Beaches (Lifetime) - General Discussion

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

Two women who bonded on the boardwalk as young girls maintain a strong friendship throughout the course of their lives, despite their contrasting lifestyles and career paths, in this remake of the 1988 film of the same title.

Premieres on Lifetime Saturday, January 21, at 8 PM ET.

[topanga]

I was all ready to wipe my hands of this reboot, but Nia Long is in it. I've loved her since 1987's Boyz n the Hood. This might make me check it out. It might. 

[chitowngirl]

I asked my young adult daughter why they would remake a movie as iconic as Beaches. She said she has never heard of it, so I guess that's why!

[Bastet]

I've liked Nia Long since she was Kat on Guiding Light, and I found the Steel Magnolias remake interesting - I won't re-watch it a gazillion times like the original, but I was happy to watch it once - so I'll probably give this a look, too.  But if someone remakes Terms of Endearment, that one may be too much for me to handle.

[Ohwell]

I like Nia Long, so I'll watch.

[Almost 3000]

People seem to like Nia but I'm not really aware of her. Adina rubs me the wrong way and Beaches was a watch once for me so I'm not really interested. The original was a bit campy and that worked but this just seems soapy.

[Primetimer]

The whole thing sort of smells like low tide, and Al Lowe can't with this.

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[cardigirl]

Never understood the love for the original (though I did like Bette Midler in it), so I guess this will not upset me because I really don't hold the original as sacred.

[dmc]

Never understood the love for the original (though I did like Bette Midler in it), so I guess this will not upset me because I really don't hold the original as sacred.

the original is not a great movie by any means...I think what people like about is that it depicts a really strong friendship but it's not movie masterpiece

[ChlcGirl]

Al, I had no idea you loved Grace of My Heart. Just another reason to think you're awesome.

As for Beaches. I'm giving it a big pass. Some things don't need to be tampered with.

[cardigirl]

55 minutes ago, dmc said:

the original is not a great movie by any means...I think what people like about is that it depicts a really strong friendship but it's not movie masterpiece

Well, Al is not the first person I've heard talk about the original with some reverence.  I guess it may be a "growing up in the 80s" type of thing.  I'm too old to have loved it like that.  

[axlmadonna]

I can't with this either. Beaches IS sacred.

[DearEvette]

I saw the original movie.  In the theater.  With a my best girlfriend who is the type to cry at a jello pudding commercial so she spent the entire movie bawling.  I spent the entire movie patting her hand and saying, "there, there."  I thought it was alright.  So I am not wedded to the original and Nia Long is in this one, need to give it a try just for her.

[Judi Sunshine]

Oh this is really disappointing. I actually am not into the original but was interested in this.

[mammaM]

  5 hours ago, dmc said:

the original is not a great movie by any means...I think what people like about is that it depicts a really strong friendship but it's not movie masterpiece

Well, Al is not the first person I've heard talk about the original with some reverence.  I guess it may be a "growing up in the 80s" type of thing.  I'm too old to have loved it like that.  

The original is NOT a great movie, schmaltzy is the word I would use. But, but, but....Bette and Barbara were wonderful (esp. Bette), and that elevated the movie. And the songs and soundtrack were wonderful, I also have the soundtrack.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

Well, what did y'all expect from the network that dared to remake Steel Magnolias? I'm still not over that sacrilege...

[Suck It Trebek]

Well. I didn't hate it....I didn't particularly like it, mind you, but I didn't hate it. 

[againstthewind]

In the words of Men on Film...HAAAATED IT. The original doesn't need touching (I cry hysterically when Wind Beneath My Wings fires up over the sunset). I don't understand why it needed to be done, and the changes made were not cool. I thought it was so much more effective when Hillary's daughter was the one that found her in the film. And they cut Otto Titsling.

the original was no masterpiece, but Barbara Hershey and Bette Midler made it a classic. 

I shudder for the Dirty dancing remake.

