Beaches (1988) is a fondly remembered film starring Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey. It tells the sad tale of a close, sometimes stormy, unlikely friendship between two seemingly mismatched women. CC (Midler) is a loud, brash singer with stars in her eyes, a gay icon in the making. Hillary is an attorney from a wealthy, conservative family. Their 30-year friendship begins on one beach and ends on another when Hillary is struck down by illness. The film was a hit, grossing $57 million against a $20 million budget. Midler sang "Wind Beneath My Wings," one of her biggest hits, on the film's soundtrack, and Beaches remains a favorite among her fans.
Lifetime airs its remake of Beaches starring Rent's Idina Menzel as CC, and Nia Long as Hillary, on Sat., Jan. 21. The film was directed by Allison Anders, whose credits include well-received independent films Gas, Food and Lodging (1992), Mi Vida Loca (1993), as well as episodic TV.
The original Beaches ran over two hours. Lifetime's version clocks in at a scant 90 minutes, which necessitates truncating the story. One glaring omission from the remake is Leonie, CC's outrageously colorful stage mother, played so memorably by Lainie Kazan in 1988. In Anders' film Leonie is reduced to a one-line cameo, but when you shorten a story's running time by more than 30 minutes, something has to go.
A few of the original's plot points have a rushed feel, including CC's rise to stardom and Hillary's failed marriage. In spite of these flaws, Menzel and Long offer fine performances in the lead roles. Menzel, a seasoned veteran of Broadway musicals, has a powerful voice and delivers soaring covers of "Wind Beneath My Wings" and "The Story of Love," another song performed by Miss M some 30 years ago.
Menzel and Long enjoy a nice chemistry and play off each other well as CC and Hillary bond, grow apart, and find each other again. Eventually they become family as tragedy enters their lives. There are no surprises to be found in Anders' film for anyone familiar with the original, it's the same story. Everything viewers see on screen is lifted directly from the original. But there are pleasures to be found in Menzel and Long's interpretations of the roles, and that tearjerker of an ending still packs a wallop.
Neither version of Beaches could be called a great film, but both are enjoyable. The story is reminiscent of "women's pictures," weepy soap operas that were produced during the 1940s, often starring legendary ladies Joan Crawford or Barbara Stanwyck. If you're in the mood for a good cry, Beaches premieres on Lifetime on Jan. 21 at 8 p.m.