Movie Review: Terms of Endearment
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What Parents Should Know
Parents should know that this movie delivers quite an
emotional wallop. Also, there's quite a lot of sexual activity
in this movie, although nothing is shown. Characters talk about
sex often; one frank exchange concerns the noises people make
during love-making. The movie also features a strong, if
contentious, mother-daughter relationship.
Families who see this movie might talk about other sad movies. What is a tear-jerker? When is a movie considered to be one and when is it a moving story?
Common Sense Media Review
This engaging movie cleaned up at the Academy Awards,
winning Best Picture and Best Director Oscars for James L.
Brooks, and a Best Actress nod for Shirley MacLaine. And it's
easy to see why. This is the kind of well-made movie that
Hollywood used to make on a regular basis. It's glossy, funny,
and packs a real emotional wallop in its tragic conclusion.
Skilled performances by Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, and Jack Nicholson make an absorbing story even more appealing. While a bit risqué for preteens, the rest of the family will laugh and weep through this charming movie.
Emma (Debra Winger) marries a man of questionable merit to escape her overbearing mother Aurora (Shirley MacLaine). But Mamma cannot let go, even when Emma's family relocates for work. Things are tough personally and financially for Emma in her new community, and three kids later, she ends up having an affair with a dowdy local bank manager.
Left alone at home, lonely Aurora eventually agrees to date next-door- neighbor Joe (Jack Nicholson), an obnoxious ex-astronaut who seemingly has all the wrong stuff. Mother and daughter continue to share every detail of their lives, including Emma's marital troubles and Aurora's newly awakened interest in sex.
Things take a drastic turn for the worse when Emma is diagnosed with cancer. The end is slow and painful for Emma and her family.
MacLaine and Deborah Winger provide most of the sparks, but they're well-supported by an exuberant Jack Nicholson and a superb cast of extras. The movie is populated with rich and genuinely funny supporting characters, including Jeff Daniels (of Dumb and Dumber fame).
MacLaine's character is an embarrassment of neurotic riches. She explodes when she finds out that she's going to be a grandmother, and she always has a one-line zinger ready -- when her bumbling son-in-law is transferred at work, she declares that he "can't even do the simple things right, like fail locally."
MacLaine plays moments of embarrassment to the hilt. Check out her wildly disheveled hair and wardrobe when she's cruising with Nicholson in his top-down Corvette.
A 13-year-old girl was captivated by this movie from the start. She became caught up in the mother-daughter relationship, and was sobbing through the final few moments. Nothing in this comedy really prepares the audience for the fate of Debra Winger's character, and parents should be aware that some children will be overwhelmed by the family's loss.
Debra Winger can be seen with Anthony Hopkins in
Shadowlands, another funny and equally tearful movie.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
