Tendres passions

Terms Of Endearment is a story of what happens when life does not go as planned and how you deal with it. In one way or another we are flawed humans, but most of us can rise to the occasion if the situation calls for it. It gained an Oscar at last for Shirley MacLaine and a second for Jack Nicholson though in the Supporting character category.

The story stretches out over a 30 year period and it starts with the death of MacLaine's husband early on and she's left to raise her daughter on her own. As the daughter who grows up to be Debby Winger the two fight constantly. She really doesn't approve of her choice of husband Jeff Daniels who is a struggling academic who in the course of the movie has several teaching positions and rises slowly in his profession. Not fast enough for MacLaine. She reminds me of Madge Wallace the mother-in-law of Harry S. Truman who never thought her son-in-law would amount to anything. She died in the White House just before the Trumans left for Independence permanently.

Winger has three children, but she's beset by doubts about Daniels's infidelity as he does have nubile coeds all about. Both of them misread signals about each other and MacLaine's hectoring doesn't help.

As for Shirley, her neighbor is a retired astronaut Jack Nicholson who is still looking for space groupies. He's an unlikely candidate to thaw MacLaine out, but they find out they have more in common than they think. And Nicholson has more character than we first suspect.

Terms Of Endearment is a film that places people who are very much like the people who pay to see this film in real universal situations we can all understand. Not hard to understand how this became such a critical and popular hit.

Terms Of Endearment won for Best Picture in 1983 and Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for James Brooks. It got a flock more nominations as well. It's an enduring classic and will remain so.

The finale with MacLaine is sublimely beautiful.

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT is an undeniably gripping and emotional film experience that will have you rolling on the floor during one scene and weeping uncontrollably during the next. This film follows the complicated relationship between an icy, Texan widow named Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine)and her slightly-off-the-wall daughter, Emma (Debra Winger), who at the beginning of the film is marrying a man named Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels), whom her mother clearly hates, seemingly just to get away from her. The film follows Emma's marriage through three children, infidelity, and unexpected tragedy but it never lets go of the unspoken bond between Aurora and Emma...a bond so strong that it transcends telephone lines, geography, and even dialogue at times...there are moments in the story where you see Aurora and Emma communicate without saying a word to each other. Writer-director James L. Brooks won a pair of Oscars for writing and directing this funny and heartbreaking story that stretches over a long period of time but never fails to hold interest and trust me, the last 20-30 minutes of this film will have you weeping. Shirley MacLaine finally won her long-overdue Best Actress Oscar for her controlled performance as Aurora and Jack Nicholson won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as a retired astronaut who moves in next door to Aurora after Emma moves out and begins a hilarious and touching relationship with Aurora. Debra Winger is explosive and unpredictable as Emma and Jeff Daniels is fully invested in the unsympathetic role of Flap. A truly unique motion picture experience that will leave you limp.

After looking forward to seeing this film for many years, I finally have watched it, and was left a little disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it's a good movie, but I expected so very much more. I found the plot to be rather thin for a movie this long, and after some thought, I'd have to say that the script was average at best. With a weaker cast, I suspect that I wouldn't have even liked it. Fortunately, this film is blessed with a spectacular cast, and this film deservedly received Oscar recognition in the acting categories. It just didn't deserve the best picture Oscar that it also won.

A well-observed, well-made drama (with occasional comedic moments), that may not be exactly "high art" (it's neither profound nor original), but DOES feature some great acting and manages to pull you in.

Debra Winger gives an extraordinary performance; she has a naturalness and expressiveness that you rarely see on the screen. When her character is happy, her whole face brightens up and her joy becomes infectious; when she's sad or confused or embarrassed, the emotions come across strongly, although she never goes over the top. Considering that she lost the Oscar to her co-star, Shirley MacLaine, who is reasonably good but far more one-note, I'd say we had a major Academy Award injustice there. Jack Nicholson is fun to watch and has some amusing lines, and most supporting roles, like those played by John Lithgow and Danny De Vito, are also first-rate and completely believable.

So overall it's a good film, directed almost flawlessly, although in the final 20 minutes it needlessly wallows in melodrama. (***)

Terms of Endearment stands the test of time. This film was released in 1983 and is defiantly a classic. Shirley MacLaine as Aurora Greenway and Debra Winger as Emma Horton are two of the best actresses of this generation. Not to mention, Jack Nicholson as the "Astronaut" Garrett Breedlove, his characters are always memorable no matter how big or small his role in a film.

This film is about the lifelong relationship between a daughter, Emma, her slightly neurotic mother, Aurora and the men in their lives. From the beginning of the film you see Aurora's dependence on Emma, even though Aurora is slightly cold towards her at first. You also see that Emma, as a daughter, doesn't care, she loves her mother unconditionally for who she is, as a child does. The film goes on to tell a realistic tale about how life is funny, exciting, disappointing and just plain sad.

Very few films have the ability to tell such a heart warming yet heart wrenching tale so realistically. The director's focus in this film is on the emotional effect, he wants to make you feel as if you are living life with these women. The use of natural lighting and the use of a subjective view point keep you sitting next to these woman as they experience dating "the astronaut" and having children with a spouse who is not always there for you.

I have to say my favorite part of the film was being transported back in time to the place where I grew up. A place of Laura Ashley furniture and phones that had a cords. The setting to this movie was so authentic that it made me wish for a simpler time before all the technology came along and children used to play outside. You really do feel that you are widowed housewife in Texas, trying to figure out that "astronaut" next door and what you may want from him. Maybe you're also the mother of three trying to figure out where your husband is; of course he is probably trying to figure out where you are.

One of the nicest things in life is being able to share your whole self with someone who will love you anyway. That is what this story conveys. It may not always be happy and rosy, but it is funny and real. It reminds me of the movie Steel Magnolias which Shirley MacLaine also does a terrific job. This is a must see movie for anyone.