Terms of Endearment

Starring: Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, Danny DeVito
Directed by: James L. Brooks
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy
1983

Times Seen:
Tim: 2

Summary: Emma (Debra Winger) and her mother, Aurora (Debra) endure the ups and downs of their difficult relationship, always coming back to each other as they succeed and fail in love and life.

Review:

Tim: This is a movie that features an outstanding cast, is based on a strong source material, and comes out mostly good. The film is a bit uneven, moving between some truly great scenes and some surprisingly forgettable ones. The movie does make some emotional impact, but surprisingly, not one as powerful or long-lasting as I would have expected. This is a tearjerker that is mysteriously low on tears.

The cast has to be mentioned because it is the film's strongest aspect. Debra Winger is quite good as Emma, giving a very realistic everywoman performance. Her success comes in small, understated ways. I enjoyed watching the film through her eyes. However, I think she is partially responsible for the film's conclusion not being a powerful as it could have been. She was good throughout the film, but weakest at the end- exactly where it needed her to be the strongest. I am not a huge fan of Shirley MacLaine, but she was fairly good here. I just don't think she is as good of an actress as everyone thinks, but she puts in a good performance here. She is at her best when she interacts with Jack Nicholson. She did win the Best Actress Academy Award for this performance, however.

Nicholson gives a very good performance as well. I enjoyed him in the role. I don't think this was his best performance, but he won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor here. Some of my favorite scenes are ones between MacLaine and Nicholson. They really work well together on screen. The rest of the supporting cast is good as well. Jeff Daniels is good in a somewhat thankless role. I liked the too-small role of John Lithgow- I wish he had more screen time. As far as Danny DeVito, I was a bit surprised as to why he was in the film in the first place- his small role adds nothing major to the movie at all. At various points in the film, I had completely forgotten he was in it at all. All in all, the movie does have a very good cast.

Terms of Endearment is a fairly powerful movie that focuses on the ups and downs of one family as they struggle and survive in life. In that aspect, it is fairly unique, because of the many characters all revolving around the foundational mother-daughter relationship. As I mentioned, the movie is a bit uneven, slowing to nearly a halt in the middle, before picking up steam to move towards its conclusion. This film won 5 Oscars, including the Academy Award for Best Picture, which surprised me a little. I thought this movie was definitely a strong, good movie, but I don't believe it is great by any stretch.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Witches of Eastwick, In Her Shoes, Steel Magnolias