Terms of Endearment (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the article referring to descriptive words or phrases signifying affection, see Term of endearment.

For the Drawn Together episode, see Terms of Endearment (Drawn Together episode).

Terms of Endearment
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James L. Brooks
Produced by	James L. Brooks
Written by	James L. Brooks Larry McMurtry
Starring	Shirley MacLaine Debra Winger Jack Nicholson Danny DeVito Jeff Daniels John Lithgow
Music by	Michael Gore
Cinematography	Andrzej Bartkowiak
Editing by	Richard Marks
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	November 23, 1983
Running time	131 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
Budget	$15 million
Gross revenue	$122,752,328
Followed by	The Evening Star
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Terms of Endearment is a 1983 drama-romantic comedy film adapted by James L. Brooks from the novel by Larry McMurtry.

1 Plot
2 Production
3 Trivia
4 Cast
5 Sequel
6 Critical response
7 Awards
- 7.1 Wins
- 7.2 Nominations
8 References
9 External links

[edit] Plot

Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) and Emma Greenway Horton (Debra Winger) are mother and daughter searching for love. Beginning with Emma's marriage, Aurora reveals how difficult and caring she can be. The film centers around several years as they both find their reasons for going on living and finding joy. Aurora finds Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson), the retired astronaut next door. The relationship between Emma and Aurora comes full circle when Emma is diagnosed with cancer that soon becomes terminal. At film's end, they all show different ways of expressing love.

[edit] Production

Actor Jack Nicholson's character, astronaut Garrett Breedlove, does not appear in the novel. The part was created for Burt Reynolds, but he was already committed to another film, so it was handed to James Garner. Garner quarreled with the director over differing interpretations. The part then went to Harrison Ford who turned it down because he didn't like the age difference between himself and Shirley MacLaine. The role wound up going to Nicholson. Louise Fletcher and Sissy Spacek were the original choices for the mother and daughter roles. The film was originally rated R for sexual content and language but re-rated PG on appeal.

[edit] Trivia

The film is one of the few big Hollywood releases of the 1980's featuring a mono soundtrack, although it has been remixed in Dolby Surround for its DVD release.

[edit] Cast

Shirley MacLaine as Aurora Greenway
Debra Winger as Emma Greenway Horton
Jack Nicholson as Garrett Breedlove
Lisa Hart Caroll as Patsy Clark
Danny DeVito as Vernon Dahlart
Jeff Daniels as Flap Horton
Betty King as Rosie Dunlop
John Lithgow as Sam Burns
Megan Morris as Melanie Horton
F. William Parker as Doctor
A. Brooks (voice) as Rudyard Greenway
Mary Kay Place (voice) as Doris

[edit] Sequel

In 1996, a sequel called The Evening Star was released, featuring MacLaine and Nicholson reprising their original roles. It was not a success with audiences or critics.

[edit] Critical response

Terms of Endearment was generally well regarded by critics, with s 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[1] It was an enormous box-office hit. Gene Siskel, who gave the film a highly enthusiastic review, predicted accurately upon its release that it would go on to win the Oscar for Best Picture of 1983. However, playwright Rebecca Gilman disparagingly mentioned Terms of Endearment when discussing dramatic shortcuts. "Look at Terms of Endearment. We’re going along and going along, and there’s not really a plot. Then...oh, she gets cancer. You get it all the time when people don’t quite know what to do, and I think in those cases it is a shortcut to tragedy."^[2]

[edit] Awards

[edit] Wins

[edit] Nominations

Golden Globe Award for Best Director – (James L. Brooks)
Academy Award for Best Actress – (Debra Winger)
BAFTA Award for Best Actress – (Shirley MacLaine)
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama – (Debra Winger)
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor – (John Lithgow)
Academy Award for Best Art Direction - (Polly Platt & Tom Pedigo)
Academy Award for Film Editing – (Richard Marks)
Academy Award for Original Music Score – (Michael Gore)
Academy Award for Sound – (Donald O. Mitchell, Rick Kline, Kevin O'Connell, James R. Alexander)

[edit] References

^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/terms_of_endearment/ 10 February 2008
^ Gilman, Rebecca. Personal Interview. 3 March 2007.

[edit] External links

Terms of Endearment at the Internet Movie Database
Terms of Endearment at Allmovie
Terms of Endearment at Box Office Mojo

Awards
Preceded by Gandhi	Academy Award for Best Picture 1983	Succeeded by Amadeus
Preceded by E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	Golden Globe for Best Picture - Drama 1984	Succeeded by Amadeus