msc@qubix.UUCP (Mark Callow) (11/29/83)
Story:
"Terms of Endearment" is the story about Aurora, her daughter Emma,
and their relationship. Covering a period of about 30 years, the
film observes a slice of their lives both separately and together.
Cast:
Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson.
Coments:
The various relationships are keenly observed and each character
has great depth and reality. This is a finely crafted story that
got me involved with and made me care about the characters. All
the performances are excellent, especially Shirley MacLaine's.
"Terms" is a wonderful film. It made me laugh and it made me cry.
There is a surprising twist of events, the surprise of which really
added to the film. Keep away from even minor spoilers until you've
seen it.
Go and see this film it is one of the best films I've seen for a
long time.
--
From the Tardis of Mark Callow
msc@qubix.UUCP, decwrl!qubix!msc@Berkeley.ARPA
...{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!qubix!msc, ...{ittvax,amd70}!qubix!mscbeth@umcp-cs.UUCP (11/30/83)
I am surprised no one has reviewed "Terms of Endearment" here, but I will
take a stab at it. (Not a stab at the movie, a stab at a review. :-) )
Both Shirley MacLaine as Aurora and Debra Winger as Emma, her daughter brought
a remarkable amount of energy to this film. The film depicts the relationship
between a mother and daughter as they grow (together + apart)+ as friends
(I use formal language theory notation because they go back and forth a number
of times greater than one, and I won't tell you where they end up because
I have been bothered by other reviews which describe the movie any further.)
Trust me, it is interesting to watch these two believable characters develop.
You will laugh, and at times you might cry. (I cry at a lot of movies, and
I laughed about ten times more than I cried during this one. Could that be
a new rating of movies: laugh to cry ratio? :-) ) Jack Nicholson does a sexy
job of portraying a decadent ex-astronaut. I guess what I liked so much about
this movie is that I believed that every character was real and that they
reacted as I expected they would when confronted with a situation. I wouldn't
be surprised if this movie took a number of Academy awards particularly for
best actress (I think Debra Winger should get it), best supporting actor (or do
you consider Nicholson to be a best actor?), and best motion picture. Warning:
I saw this with my father and my sister. Although my father thought it was a
fine movie, my sister and I seemed to enjoy it more than he did. A 'must-see.'
--
Beth Katz at Univ. of Maryland, College Park, Dept. of Computer Science
UUCP: {seismo,allegra,brl-bmd}!umcp-cs!beth
CSNet: beth@umcp-cs ARPA: beth.umcp-cs@CSNet-Relaylcliffor@bbncca.ARPA (Laura Frank Clifford) (12/05/83)
Here come all the big Christmas blockbusters -- "Terms of Endearment" is a very funny, touching film which is basically about the relationship between a mother (Shirley MacLaine) and daughter (Deborah Winger). Aurora, the mother, is a crusty character who has a hard time dealing with affection. Emma, the daughter, is a light-hearted nutty type who insists on marrying a man her mother loathes. Throughout the years Emma embraces life without much caution. She doesn't always land on her feet. Aurora hides from life. She lives vicariously through her daughter (while always criticizing, of course) by gossiping with her long-distance. Eventually Aurora learns from her daughter and gradually her character blossoms. The transition is often painful. I think this is the performance of Shirley MacLaine's career. She should be a very strong contender for the Oscar for this role. The whole cast is good, especially Winger (even if she is a little schticky at times), Jack Nicholson, and John Lithgow in a small supporting role. The kids are very believable. The script is terrific. I cared about these people, and thought all their reactions were right on the mark.