[Nordly Beaumont]

6 minutes ago, againstthewind said:

I cry hysterically when Wind Beneath My Wings fires up over the sunset

The scene where the black coats flutter and then part to reveal the funeral gets me. 

This was such a Lifetime movie. Like Al Lowe noted, no charm. And Idina Menzel brought NO personality to the role.

On 1/20/2017 at 0:24 PM, cardigirl said:

 I guess it may be a "growing up in the 80s" type of thing.

I loved Beaches when I first saw it, but I think I continue to love it mainly because it is just SO 80's! So they were never going to be able to capture what I love about it. But even just as a Lifetime movie, it wasn't good.

I don't have a problem with remakes though. I watched this, it wasn't good. Doesn't change anything about the original or the way I feel about it. It was just a way to spend a cold, boring Saturday evening. 

[movingtargetgal]

14 minutes ago, Nordly Beaumont said:

Idina Menzel brought NO personality to the role.

Menzel's version of Wind Beneath My Wings was lacking any emotion.  The Bette Midler version caused people to cry BUCKETS of tears.  When I saw Beaches in the movie theater I became a puddle when I heard that song.  Tonight my eyes were totally dry.  

[againstthewind]

I mean, it did have Antonio Cupo.

[Irlandesa]

2 minutes ago, againstthewind said:

I mean, it did have Antonio Cupo.

Whaaat?  Darnit.  I miss him from my Hallmark movies.  I still don't think he's enough to get me to watch this, though.  The original had great performances but is not something I needed to see more than once.  I feel even less of a need to watch a remake.

[ferretrick]

ARGH. It could have been great, but it was just so...bland. I know both actresses are talented, so I can only assume it was direction. Both of them seemed to be somewhere else in the fight scene. Idina seemed to be constantly looking anywhere but at Nina.

And they squandered the most interesting choice they made-making it an interracial friendship. Instead, Nia Long gets to play the magical Hollywood black person that never, ever talks about being black. Not even when she's giving her child to her white friend to raise.

[cinsays]

I wanted to love this movie because I remember the emotions I felt with the original and was hopeful, with all the hoopla that led up to it.  But, I agree with others that felt it was lacking something.  I just didn't get any real depth of feeling between the characters, there was no connection, so it was not believable to me. 

I know I cried like crazy with the original, but with this version, nope, not at all. 

And they had an after movie discussion show?  Their expectations about how this movie was going to be received were a little too hopeful.  Nothing there to discuss.

[txhorns79]

This movie was definitely lacking something.  The relationship between the characters seemed to lack any depth, and it wasn't really clear to me why these women were supposedly so close.  For example, when the women had their fight and stopped speaking for a while, all they really showed was that CC was a horrible friend to Hillary (missing her wedding, missing her father's funeral) while Hillary was just kind of there.    

And one thing seriously irked me.  When they showed CC's condolence card for Hillary's father, CC apparently signed the card with a small heart above her name, like a ten year old.  Who does that for a condolence card?   

[Ohwell]

That was....not good.

I thought Idina Menzel was awful as CC and her singing sounds "thin" to me.  No Bette Midler, for sure.  I know she's well-known on Broadway but since I'm not into Broadway shows anyway, she just came off as annoying to me.   

Nia Long as Hillary was just...there.  I thought the delivery of her lines was wooden, like she was reading from a teleprompter.  She got a little better as she got sicker but she still wasn't that good.  The only good thing about the show was the adorable little girl.

11 hours ago, ferretrick said:

And they squandered the most interesting choice they made-making it an interracial friendship. Instead, Nia Long gets to play the magical Hollywood black person that never, ever talks about being black. Not even when she's giving her child to her white friend to raise.

Well, she did teach CC how to braid her little girl's hair.  Seriously though, I guess we're to assume that through the years of their friendship they did have discussions about race and having an interracial friendship.  So I didn't have a problem with that aspect of the show.

