Beaches (2017) Reviews

• If there was ever a reason not to redo something, this is it.

  brummylee2017-02-15

  I've seen quite a few remakes over the years but nothing like this. It takes a film that could reduce Starlin to tears and turns it into a tacky and badly cast pile of not worthy of bearing it's name. I'ts terrible and makes you wonder why the people responsible for the original film would allow this, think cheap American daytime soap and you pretty much get how this was remade. It is awful.

• Painful

  jaiami-10-7910642017-12-10

  It was physically painful to watch such a pathetic attempt to update a classic movie. The acting, the music, the story line were all complete failures. I was embarrassed for the two leads throughout. The update focused on all the minor aspects of the original and missed the essence. This is a remake that should never have been made. I need to watch the original to get this horror out of my mind.

• Way too over paced

  pocodfe2017-03-24

  When a movie is remade, you have to expect everyone to make a comparison. In that regard, this new version is just flat. It doesn't allow the viewer the chance to gain any depth or get drawn into the movie. You can just feel the rush of this movie trying to cram it all in to fit the allotted commercial insertions. Such a shame. The opening scenes with the two young girls are poorly acted. I almost stopped watching, but the adults pulled it off. Nia Long gives an exceptional performance. But again, this entire movie is so rushed, the great performance is overshadowed by the hasty flow. The singing by Menzel is actually good, which is another positive. But overall, the original is a major standout compared to this. TV movie remake failed in this case, unfortunately. You can't tell this incredible story in less than 90 minutes. And trying to do so is why it fell way short.

• Couldn't Make It To The End

  jlh-300252017-08-30

  I'll be honest, I couldn't get through the whole movie. I know you shouldn't compare it to the original but the original was just so good and the remake just couldn't hold a candle to it. The origin story of how the girls met was rushed and so poorly acted. It was just bad writing how the girls began a life long friendship after less than an hour or so of conversation. The original really did a much better job of building a bond between the two girls. Another reviewer said exactly what I thought, I almost turned it off there, but I LOVE Idina Menzel and wanted to see what she brought to the film. I wasn't sure to begin with how this film would work. The brilliant Bette Midler was made for this movie and she made the character of CC who she was meant to be. She was loud and proud, slightly obnoxious, and didn't have the girl next door look. That's CC and Bette portrayed that character in the most perfect way, and as much as I adore Idina, that's just not her and it's not a role for her. How in any way could anyone believe that CC wasn't getting roles because she "wasn't as cute as the other girls" when she's played by the stunning Menzel? How could we believe that CC couldn't hold a candle to Hillary in the looks department when she has both the looks and personality. This was a huge hole in the story. You can't make CC the unattractive friend who is so worse off than Hilary when you give the part to someone who is as gorgeous and talented as Idina. It's like casting the head cheerleader as a part meant for a chubby girl. I didn't know how the filmmakers were going to make it work, and it was simple...they didn't make it work. Like I said I turned it off fairly early on. When something is bad there's no point wasting time sitting through it.

• Some movies should not be remade

  mharah2017-07-15

  Bette Midler is a tough act to follow. One must almost go for a completely different interpretation. That wasn't done here. Idina Menzel has the chops as a singer, of course, but beyond that she's no Bette Midler. If she was trying for a different interpretation, it didn't work. In fact, it couldn't have worked. Over 30 minutes were chopped out of the running time as compared to the original. It is extra time that was desperately needed. The character development, the intricacies of the interactions, many of the nuances, all suffered just to get plot points in and leave room for commercials. Nia Long has turned in some brilliant portrayals in other projects. Here, she was mostly underused. Hillary has the more subtle character; it has to be played to CC without being secondary. Nia wasn't given enough screen time to do this. Updating the story didn't help either. There was a unique cachet about pre-gambling Atlantic City in its heyday, along with Broadway in its prime. The present day setting for this version was too bland. (Nuns in sitcoms just don't cut it. Respectable female New York lawyers are old school. The boardwalk in AC has very little charm any more.) There really wasn't any useful reason to update the story anyway, other than to point up that Beaches 2017 isn't Beaches 1988. It certainly isn't.