The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Beaches
Comedy · Drama · 1988
A privileged rich debutante and a cynical struggling entertainer share a turbulent, but strong childhood friendship over the years.
Movie details
Beaches
“Some Friendships Last Forever”
1988 Comedy · Drama 2h 3m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.7 / 10
Community rating
A privileged rich debutante and a cynical struggling entertainer share a turbulent, but strong childhood friendship over the years.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Beaches?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Stan & Ollie
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With their golden era long behind them, comedy duo Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy embark on a variety hall tour of Britain and Ireland. Despite the pressures of a hectic schedule, and with the support of their wives Lucille and Ida – a formidable double act in their own right – the pair's love of performing, as well as for each other, endures as they secure their place in the hearts of their adoring public
Ghost World
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Terms of Endearment
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Aurora, a finicky woman, is in search of true love while her daughter faces marital issues. Together, they help each other deal with problems and find reasons to live a joyful life.
Ghostlight
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When a construction worker unexpectedly joins a local theater's production of Romeo and Juliet alongside his estranged teenage daughter, the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life.
Frances Ha
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An aspiring dancer moves to New York City and becomes caught up in a whirlwind of flighty fair-weather friends, diminishing fortunes and career setbacks.
My Girl
Comedy · 1991
Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J., her best friend, is "allergic to everything", and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. When Vada's father hires Shelly, and begins to fall for her, things take a turn to the worse...
The Station Agent
Drama · 2003
When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
I'll See You in My Dreams
Drama · 2015
A sudden loss disrupts Carol’s orderly life, propelling her into the dating world for the first time in 20 years. Finally living in the present tense, she finds herself swept up in not one, but two unexpected relationships that challenge her assumptions about what it means to grow old.
Bob Trevino Likes It
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Lily Trevino unexpectedly befriends an online stranger who shares her self-centered father’s name. This new Bob Trevino’s support could transform her life.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Garry Marshall
Written by
Mary Agnes Donoghue
Bette Midler
CC Bloom
Barbara Hershey
Hillary Whitney Essex
John Heard
John Pierce
Spalding Gray
Dr. Richard Milstein
Lainie Kazan
Leona Bloom
James Read
Michael Essex
Grace Johnston
Victoria Essex
Court is in session
Put Beaches on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.