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Terms of Endearment (film) Rated PG, 1983 Stars: Debra Winger as Emma, Shirley MacLaine Aurora, Jack Nicholson as Garrett Breedlove, Jeff Daniels as Flap, John Lithgow as Sam From book by Larry McMurtry Produced by Paramount Terms of Endearment covers some three decades in the lives of widow Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra Winger). Fiercely protected by Aurora throughout childhood, Emma runs into resistance from her mother when she marries wishy-washy college teacher Flap (Jeff Daniels). Aurora is even more put out at the prospect of being a grandmother, though she grows a lot fonder of her three grandkids than she does of her son-in-law. Flap proves that Aurora's instincts were on target when he enters into an affair with a student (Leslie Charleson). Meanwhile, Emma finds romantic consolation with an unhappily married banker (played by John Lithgowm who registers well in a rare "nice guy" performance). As for MacLaine, she is ardently pursued by her next-door neighbor, boisterous astronaut Jack Nicholson. After 75 minutes or so of pursuing an episodic, semi-comic plotline, the film abruptly shifts moods when Winger discovers she has terminal cancer. Terms of Endearment won several Academy Awards, including "Best Picture," "Best Actress" (MacLaine), "Best Supporting Actor" (Nicholson), "Best Director," and "Best Screenplay" (by TV veteran James Brooks, whose first feature-film directorial effort this was). Industry insiders have suggested that Debra Winger might also have won an Oscar had it not been for her excruciatingly lengthy death scene (reportedly, she insisted that she have as much screen time as co-star MacLaine; their on-set rivalry, reported in full detail in one of Winger's autobiographies, would make a good film script in itself). Based on a novel by Larry McMurtry, Terms of Endearment is, at last report, due for a sequel, reuniting Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson. -- Hal Erickson (All-Media Guide) |
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