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Terms of Endearment

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7.1/10 • 773

1983-11-202h 12m

DramaComedy

Come to laugh, come to cry, come to care, come to terms.

Aurora, a finicky woman, is in search of true love while her daughter faces marital issues. Together, they help each other deal with problems and find reasons to live a joyful life.

Directors
James L. Brooks
Editors
Richard Marks

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Shirley MacLaine

    Shirley MacLaine

    Aurora Greenway

  2. Debra Winger

    Debra Winger

    Emma Greenway Horton

  3. Jack Nicholson

    Jack Nicholson

    Garrett Breedlove

  4. Danny DeVito

    Danny DeVito

    Vernon Dahlart

  5. Jeff Daniels

    Jeff Daniels

    Flap Horton

  6. John Lithgow

    John Lithgow

    Sam Burns

  7. Lisa Hart Carroll

    Lisa Hart Carroll

    Patsy Clark

  8. Betty King

    Betty King

    Rosie Dunlop

  9. Huckleberry Fox

    Huckleberry Fox

    Teddy Horton

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Jun 24, 2022

7/10

I hated the story, let's get that out of the way first. This film is about character acting at it's best, though, and Shirley MacLaine ("Aurora") and Jack Nicholson ("Garrett") bring us charisma and entertainment in spades which thankfully rescues the really pedestrian plot from abject mediocrity. Since her birth, "Aurora" has fussed over her daughter "Emma" (Debra Winger) and upon the death of her husband, settles down to a rather vicarious existence living life through her daughter, her husband "Flap" (Jeff Daniels) and their children. She is a strong willed woman, with love that can be gentle and kindly, or that can be rude and interfering with much of the frequently sardonic humour emanating from her disinclination to let them live their own lives. Next door we find "Garrett", a somewhat disreputable womaniser. A former astronaut who trades well on his erstwhile status, but who takes a bit of a shine to "Aurora" - and that's another source of lively comedy as the two clash with engaging regularity. The last hour descends rather quickly into melancholy, though, as the young "Emma" has to deal with her own problem husband, and an illness that starts to focus the attention from all concerned onto what really matters with their relationships. MacLaine is always good with these rough-round-the-edges roles and here there is plenty of chemistry on the sparing occasions in which she and Nicholson feature. Sadly, for me anyway, the rest of this hovers way too close to melodrama and though at its best it is really good, for the most part I was rather underwhelmed by the family antics that underpinned so much of the (over-long) story.

Media

  • Terms of Endearment poster
  • Terms of Endearment poster
  • Terms of Endearment poster
  • Terms of Endearment poster
  • Terms of Endearment poster
  • Terms of Endearment poster
  • Terms of Endearment poster
  • Terms of Endearment poster
  • Terms of Endearment poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$8,000,000.00
Revenue
$108,423,749.00
Keywords
adulterybased on novel or bookparent child relationshiploss of loved onehouston, texascancerastronautsingle motherneighbor neighbor relationshipmother daughter relationshipnarcissistic motherdramatic