Terms of Endearment

Aurora Greenway lost her husband early and claims too much of her daughter Emma. Emma marries not a man she does not love but a man her mother does not approve of, and moves away from Texas. The film follows thirty years: Emma's children, her husband's affairs, and Aurora's late relationship with her neighbour Garrett, a retired astronaut. In the last stretch Emma is diagnosed with cancer. James L. Brooks directed. Shirley MacLaine plays Aurora, Debra Winger plays Emma and Jack Nicholson plays Garrett. The two leads did not get on, and both have said so openly since. MacLaine was preparing in her old movie-star furs; she said Winger turned up in combat boots and a miniskirt. The first-day story MacLaine tells is taken as the summary of it: after telling her where to stand, Winger walked away, lifted her skirt slightly, looked over her shoulder and farted in her face. Winger has not denied the fighting, saying they knew what they were doing much of the time, sparring back and forth. MacLaine won Best Actress at the Academy Awards, beating her own co-star in the category, and Jack Nicholson won Best Supporting Actor. Who it is for: viewers who like long-form stories about mothers and daughters, and MacLaine and Nicholson. Who it is not for: anyone uncomfortable with emotional manipulation. The last half hour is plainly built to make you cry and the film does not hide it.