Review of The Evening Star (1996) by Bill C — 28 Nov 2008

In 1983, James L. Brooks, took us through a story of love and relationships between a mother and a daughter, and also the people in there lives, with 1983's "Terms of Endearment". The movie did amazing at the Box Office, and won a ton of Oscars, incluing Best Picture.

So 13 years later they make a sequel. Why???

I mean, I'm not one of those people who think that an "Oscar" movie shouldn't have a sequel. But I don't think "Terms of Endearment" should've at all!

Again, the movie tries to take the similar aspect, centering the relationship around Aurora (Shirley McClaine) and her grandaughter Melanie (Juliette Lewis), and the people around them they love.

Aurora is now raising Melanie, who is your typical rebelling testing teen, who seems to like pushing her Grandmother's buttons. Also, her two grandsons, one of whom is a mechanic who is living common law with a woman (Aurora of course disapproves, in some of the films best dialogue). The dialogue at least attempts, like Terms did, to sound like real people talking, yet some of it seems predictable.

While it's predessecor dealt quite a bit with death, it dealt with ONE! In this movie there are no less than three. Sad that the most upbeat scene in this film was a scatterng of ashes.

Aurora is breaking down trying to raise these kids (one of whom is constantly in out of jail for possession charges), and also struggles with getting older. There were some nice scenes with her housekeeper Roise (Marion Ross, aka Mrs. C from Happy Days), but the relationship with Melanie just seems very unloving.

See in "Terms of Endearment", despite the fact Aurora made it hard for Emma to love her, and despite Aurora's cruelty, we still knew and saw they loved each other. Whereas Melanie & Aurora, just seem like they can't stand each other period, which I don't think is what this movie was going for.

And of course we get Patsy (Miranda Richardson), who was Emma's best friend, and is now a bitter rival with Aurora, which I suppose makes a little bit of sense.

We also get the General (Donald Moffat), who Aurora broke up with recently, but is still constantly drinking coffee at her house every morning and offereing words of wisdom like a clever neighbour in a late 80's sitcom.

We also see Arthur (the late great Ben Johnson, in his last role), who pays a lot of attention to Rosie.

Ok seriously, this is just like any really bad sitcom, where people live together which means they constantly walk in and out of one another's houses, and throw up the windows to carry on conversations with people in the yard. I don't know about you, but if I had to live in a neighborhood where all of my friends and neighbors were hanging out in the kitchen drinking my coffee and offering free advice and one-liners all day, I'd move. Let them go to Starbucks.

Anyway, Rosie convinces Aurora to see a therapist (Bill Paxton), who she tells that she's still searching for the great love of her life. He asks her out on a date, so of course, younger man asks her out, she's interested. Later on, the relationship plays out like a contrived pot from Desperate Housewives. More developments: Melanie, the granddaughter, wants to move to L.A. with her boyfriend, Bruce. Rosie and old Arthur start dating. The General gets into a snit because Aurora is dating Jerry. Rosie decides to marry Arthur (``Nobody else has ever told me they loved me. Besides, I'll just be next door.''). When Rosie gets sick, Aurora reveals her credentials as a control freak by going into Arthur's house and carrying Rosie back to her own house, in the rain. I'm reminded of that weird scene in 1989's "Dad" where Ted Danson is carrying Jack Lemmon from the hospital too his home.

As a counterpoint to these events, Aurora rummages in a closet and comes up with a roomful of diaries, photo albums, old dance cards, theater programs and journals, which collectively suggest set decorators and prop consultants are on an unlimited budget. And the astronaut (Nicholson) turns up again, briefly, adding a shot in the arm. ``I'm still looking for my true love,'' Aurora tells him, and he replies, with the movie's best line, ``There aren't that many shopping days until Christmas.''.

Sequels can go many ways, very seldom are they better, sometimes they're just as good as the original, othertimes it misse the mark, and most times, it just a downright letdown. That's what this movie is.

Maybe a sequel to "Forrest Gump" is in the works.....