Review of Terms of Endearment (1983) by Kristy P — 02 Nov 2011

Soap opera saga of a feature film is like baking honey into a pie: it's deliciously sweet, but it's not what we're at all used to.

When I turned on TERMS OF ENDEARMENT, I was full-out ready to hate it. But by the end, my decision was that I had enjoyed it well enough, but it did NOT deserve a Best Picture Oscar. Lots of this was funny, and some of it, tear-sucking. (There are many better romance/comedy/drama hybrids out there, to say the least.).

Jack Nicholson's role stands high above those of all other cast members in this film. When he is first introduced, we are reminded of his "...bash your brains in!" scene from THE SHINING; but then we figure out he is playing Jekyll & Hyde on us: he is a lovable human being, and just as much as everyone else in the film.

In my humble opinion, this winning the Best Picture Oscar was up there on the disappointments lists, somewhere around when THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION and THE COLOR PURPLE did not win Best Picture. Sure, it's decent, but it's certainly not the expected material. Don't be deceived by how overrated TERMS OF ENDEARMENT is.