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      Beaches

      PG-13 Released Dec 21, 1988 2h 3m Drama List
      43% 44 Reviews Tomatometer 88% 50,000+ Ratings Audience Score Hillary (Barbara Hershey) and CC (Bette Midler) meet as children vacationing in Atlantic City, N.J., and remain friends throughout the decades. As CC, a loud New Yorker, pursues a singing career, Hillary, a staid Californian, becomes a successful lawyer. Over the years, they often quarrel or compete, but, as other relationships flourish and die, the two women are always there for each other, traveling from coast to coast through the most tumultuous times. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Apr 17 Buy Now

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      Critics Consensus

      Not all great soundtracks make good movies, and Beaches lacks the wind beneath its wings.

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      Audience Reviews

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      StephenPaul C The greatest 02 hours: and 03 minutes ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/14/23 Full Review Devils A While not a great movie (sorry Bette Midler Fans) still she gives it 100% and that's what makes a star! Thus the 3.5 Star Rating !!! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 12/19/22 Full Review Kyle E Warning: Spoilers Beaches is a truly wonderful movie. Starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey, this movie is about two women who first meet on the beach in Atlantic City when they were kids; one is from a rich family and the other is into show business. They become instant friends, and keep in touch with each other over the years through the mail, keeping each other informed about their current situations. I'm truly a big fan of Bette Midler and thought she was truly marvelous in her role as CC Bloom. The same thing applies to Barbara Hershey in her role as Hillary. I don't know in general if any other two actresses could have played these characters as beautifully as Bette and Barbara did. They were great!! During the course of the movie, you are informed about their goings on in life; CC is struggling to keep busy with her acting and Hillary becomes a lawyer, and after a while, meets a guy who is also one and they get married. I thought it was so wonderful to see the scene where CC and Hillary were reunited in New York, and become roommates in CC's apartment. There are also some tense moments in the friendship as well (yes, every friendship can have its rare bad moments), such as the scene where they get into a heated argument in the department store, CC writes to Hillary to try to bury the hatchet, but her letters are sent back to her, and they see each other again in some nightclub (you would almost think at first that their friendship was not worth saving). There, they patch things up through tears and CC learns that Hill is pregnant (by her husband whom she caught with another woman--wearing her robe!!). Lainie Kazan (I also regard her as a great actress) was wonderful in the movie as CC's mother, even though she was in no more than two scenes. The one scene I thought was the saddest was when Hillary got sick due to viral cardiomyopathy (a viral disease that causes damage to heart tissue) and her daughter became so scared and nervous. Hill died at the end of the movie. Bette's singing in the movie was wonderful (check out that Otto Titsling segment; a real riot). The one song from the movie and the soundtrack album that I and a lot of other people know is the most memorable is "Wind Beneath My Wings". I LOVE that song so much, and think it is a real inspiring and kind of a sad song as well (Come on, who hasn't heard this song and/or doesn't like it?). People who have seen this movie automatically mention this song and their liking of it very much, no question about it. I learned that the song won a Grammy for Best Song of the Year in 1989--that is excellent!! I also love the other songs on the album. Any person who watches that ending scene (where Hillary and CC are sitting on the beach to Hill's funeral) with that song playing or even hearing that song on the soundtrack album would obviously be reaching for a Kleenex, if they have emotions that are so fragile. This is a truly unforgettable movie to watch and will make you realize for sure that you should always have friends to stick with you through thick and thin, good times and bad. I also have the soundtrack album of this movie as well on LP, cassette tape and CD. Bette's acting is as equally wonderful as her singing. Kudos to Bette and Barbara for their roles. Great job, ladies!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/19/22 Full Review shane c One of my all-time favorites! A story of true friendship. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Carli J I love this movie, even if it makes me cry every time I watch it. It is beautiful, sweet, funny, and heartbreaking. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/02/22 Full Review Audience Member Nice character flick with decent pace. A little zany, a little old fashion at points. Okay story. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Critics Reviews

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      Gene Siskel Chicago Tribune Barbara Hershey is wasted in a boring role. Rated: 2.5/4 Mar 23, 2018 Full Review Jay Boyar Orlando Sentinel Anything for a laugh, anything for a tear, and nothing much authentic. Mar 23, 2018 Full Review Kim Newman Empire Magazine Beaches epitomises the sort of triple-strength, three-hankie work you can expect from American women with three names and gives the lie to those who thought they stopped making women's pic heartstring-tuggers. Rated: 3/5 Mar 23, 2018 Full Review Jeffrey Lyons Video Review Once in a while it's okay to enjoy a movie for its own sake -- to let it work you over emotionally, to make you cry when you know you're supposed to cry and laugh when you know a laugh is coming. Beaches is such a movie. Rated: 3/4 Aug 8, 2022 Full Review Lisa M. Keen Washington Blade The movie is a must-see for those who love Midler. It is a project that not only allows her to be herself, it demands it. May 20, 2022 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com I prefer Midler in these sorts of roles. Rated: 3.0/4.0 Sep 2, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Hillary (Barbara Hershey) and CC (Bette Midler) meet as children vacationing in Atlantic City, N.J., and remain friends throughout the decades. As CC, a loud New Yorker, pursues a singing career, Hillary, a staid Californian, becomes a successful lawyer. Over the years, they often quarrel or compete, but, as other relationships flourish and die, the two women are always there for each other, traveling from coast to coast through the most tumultuous times.
      Director
      Garry Marshall
      Producer
      Teri Schwartz
      Screenwriter
      Mary Agnes Donoghue
      Distributor
      Touchstone Pictures
      Production Co
      Touchstone Pictures
      Rating
      PG-13
      Genre
      Drama
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Dec 21, 1988, Original
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jan 1, 2014
      Box Office (Gross USA)
      $56.4M
      Runtime
      2h 3m
      Sound Mix
      Surround
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