[walnutqueen]

On 01/21/2017 at 4:41 AM, absolutqt said:

Well, what did y'all expect from the network that dared to remake Steel Magnolias? I'm still not over that sacrilege...

They DI'N'T!!!  Oh dear gawd, I am so very glad to have missed THAT.

I lasted less than 15 minutes into this shit show before hitting "Delete".

[mammaM]

2 hours ago, Ohwell said:

That was....not good.

I thought Idina Menzel was awful as CC and her singing sounds "thin" to me.  No Bette Midler, for sure.  I know she's well-known on Broadway but since I'm not into Broadway shows anyway, she just came off as annoying to me.   

Nia Long as Hillary was just...there.  I thought the delivery of her lines was wooden, like she was reading from a teleprompter.  She got a little better as she got sicker but she still wasn't that good.  The only good thing about the show was the adorable little girl.

Well, she did teach CC how to braid her little girl's hair.  Seriously though, I guess we're to assume that through the years of their friendship they did have discussions about race and having an interracial friendship.  So I didn't have a problem with that aspect of the show.

Idina Menzel has a beautiful voice. I did see her on Broadway and she can fill up a theatre so I don't know what happened. As someone upthread said, both women have talent so maybe bad direction, bad sound editing? Or maybe all actors have to make a bad movie or two.

[Ohwell]

15 minutes ago, mammaM said:

Idina Menzel has a beautiful voice.

Well, that's definitely a YMMV thing.  Whenever I hear her singing "Let It Go" I get stabby. 

[againstthewind]

I just rewatched the original and I hate the remake even more.

New CC was a terrible friend. The original showed a lot more nuance in why their friendship deteriorated.

[gator12]

22 hours ago, againstthewind said:

I shudder for the Dirty dancing remake.

Lifetime is remaking Dirty Dancing?

[txhorns79]

Quote

Lifetime is remaking Dirty Dancing?

I think ABC is remaking Dirty Dancing.

Quote

 

The original showed a lot more nuance in why their friendship deteriorated.

 

I felt like the original did a much better job of showing time passing, and the women's relationship developing and changing.  Here, it was like there was no real difference between the 20-something versions of CC and Hillary that were living together, and the 40-something versions we saw at the end of the movie.  I don't even think their hairstyles changed.   

And what the heck was that tv show that CC was supposed to be starring in?  The women were dressed up like they were doing a porn movie. 

[Bastet]

I didn't realize Allison Anders was directing; now I'm even more willing to give this a chance.  But these early posts are not inspiring confidence (I was watching football - fucking Patriots - so now I'm watching the "after party" and will watch the re-airing in ten minutes), making me think maybe I'm going to hate it, when I really want to walk away saying, "Well, that wasn't the original, and there was really no point, but it's fine as its own thing."  Yeah, that's the bar I set for these things.

No Otto Titsling?  And we have to change CC smoking under the boardwalk to street performing without a license?

[Bastet]

As compared to the original, it was awful, but that’s honestly not how I go into these things evaluating them (see, e.g. my acceptance of the Steel Magnolias remake on its own merits).  On its own?  That was still pretty bad.  It was so thin and rushed; characters were presented rather than developed.  It gave me nothing; it told me these women were lifelong friends with a complicated relationship, but it forgot to ever show me that.  I never shed a single tear – and I have my period!

About halfway through, I took a break to cook dinner, so it was just background noise for a bit.  Nia Long became more of the talent I know her to be after that point, but it was still disappointing.

All the conflicting emotions after Hillary gets sick – between Hillary and CC, between Victoria/Tori and CC – were just so anemic; things were too neat.  And overall – but especially with the actors playing young Hillary and CC – things felt forced and theatrical (in all the bad ways) rather than natural.  The comparison to a community theatre production is accurate, and I just don’t know how it came out that way given the cast and director.

