Review of Terms of Endearment (1983) by Harry W — 06 May 2013

Terms of Endearment is many things, amongst its negatives and the clear reach for the heartstrings it intends to tug and minor elements of sexism along the way, but it's overshadowed by a fine script, a well handled director and a perfect cast.

Terms of Endearment is a sweet and enlightening look at the lives of two people who were once the closest mother and sister and later developed into best friends that kept in contact across the country via lots of phone calls and gossip, and the scene in which both Aurora Greenway and Emma Greenway Horton lie on Aurora's bed with their legs up and tea in their hands, laughing and smiling like they are best friends in college days, and so the story assists the character development very finely.

The story is just a very sweet one that had decent dramatically themes balanced with a good laugh here and there as to ensure the audience isn't blinded by excessive tugging of the heartstrings, and so the experience is exhilarating and funny too.

The story structure was also very good because the way it alternated between the lives of Aurora and Emma showed how they developed similarly over time with the paths they had chosen, and it was unexpected because how instead of the formulaic story, the grandmother chose to go with womanising Garrett and is seen racing down a beach in a roofless car in a fine dress and jumping into the ocean with it still on just to kiss him, while Emma has become a troubled mother of 3 children living a menial life and struggling through day-to-day issues and issues with the emotional bond to her husband, Flip. So the story is fascinating thanks to it's structure and pacing as well as many themes.

And James L. Brooks' direction is great here, because at the beginning I feared a similar film to As Good as it Gets was presenting itself, and that was not a film I enjoyed. But instead I saw he gave handling to this story so fine that it reminded me of Ordinary People but with a lighter story so it is easy to enjoy without being sucked into darkness with tears. His handling of the script was also exceptional because it was insightful and assisted the characters with developing and the story with going with them at an ideal timing, so it was one the character become richer after they utter every word of it.

Also, the cinematography was good and the musical score was absolutely beautiful because it alone ensured that the audience succeeded in interpreting scenes as heartwarming and humourous rather than drastically out of place or of a dark nature that didn't fit in. So in terms of themes, Terms of Endearment has an ideal balance that audiences of many ages can comprehend and enjoy.

Shirley MacLaine made an absolutely astounding lead role, because her impeccable chemistry with her daughter, her boyfriend and with the rest of the world was never a single toned performance and so the chemistry she has with each character builds different parts to her characterisation and so in the end we get left with a 52 year old woman (Shirley MacLaine was actually 49 at the tome) whose vibrant face is untouched by excessive cosmetics and is naturally beautiful, as well as a sweet character who's always looking out for others but also attempting to deal with her life as it is put second to her care for her daughter, and yet she has all the sweetness of a caring grandmother but the charisma of a young college girl, and the fact that she is 52 provides a fine line between the age gaps, and Shirley MacLaine portrays a woman influence by both, and so with the unbridled success of her performance comes a sure fire Academy Award on her way.

And next to her is Debra Winger playing a character younger than she should be acting who rediscovers the sweetness of being Aurora's daughter after moving back with her, all after a stint as a troubled mother whose had to resort to an adulterous affair to feel wanted by someone, and Debra Winger pulls through in her best performance since An Officer and a Gentleman, and her chemistry with Shirley MacLaine is the real treat in Terms of Endearment.

Jack Nicholson's presence saves the story from being a predominantly dramatic one because his performance as a womanising partyboy is rich with hilarity that comes with playing the male stereotype, and this time his relationship is with a woman actually his age (although 3 years older in real life) and so the relationship doesn't seem shallow and just thrown into a movie to attract viewers to witness an old male score with a young girl like in As Good as it Gets, because here he actually connects with Shirley MacLaine on a level unimaginable because they seem so happy together on screen, lying in bed together and just smiling that they have such a fun relationship even at their age, and the experience is heartfelt, so it's undoubtable that Terms of Endearment features one of Jack Nicholson's finest supporting performances through his huge career.

And in a sweet and dramatic supporting performance is John Lithgow whose complex character is one we all too easily feel for and understand his desire for a sexual relationship outside of his uncompromising wife, and he practically inspires the most accepted affair in a movie ever in existence, from an emotional perspective that isn't too harsh. His performance was undoubtable as one of his finest.

Lastly, Jeff Daniels gave a good early performance as a guy who is just generally nice and difficult to dislike, and so when it was discovered he had had an affair I was surprised but still looked him and he made the perception of the characters relationships thrown into question. He was good.

The only criticism I found with the story was that it glamourised the affair Emma has with Sam Burns yet she criticises the affair she assumed her husband was having, and therefore the story seems to take a female-support while saying males are the bad ones, as well as characterising Garrett as a stereotypical male although in a hilarious sense. The story is a good look at the female's mind, but it seems that James L. Brooks dislikes his own gender which doesn't make sense.

But still, it didn't stop me from enjoying Terms of Endearment, or clearly many others.