Beaches is a 1988 American musical comedy drama film based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Iris Rainer Dart. It was directed by Garry Marshall from a screenplay by Mary Agnes Donoghue, and stars Bette Midler, Barbara Hershey, Mayim Bialik, John Heard, James Read, Spalding Gray, and Lainie Kazan. Depending on the region, the film also goes by titles such as Forever Friends, Remember Me ...