Une promesse au nom de notre amitié

This should never have been remade! IdIna can sing but she can't act, unless it's Disney. Perhaps trying to remake Bette Midler movies is not a good idea.

First time I saw Beaches was during the premiere on Lifetime in January 2017 , one of the reasons why remakes are made is to introduce a new generation to a popular film with a new spin on it.

Idina Menzel's rendition of Bette Midler's Wind Beneath My Wings was amazing and sung so beautifully, the film retells the story of a friendship between two women from different backgrounds that spans from childhood to adulthood.

Nia Long's portrayal of Hillary Whitney was good, like Barbra Hershey in the original film her character goes through many changes beginning with befriending CC Bloom who wants to be a star to becoming a lawyer, wife and then eventually a single mother is handled well.

Fellow cast members Gabriella Pizzolo, Grace Capeless, Antonio Cupo, Colin Lawrence, Sanai Victoria , Jodi Capeless and Donny Lucas rounded out the cast perfectly.

I give this film a 6.3/ 10

9/10 times, remakes of iconic, heart-warming masterpieces should never be made - let alone attempted. This movie is no exemption to that.

Aside from the boring, sleep-inducing acting and lack of narrative, this "remake" fails to capture the very essence that was Beaches. Without Bette Midler and Barbara Hershey dominating the screen with their chemistry that can be felt in even the youngest of hearts who weren't even alive in the 80s, this failed attempt to rekindle a classic should be a hard pass for anyone with any ounce of respect for the original.

Please stop trying to recapture the classics. It never works.

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.

I try not to compare remakes because usually there are differences good and bad. Problem with this classic is that if you know the original then you realise a fair bit is just skimmed over here (like watching in fast forward) if you don't know the original then you may feel a bit is lacking in the story/character development because you wouldn't fill in those blanks. The movie is sweet enough to watch and still tugs at the heart strings but is middle of the road. Ok for a quiet night in.