That this was a pale imitation of the feature film is one thing, but this was utterly forgettable as a stand-alone TV movie.

I do like Menzel’s rendition of Wind Beneath My Wings and Glory of Love, though.

[SunnyBeBe]

This was a struggle to watch.  I feel for the actors.  I wonder how they felt.  Not good.  Boy, they were fortunate to get those roles, although they may suffer professionally because of this movie. I think that I liked Idina's vocals more than most here.  Did you listen to the very last version of Wind Beneath My Wings in the movie?  I liked it okay.  It's not Bett, but, it was still good to me.  The rest of the music numbers, not so much.  And the acting was quite sad.  I think what we have is that the original was an actual Motion Picture and this was a Lifetime made for tv movie and that's quite different. 

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, SunnyBeBe said:

I think what we have is that the original was an actual Motion Picture and this was a Lifetime made for tv movie and that's quite different. 

Exactly.

[dmc]

On 1/21/2017 at 10:51 PM, againstthewind said:

In the words of Men on Film...HAAAATED IT. The original doesn't need touching (I cry hysterically when Wind Beneath My Wings fires up over the sunset). I don't understand why it needed to be done, and the changes made were not cool. I thought it was so much more effective when Hillary's daughter was the one that found her in the film. And they cut Otto Titsling.

the original was no masterpiece, but Barbara Hershey and Bette Midler made it a classic. 

I shudder for the Dirty dancing remake.

there was one Dirty Dancing Havanna nights and it was horrid

[BW Manilowe]

8 hours ago, dmc said:

there was one Dirty Dancing Havanna nights and it was horrid

Dirty Dancing Havana Nights was, as I remember, a sequel or prequel to the original film, not a remake of it (the original was set in the Catskill mountains in the US). On the other hand, ABC is doing an actual 3-hour long remake. It's supposed to air in May, but the airdate's different depending on the source. Playbill says it's airing May 24th; the Wikipedia page for the show says May 27th.

[dmc]

On 1/26/2017 at 8:58 PM, BW Manilowe said:

Dirty Dancing Havana Nights was, as I remember, a sequel or prequel to the original film, not a remake of it (the original was set in the Catskill mountains in the US). On the other hand, ABC is doing an actual 3-hour long remake. It's supposed to air in May, but the airdate's different depending on the source. Playbill says it's airing May 24th; the Wikipedia page for the show says May 27th.

I guess it was a sequel because it did have different characters

[WendyCR72]

On 1/29/2017 at 3:39 PM, dmc said:

I guess it was a sequel because it did have different characters

I hate that I know this because it sucked, but Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights was a prequel, as it took place in pre-Revolutionary Cuba in 1958. The original Dirty Dancing took place in the summer of 1963.

And I hate that ABC is remaking it (but will probably watch if just out of morbid curiosity and to bitch. LOL!) Still cannot wrap my mind around Debra Messing playing Marjorie Houseman. And no one will touch Jerry Orbach's Jake Houseman.

Topic? Speaking of remakes, finally watched this - and as schmaltzy as the original was, it had campy heart. This was just a hot mess and a waste of time. Sigh. And I really didn't like Menzel's take on "Wind Beneath My Wings". At all.

[dmc]

18 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

I hate that I know this because it sucked, but Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights was a prequel, as it took place in pre-Revolutionary Cuba in 1958. The original Dirty Dancing took place in the summer of 1963.

And I hate that ABC is remaking it (but will probably watch if just out of morbid curiosity and to bitch. LOL!) Still cannot wrap my mind around Debra Messing playing Marjorie Houseman. And no one will touch Jerry Orbach's Jake Houseman.

Topic? Speaking of remakes, finally watched this - and as schmaltzy as the original was, it had campy heart. This was just a hot mess and a waste of time. Sigh. And I really didn't like Menzel's take on "Wind Beneath My Wings". At all.

Well I love that you know

Edited February 10, 2017 by dmc