. Perhaps men don’t realize how important it is for women to have the support and friendship of other women. This film is a beautiful exploration of what that can mean in a woman’s life.

The film is streaming as part of Prime Video, and available to rent from places like Google Play, Apple TV+, YouTube, and Fandango.