Terms of Endearment (1983)
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87% of critics liked it
(39 reviews) -
81% of users liked it
(34,792 ratings)
Terms of Endearment covers three decades in the lives of widow Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra Winger). Fiercely protected by Aurora throughout childhood, Emma runs into resistance from her mother when she marries wishy-washy college teacher Flap (Jeff Daniels).… More Terms of Endearment covers three decades in the lives of widow Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra Winger). Fiercely protected by Aurora throughout childhood, Emma runs into resistance from her mother when she marries wishy-washy college teacher Flap (Jeff Daniels). Aurora is even more put out at the prospect of being a grandmother, though she grows a lot fonder of her three grandkids than she does of her son-in-law. Flap proves that Aurora's instincts were on target when he enters into an affair with a student (Kate Charleson). Meanwhile, Emma finds romantic consolation with an unhappily married banker (played by John Lithgow, who registers well in a rare "nice guy" performance). As for Aurora, she is ardently pursued by her next-door neighbor, boisterous astronaut Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson). After 75 minutes or so of pursuing an episodic, semi-comic plotline, the film abruptly shifts moods when Emma discovers that she has terminal cancer. Terms of Endearment won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay for TV veteran James L. Brooks making his first feature film, Best Actress for MacLaine, and Best Supporting Actor for Nicholson. It was followed by a sequel, The Evening Star (1996), which again featured MacLaine as Aurora. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- James L. Brooks
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Nov 23, 1983 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune
Terms of Endearment is about three relationships and students of screenwriting would do well to study the way in which these three stories are told completely and effortlessly in a movie of average length.
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Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine
Its quirky rhythms and veering emotional tones are very much its own, and they owe less to movie tradition than they do to a sense of how the law of unintended consequences pushes us ceaselessly through the years, permitting no pause for perspective.
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James Harwood, Variety
Brooks' dialog is wonderful throughout and all the characters carry off their assignments beautifully, even down to Danny De Vito and Norman Bennett as MacLaine's other suffering suitors.
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Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
[Writer-director James L. Brooks] has television in his soul: his people are incredibly tiny (most are defined by a single stroke of obsessive behavior), and he chokes out his narrative in ten-minute chunks, separated by aching lacunae.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Then The Illness strikes, and the film changes gear completely, pulling out all the stops.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Debra Winger
as Emma Greenaway
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Shirley MacLaine
as Aurora Greenaway
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Jack Nicholson
as Garrett Breedlove
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Jeff Daniels
as Flap
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John Lithgow
as Sam Burns
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Huckleberry Fox
as Teddy
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Troy Bishop
as Tommy
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Danny DeVito
as Vernon
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Lisa Hart Carroll
as Patsy
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Betty King
as Rosie
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Norman Bennett
as Edward
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Kate Charleson
as Janice
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Jennifer Josey
as Young Emma Greenway
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Nancy Mette
as Woman at Party
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Megan Morris
as Melanie
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F. William Parker
as Doctor
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Shane Serwin
as Young Tommy Horton
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David Wohl
as Phil
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Tara Yeakey
as Baby Melanie
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Albert Brooks
as Rudyard
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Mary Kay Place
as Doris
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Alexandra O'Karma
as Jane
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Paul Menzel
as Dr. Maise
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Michelle Watkins
as Woman
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Charles Beall
as Rudyard's Employer
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Sharisse Baker-Bernard
as Lee Anne
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Judith Dickerson
as Checkout Girl


