TonyMontana96
(Originally reviewed: 20/03/2017) A Picture that switches between two separate stories after the first half hour or so, and one is excellent, the other merely good, but one thing is for sure, this is a very well made film with sincerity, craft and compassion; the film packs a lot of powerfully emotional sequences and the sentimentality is very rare. Jack Nicholson is a great actor, and here is yet another great performance from him playing Garrett Breedlove, a former Astronaut , though he is a supporting character here, he still shines as much as he did in films like The Shining and One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, if not exceeding them, which would be almost impossible to do, though there is a great moment here where Nicholson shouts "Fly me to the Moon" in a hilarious sequence that literally sends him flying, a scene that is extremely memorable.The two mains are played by Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger, rather terrifically I might add, MacLaine play's Aurora, the mother and Debra Winger play's her daughter, Emma, and both of them have striking personality and demonstrate a strong screen presence, whenever a scene requires it, which is one of many reasons I enjoyed this picture, the actors are just superb and there character's seem extremely genuine, The Mother is always correcting and lecturing her daughter, keeping a straight manner, and the daughter is always trying to prove that she's doing the right thing, and that she can look after children and make her own life with her new husband, it's not stereotypical, it's realistic and it seems as if you could walk past the very street where they are and see them talking with each other, and I expect these picture's that are non-fantasy to be realistic in some way, and this one most definitely succeeds. The picture is adequately shot, there's plenty of memorable lines, and good writing, that includes some real sharp dialogue like "Imagine you having a date with somebody, where it wasn't a felony" which was a line in a real engaging conversation between MacLaine and Nicholson, this was one of many good lines uttered by MacLaine, and Nicholson and Debra Winger have an equal amount of strong lines here. The cast are all very good; Jeff Daniels play's Flap, Emma's husband, and this is perhaps the strongest I've seen him outside of comedy, and John Lithgow as Sam Burns, who defends Emma in a supermarket from a rude check-out girl, this was his best moment in the picture, and he's also good, playing a neighbourly sort of friend to Emma. Other solid performances, to name a few, include Danny DeVito as Vernon Dalhart, a friend of Aurora's and Lisa Hart Carroll as Patsy Clark, Emma's lifelong best friend. The story has two part's to it, one is focused on an unexpected relationship of sorts between Aurora and Garrett, whereas the other is about Emma and her kids and how they are going through life, including a possible cheating husband who lacks energy when at home, now the part with Nicholson and MacLaine is engaging, extremely funny, occasionally sweet and very entertaining, whereas the other part of the story between Debra Winger and her kids, falters at times, feeling less compelling than the latter, which isn't a big problem, because it's still a good story overall.The outcome in the end isn't a cheerful one, it's rather sad, but I felt involved, emotionally invested and sad about it myself and this picture never goes for clichés, it's believable, well-crafted and only occasionally manipulative, and the very end is satisfying because the story end's with hope that despite the heart-breaking tragedy, things can get better, and the character's pull together, helping one another come to terms with their emotions over the incident and end the film not with complete despair, but with some form of hope, which sat rather well with me, and I personally think this is a very good film, that despite a change of tone before the very end, possesses a good sense of humour, humanity, excellent performances and a director that knows how to make a quality film; James L. Brooks, well done.
mark.waltz
When the film version of "Steel Magnolias" came out in 1989, there were plenty of people who must have commented on the similarities of that plot to "Terms of Endearment", especially since Shirley MacLaine, after winning an Oscar for that film, took on a character supporting part with two time Oscar winning Sally Field taking over the role of the long-suffering mom. Fields' M'Lynn is as far from Aurora Greenway as Debra Winger's Emma is from Julia Roberts' Shelby, but indeed, this is a film about the relationship of mothers and daughters that seems quite poignant in light of the recent Carrie Fisher/Debbie Reynolds tragedy. MacLaine's Aurora is really her first middle aged crank, moving from her eccentrics of the 1950's and 60's to what she would perfect as Ouiser Boudreaux. Aurora Greenway is a kinder, gentler version of Ouiser, but she's no wimp and she's probably even more uptight than Ouiser was. It will take a lot of drinks to kill the bug she has, and that comes thanks to the astronaut neighbor who annoys her at first with his drunken carousing but opens her up to a world of middle age sexual awakening when somehow he endears himself to her.That astronaut is Jack Nicholson, played with brassy vigor and well deserving of another Oscar. Certainly, he's fat and disgusting at times, but that's the joy of his character; He knows he's fat and disgusting, but he loves life and isn't stopping for a moment of sobriety and chastity under any circumstance. MacLaine is first seen worrying over baby Emma, assured unsuccessfully by her husband that it hasn't died of crib death, and MacLaine hardly mourns her husband without even a single tear. She tolerates Lisa Hart Carroll as Patsy, Emma's best friend, but can't stand Emma's choice for a husband to be, the handsome but prankish Jeff Daniels who stands up to MacLaine with every nasty remark she dishes out. MacLaine's Aurora is temperamental, but not without heart, and as the film unravels, she becomes a fascinating amalgamation of moods and personality traits. As for Winger, it's a very direct performance, and while MacLaine steals the film right out from under her, it is probably the real off screen animosity between the two that made them better. Dislike of any kind brings out passion, especially in actors, and in fact, they seem more like mother and daughter than Field and Roberts did in "Steel Magnolias". That film was far more colorful and flamboyant with its ensemble cast of family and friends surrounding them, but "Terms" is quite direct. John Lithgow, coming off his flamboyant role as the transgendered ex-football player in "The World According to Garp", is a pillar of quiet strength who helps Winger through some rough times involving Daniels' infidelity as she helps him deal with his own inner storm surrounding his own wife who is unable to have sex.MacLaine is of course best known for the "Give her the shot!" scene when the film takes its soap opera twist at the end, showing the strength that women have when it comes to dealing with family trauma and the undying loyalty they have for their children. It's certainly as poignant as Fields' "I wanna know why!" cry for understanding in "Steel Magnolias", and perhaps the reason Fields did not get the Oscar nomination many (including myself) felt she deserved for that was that the memory of MacLaine in "Terms of Endearment" overshadowed her. This was recently re-written as an Off Broadway play (starring Molly Ringwald!) that in light of the movie's less than stellar cult status seemed unnecessary to be done. I can't get enough of the musical theme by Michael Gore, and indeed, the script and direction by Joseph Brooks is excellent. However, after much thought, I find that "Terms of Endearment" does not hold up as the Best Picture of 1983, although I couldn't imagine anybody else winning an Oscar for Best Actress that year other than Shirley MacLaine.
