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Beaches Preview 

Heather M, January 20, 2017  
Photo Credit: Lifetime

[Warning: General spoilers ahead.]

Full disclosure: I didn’t really have any interest in seeing the 1988 weepie Beaches (adapted from Iris R. Dart’s novel) redone, mostly because I have the original locked in my brain from when I saw it in a theater at 17, and now, almost 30 years (yikes) later, I’m a decade older than the characters. But then I saw Allison Anders was attached to it as a director.

Photo Credit: Lifetime

If you’re not familiar with Anders, she’s been the heart and soul of movies about women like Gas, Food, Lodging and Things Behind the Sun (if you only discovered Kim Dickens through Fear the Walking Dead, find a copy of this movie). In recent years, she’s directed series including Murder in the First, Turn, and the upcoming Time After Time.

She’s always an interesting director, so that changed my mind, and I’m so glad, because she and her leading ladies have crafted a solid remake for a new generation who maybe only knew the original for Bette Midler‘s globally successful ballad, “Wind Beneath My Wings,” but never actually saw the movie.

Photo Credit: Lifetime
Photo Credit: Lifetime

Idina Menzel steps into the role of CC (originally played by Midler) and Nia Long fills Barbara Hershey‘s shoes as Hillary. For the uninitiated, the story follows two lifelong girlfriends from different backgrounds and with different aspirations whose adult lives takes them on separate paths until their relationship is renewed with a pregnancy and illness.

Photo Credit: Lifetime

The cast is rounded out with Antonio Cupo (Ice and several Hallmark films) and Colin Lawrence (the upcoming Riverdale) as CC’s and Hillary’s significant others. The movie was shot in Vancouver, so keep an eye out for familiar faces.

Photo Credit: Lifetime

Movies about genuine friendships between women are always welcome, and even Lifetime needs to take a break now and again from women behaving badly and deadly toward each other. Menzel and Long are very good together as friends who become and remain family through overwhelming odds. I love that they were game to give these characters a fresh take.

Beaches premieres Saturday at 8/7c on Lifetime, followed at 10/9c by a live special with the cast called Beaches: The After Party. Here’s a sneak peek, plus Menzel’s new version of that powerhouse ballad.

Tags #Allison Anders #Antonio Cupo #Beaches #Colin Lawrence #Heather M #Idina Menzel #Lifetime #Nia Long #TV Movie Goodness
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Heather M
Senior Writer/Columnist: Heather began writing about TV way back when Jensen Ackles was Alec on Dark Angel (so, "dibs.") EDITOR NOTE: No dibs!. She never got on the reality bandwagon. Instead, her TV viewing must be scripted. She's intensely loyal to actors, writers, and directors and loves comedy, drama, suspense, and sci-fi equally. If it was filmed in Vancouver (or Canada, really), she's going to be all over it. Don't look for snark. If she's made the time to watch it, she likes it (or loves it), because life's too short to watch sh-tty TV. But she will call BS when it's right there for the taking. By day, she writes marketing communications for the IT sector. She's a lifelong Texan (minus the pre-K years), so you'll have to accept the liberal use of "y'all." You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @approximofnice.

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