Terms of Endearment Collection

Shirley MacLaine

Debra Winger

Jack Nicholson

Danny DeVito

Jeff Daniels

John Lithgow

Lisa Hart Carroll

Betty King

Huckleberry Fox

Troy Bishop

Shane Serwin

Megan Morris

Tara Yeakey

Norman Bennett

Jennifer Josey

Kate Charleson

Tom Wees

Paul Menzel

F. William Parker

Amanda Watkins

Buddy Gilbert

David Wohl

Shelley K. Nielsen

Bette Croissant

Charles Beall

Lelise Folse

Sharisse Baker-Bernard

Judy Dickerson

Devon O'Brien

Dana Vance

Alexandra O'Karma

Nancy Mette

Holly Holmberg Brooks

Lear Levin

Albert Brooks

Lanier Whilden

Helen Stauffer

Barbara Balik

Michelle Watkins

John C. Conger

Sandra Newkirk

Elaine McGown

Mary Kay Place

James L. Brooks

Larry McMurtry

Michael Gore

Andrzej Bartkowiak

Richard Marks

Jane Schwartz Jaffe

Kristi Zea

Juliet Taylor

Ellen Chenoweth

Penney Finkelman Cox

Martin Jurow

Austen Jewell

Albert M. Shapiro

Marty P. Ewing

Ben Nye Jr.

Paula Herold

Harold Michelson

Sandy Veneziano

Tom Pedigo

Anthony Mondell

Kaye Pownall

Billy Miller

Terry E. Lewis

Zade Rosenthal

Bron Roylance

James R. Alexander

Dusty Wallace

Rosemary Dorsey

Don Reddy

Dustin Blauvelt

Steven Hiller

John J. Rutchland Jr.

Richard A. Villalobos

Michael McDuffee

Bob Badami

Norval D. Crutcher

Samuel C. Crutcher

George Watters II

Cecelia Hall

Andrew Patterson

Joanne D'Antonio

Jerry Rosenthal

Terry Lynn Allen

Larry Singer

Barbara Fallick Marks

Bruce Fortune

Stephen Stalheim

Donald O. Mitchell

Rick Kline

Kevin O'Connell

Wayne Fitzgerald

Jeannie Epper

Polly Platt

Drama

Comedy

Terms of Endearment

Paramount Pictures

United States of America

CinemaSerf

I hated the story, let's get that out of the way first. This film is about character acting at it's best, though, and Shirley MacLaine ("Aurora") and Jack Nicholson ("Garrett") bring us charisma and entertainment in spades which thankfully rescues the really pedestrian plot from abject mediocrity. Since her birth, "Aurora" has fussed over her daughter "Emma" (Debra Winger) and upon the death of her husband, settles down to a rather vicarious existence living life through her daughter, her husband "Flap" (Jeff Daniels) and their children. She is a strong willed woman, with love that can be gentle and kindly, or that can be rude and interfering with much of the frequently sardonic humour emanating from her disinclination to let them live their own lives. Next door we find "Garrett", a somewhat disreputable womaniser. A former astronaut who trades well on his erstwhile status, but who takes a bit of a shine to "Aurora" - and that's another source of lively comedy as the two clash with engaging regularity. The last hour descends rather quickly into melancholy, though, as the young "Emma" has to deal with her own problem husband, and an illness that starts to focus the attention from all concerned onto what really matters with their relationships. MacLaine is always good with these rough-round-the-edges roles and here there is plenty of chemistry on the sparing occasions in which she and Nicholson feature. Sadly, for me anyway, the rest of this hovers way too close to melodrama and though at its best it is really good, for the most part I was rather underwhelmed by the family antics that underpinned so much of the (over-long) story.

English

James L. Brooks | Best Director for 'Terms of Endearment' | Behind the Oscars Speech