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Beaches

Play trailer Poster for Beaches PG-13 1988 2h 3m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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42% Tomatometer 45 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
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.
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Beaches

Beaches

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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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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 Quentin Crisp Christopher Street In Beaches, Miss Midler and Miss Hershey wrangle, forgive, embrace, part, and reunite until I found their antics difficult to comprehend, difficult to believe, and finally difficult to bear. May 7, 2024 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 Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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J T Loved it, Bette is amazing Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/19/25 Full Review Alexa J A real tear-jerker. I enjoyed the relationship between C.C. and Hillary. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/18/25 Full Review Elleana E First off how old are these women that they are paired with old men. Secondly how fast the doctor got over CC is insane I know it’s a movie but how much time went by maybe 4 months weird. I saw this movie when i was 8 and did have a understanding of time. Now it’s a weird timeline. Bette miller amazing as always. The rest total crap. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 05/06/25 Full Review Ashley L About 30 minutes into this film I developed an irrational hatred for the makers of this film for ruining what otherwise would have been a pleasant Sunday afternoon after lunch. Cliched within an inch of its life, you can pretty much predict the next 20 minutes from each scene. The final scene where that bird with a dodgy heart dies quietly in her beach chair - beautiful horse galloping alongside waters edge beneath a glorious sunset - It suddenly dawned on me the Director was in fact taking the piss. There's chick flicks and then there's this. Maybe it was very gentle satire. Or perhaps I should drink more Prosecco. And that bloody song.. Total arse. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/21/25 Full Review Audience Member One of my favorite movies!! Always makes me cry. If you are a woman and you haven't seen this then you are seriously missing out! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/21/24 Full Review Zoey S iconic cinema and anything less is most likely from the perspective of a white male Rated 5 out of 5 stars 11/14/24 Full Review Read all reviews
Beaches

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Cast & Crew

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Garry Marshall

Director

Bette Midler

Cecilia 'CC' Carol Bloom

Barbara Hershey

Hillary Whitney Essex

John Heard

John Pierce

Spalding Gray

Dr. Richard Milstein

Lainie Kazan

Leona Bloom

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Beaches

Beaches (1988) Beaches (1988) Beaches (1988) View more photos

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
Margaret South, Bette Midler, Bonnie Bruckheimer
Screenwriter
Mary Agnes Donoghue
Distributor
Touchstone Pictures
Production Co
Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV, All Girl Productions
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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