''Beaches'' is a 2017 American

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Allison Anders Allison Anders (born November 16, 1954) is an American independent film director whose films include ''Gas Food Lodging'', ''Mi Vida Loca'' and ''Grace of My Heart''. Anders has collaborated with fellow UCLA School of Theater, Film and Televisio ...

from a screenplay by

Nikole Beckwith Nikole Beckwith is an American director, screenwriter, and playwright. She has also performed live with a handful of bands and sings on Tiger Saw's 2005 record ''Sing!'' and Sam Rosen's 2006 release "The Look South". Early life Beckwith grew-up ...

and

Kate Lanier Kate Lanier is an American screenwriter best known for such films as '' CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story'', ''What's Love Got to Do with It'', ''Beauty Shop'', ''Glitter'', ''The Mod Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, origi ...

. It is a remake of the 1988 film of the same name. The film stars

Idina Menzel Idina Kim Menzel ( ; ; born May 30, 1971) is an American actress and singer. Particularly known for her work in musicals on the Broadway stage and having achieved mainstream success across stage, film and music, Menzel has garnered the honori ...

and

Nia Long Nia Talita Long (born October 30, 1970) is an American actress. Best known for her work in Black cinema, Long rose to prominence after starring in the film ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), and for her portrayal of Beullah "Lisa" Wilkes on the NBC sit ...

. The film premiered on Lifetime on January 21, 2017.

Premise

Two friends, with different backgrounds, maintain a long-lasting friendship through childhood, love, and tragedy.

Cast

as CC Bloom **

Gabriella Pizzolo Gabriella Grace Pizzolo (born March 10, 2003) is an American actress and singer. She first made her breakthrough on Broadway for her portrayal as Matilda in ''Matilda the Musical'' (2013) and ''Fun Home'' (2015). In 2019, she received widespread ...

as young CC Bloom *

as Hillary Whitney ** Grace Capeless as young Hillary Whitney *

Antonio Cupo Antonio Cupo (born January 10, 1978) is a Canadian film and television actor. Early life Born in Vancouver on January 10, 1978, into a family of Italian immigrants who arrived in Canada in 1968, Antonio Cupo is the youngest of three children. Hi ...

as John Pierce * Barbara Beall as costume designer * Daniel Letto as Sorcerer actor *

Colin Lawrence Colin Lawrence is a British-born Canadian actor known for his roles in film and television. Early life Lawrence was born in London and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is of Jamaican descent. Career Since 1994, he has parti ...

as Bryan * Sanai Victoria as Tory Whitney * Rebecca Husain as Pretty Sinners director * Graeme Duffy as Sorcerer composer * Kate Isaac as assistant district attorney * Jane Hancock as Ashley

Production

On July 28, 2016, the film was announced, with

joining the cast. On August 16, 2016, it was announced

had joined the cast.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

began on August 15, 2016.

Reception

''Beaches'' received negative reviews, with most critics assessing it as inferior to the already mediocre 1988 original. Mike Hale of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' pointed out the absurdity of remaking ''Beaches'', itself a 1950s throwback which failed to update its themes to the decades in which the film is set. He added, "Stuffing the story into 70 percent of the time makes C. C. and Hillary's cycle of fights and reconciliations feel more arbitrary than ever, especially in the absence of etteMidler, whose vivid portrayal of C. C. provided motivations that weren't in the script." Blake Meredith of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' wrote, "Any time a beloved movie or TV series gets a remake, knee-jerk purists howl about it 'ruining' the original. 'Beaches' ..is the rare case of a remake that might actually do just that." She explained that by reducing the length to 90 minutes while otherwise staying faithful to the original film only serves to make the silliness of the original ''Beaches'' stand out more clearly, particularly noting how the shorter length forces most of the plot to be delivered through exposition. ''

CNN Entertainment CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the ...

'' described it as tedious and dated, but said Menzel's singing is a highlight and makes the film arguably worth watching by Lifetime standards. The ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' said it echoed the chief shortcoming of the original film, the lack of substantial basis for C.C. and Hillary's friendship. Reviewer Matthew Gilbert stated, "It's not so much that Menzel and Long are bad – they're consistently OK, if never better than that — but the story is too hollow for them to dig in. Singer-actress CC and lawyer Hillary meet as kids, become pen pals, room together, fall in love with the same guy ... and go through their expected friendship arc. None of it manages to work up much lather."

References

External links

* * {{Allison Anders 2017 drama films 2017 films 2017 television films 2010s American films 2010s buddy drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s female buddy films American buddy drama films American drama television films American female buddy films Films based on American novels Films directed by Allison Anders Films scored by Lesley Barber Films set on beaches Films shot in Vancouver Lifetime (TV network) films Remakes of American films Television remakes of films