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.
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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.
The Friend
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New York City writer Iris finds her comfortable, solitary life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor bequeaths her a Great Dane named Apollo. The huge dog immediately creates practical problems for Iris, from furniture destruction to eviction notices, as well as more existential ones. Yet as Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding with Apollo, she begins to come to terms with her past, and her own creative inner life.
The Last Word
Comedy · 2017
A retired businesswoman – who tries to control everything around her – decides to write her own obituary. A young journalist takes up the task of finding out the truth, and the result is a life-altering friendship.
Death at a Funeral
Comedy · 2007
A myriad of outrageous calamities befalls an eccentric English clan with more than a few skeletons in its closets when the family's patriarch dies an unexpected death.
I Like Movies
Comedy · 2023
Socially inept 17-year-old cinephile Lawrence Kweller gets a job at a video store, where he forms a complicated friendship with his older female manager.
Another Year
Drama · 2010
During a year, a very content couple approaching retirement are visited by friends and family less happy with their lives.
Ghost World
Comedy · 2001
Two quirky, cynical, teenaged girls try to figure out what to do with their lives following high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric, middle-aged record collector, one of them befriends him, which causes a rift in the girls’ friendship.
Don't Say Good Luck
Comedy · 2026
Sophie Birenbaum is ready for the spotlight as the lead in her high school musical — until she's suddenly facing more drama at home than on the stage.
Ghostlight
Comedy · 2024
When melancholic construction worker Dan finds himself drifting from his wife and daughter, he discovers community and purpose in a local theater's production of Romeo and Juliet. As the drama onstage starts to mirror his own life, he and his family are forced to confront a personal loss.
Frances Ha
Comedy · 2013
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.
Paper Man
Comedy · 2009
A coming-of-middle-age comedy that chronicles the unlikely friendship between failed author Richard Dunne and a Long Island teen who teaches him a thing or two about growing up, all under the disapproving eye of his long-suffering wife and his imaginary Superhero friend.
Where it lives
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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.