Beaches

1988 Directed by Garry Marshall

Some Friendships Last Forever

A privileged rich debutante and a cynical struggling entertainer share a turbulent, but strong childhood friendship over the years.

Bette Midler Barbara Hershey John Heard Spalding Gray Lainie Kazan James Read Mayim Bialik Marcie Leeds Carol Williard Grace Johnston Allan Kent Phil Leeds Lynda Goodfriend Nikki Plant Michael French Robert Ball Ken Gibbel Héctor Elizondo

Alternative Titles

Forever Friends, Remember Me, Kumsaldaki Sarki, Xoffim, Oi files

comedy drama

123 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Mark Cunliffe ★★★

'Did you ever know that you're...'
*sob - sob - splutter - sob*
'...My hero'
*splutter - sob - sob*
'And everything I'd like to be?'
*sob - sob - sob*
What? Oh no. I've uh, just got something in my eye, that's all.
Review by matt lynch ★★½

More a middling Bette Midler star vehicle than the story of the bond between these two women (whose lives and successes are barely articulated). Like at the end when [REDACTED] is [REDACTED]ing and "Wind Beneath My Wings" is finally fucking playing, we don't even see [REDACTED]'s face.
Review by Trudie ★★★ 1

Ah... the movie that ruined You Are My Sunshine for me forever. I wish I wasn't one of those people that start ugly crying the second Wind Beneath My Wings comes on, but I am. My name's Trudie and I sobbed through the last 10 minutes of Beaches like it was the last thing I was ever gonna do.
Review by ginger✨ ★★★½

they should have been lesbians
Review by Alex Kittle ★★★★½

😭😭😭😭😭
Five minutes after this ended I got myself together and texted my best friend to let her know I love her because this movie kinda messed me up?
Review by ethan

will never understand why chick flick is used as a degrading them because no movie will have the power female friendships have <333
Review by Tess ★★★★

I probably would’ve watched this sooner if I knew how many times I’d get to hear Bette Midler sing.
Review by Adelaide ★★★½

I just *clenches fist* love stories about the relationships women have and develop with each other over their lives.
Review by lola gumball ★★★½ 1

i can’t wait to move in with my best friends and make them all watch this on *speaking this into existence* our couch in our living room. see u in....august...?
Review by Madison 🎭 ★★★½

the rituals are INTRICATE
Review by Bert ★★★★★

I love this movie wholeheartedly because it reminds me so much of childhood, it reminds me of my mum and my sisters as they all loved it and watched it all the time. Even without the bias of my reminiscing and loving the film, it is legit a great movie, such a classic chick flick. The songs, the friendship, the emotion, it’s all so beautiful. Always brings a tear to my eye. 😢
Review by Fake Shemp

This is so wholesome, I cried. Which like? Obvs.

Recent reviews

Review by John ★★★½

I enjoyed this movie a lot. A little bit of everything. There was great chemistry with the cast.
Review by djamiewills ★★★

A film with a direct arrow towards ‘tears’, Beaches is simple, deliberate, and focused from its very first scenes, for every paving stone is building a path to beautiful misery. Yes, there will be joy and laughter, but that is only to make the hurt feel worse. And yes, this is shamelessly manipulative, but kudos for not claiming to be anything but.
Adapted from the novel by Mary Agnes Donoghue, Garry Marshall’s Beaches is marketed as Bette Midler’s vehicle. Certainly Midler does get songs, both in her performance as extrovert CC Bloom and on the soundtrack - including ‘Wind Beneath My Wings’ at the punch. However, in terms of acting this is more about Barbara Hershey, whose Hillary carries the…
Review by Jay Gabler ★★★★½

Worth a rewatch. Trust me.
Review by Jeroen Van Zwol ★★★★

Licht zeemzoete 80s dramedy = my weekend jam.
Eigenlijk de beste showcase film voor Bette Midler die haar divers talent het best in de kijker zet.
Zo’n absoluut perfecte op het lijf geschreven rol krijg je als acteur maar 1 keer in je carrière.
Review by Juju_Bean07 ★★

YASS give me more Bette Midler singing jazz!!!!
Hector Elizondo!!!! ❤️

I dont blame her for hitting that director, i mean WHOA.
This movie is like a song i heard about a guy only wants to come over to his girl’s house when he is drunk. Why do they ONLY see each other in times of strife? How sad they rarely share happy times, or even gloriously normal times. I think thats why the best part of this film is all the stuff during Hillary’s pregnancy.

Lol why is it so fun seeing Midler verbally spar with a kid? Haha
Review by sweater_kittenz ★

Beaches is a trite, maudlin, and terribly superficial effort of the sub-made-for-TV quality, an insult to anyone who has ever befriended another human being.
Review by citrine ★★★½

the girl i watched this for is absolutely a lesbian
Review by Brynn Bonne ★★★½ 1

love it but i do believe it’s a bit too long indeed
Review by Ritchie Bruce ★★★

Beaches starring Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, John Heard, Spalding Gray, Lainie Kazan, James Read, Grace Johnston, Mayim Bialik
..
They met on a beach when they were very young, brassy C.C. Bloom and classy Hillary. Through good times and bad, through broken marriages and budding careers, they still had each other. The two keep in touch through letters for a number of years until Hillary, now a successful lawyer moves to New York to stay with struggling singer CC. Together they would face their greatest challenge as only best friends could.
..
I think I loved this kuch more in my 20s, its still a nice little film but I dont remember it being as long as it was, but…
Review by ka34 ★★★★★

Beautiful movie about friendship and life, will make u cry and laugh and smile
Review by groovyki ★★½

from reading the reviews of this version and the 2017 version i was looking forward to this one being better but it’s still the same hostile friendship which is jarring and tbh i prefer the 2017 version
Review by Hanni ★★★

to friendships... thoroughly enjoyed this, I do wish we got to see more of Hillary career wise after she left her husband, also I'd have ended the film as soon as Victoria and CC went up the stairs