0
0
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
What are some of the terms of endearment that one uses to address or describe a person, animal, or inanimate object for which the speaker feels love or affection? Do you use some words like baby, sugar, honey, or the now and highly recommended bae? When it comes to my turtle, I call him “sweet cheeks” because he has nice tiny turtle buns. I guess that is my terms of endearment to him. With others, if I give them a nickname, that is a way I show my appreciation for them being in my life.
With all that said, family and friends are the most likely area to get terms of endearment. From the time one is a baby to old age, life can give many of these terms of endearment. When you have a cookout and laugh with family, thinking about memories from the past, your grandma might call you sugar or honey. Your uncle might call you sport. All of these are ways to show love and affection.
I don’t know about you, but the film Terms of Endearment is one of those films that I would say might be a little overrated from what everyone talked about. Maybe because the timeline seems to be stretched along with the fact that it didn’t look like many of the characters really liked each other. Hey, I guess that what life is. You like people, and you don’t like people, but through it, you will have people that care for you, and you will have people you care about.
Terms of Endearment is a family comedy-drama film directed, written, and produced by James L. Brooks. Homeboy wanted to make sure he got paid for all three areas. It paid off in significant ways for Brooks because the dude won some major Academy Awards. The film stars Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff Daniels, and John Lithgow.
The movie covers the relationship between high maintenance Aurora Greenway (MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Winger). It starts off with Aurora coming home with her husband after some type of party and drunk as a skunk. This is the first interaction we see between Aurora and Emma. When Emma was a baby, Aurora tries to get in the crib and then asks if it’s dead when the baby is just sleeping. When it starts crying, she leaves and says that’s better. After that, the film shows the tremendous dynamic relationship between Emma and Aurora. After the death of her husband, Emma, as a young girl, is trying to sleep, and Aurora walks into her room and wakes her up because she wants to sleep in Emma’s bed. I don’t know if this is controlling or a helicopter parent to the max.
From that one point, the film takes two divergent timelines. One shows the life of Emma as she gets married to a professor named Flap (Daniels), with who Aurora has significant issues and states straight up to Emma’s face, “You are not special enough to overcome a bad marriage.” That is some cold-blooded shit right there. The other timeline is the life of Aurora as she navigates life as a widow after Emma gets married. She seems to have many male companions, even if she really doesn’t care about any of them.
Emma’s timeline shows the ups and downs of her marriage and life. She has her first baby, which Aurora isn’t too happy about. Flap gets a job in Iowa, where the family relocates. Things seem fine as Emma and Flap have another child. This is where the marriage somewhat deteriorates as they soon find themselves in financial trouble. Even with financial difficulty, they have another kid who brings the total up to three. Soon, Flap begins having an affair with the bank manager, and Flap has an affair with one of his students. Things really come ahead when the family moves to Nebraska for Flap’s job and to be closer to his mistress while Flap doesn’t know about Emma’s affair. Straight up Jerry Springer shit right here.
Aurora’s timeline shows her relationship with the men in her life. Homegirl has men chasing after her, but it wasn’t until her eye started to become intrigued by her next-door neighbor, retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove (Nicholson). Aurora straight-up creeps on him even if Garrett is a drinker and loves to sleep around. One day Garrett even hits on Aurora and asks her out in which she declines. Now, this is where I am, like what the hell. At her birthday party, she gets upsets and walks over to Garrett’s place to say she agrees to lunch. She asks this after years of saying no the first time. Come on, girl. From here, this is where Aurora and Garrett’s relationship blossoms.
Now, the central theme from both timelines is Aurora and Emma’s love for each other. They might get on each other’s nerves, but they both are emotional support for each other. They constantly talk on the phone with each other. Even when Emma needs money, Aurora might bitch and moan, but she always gives it to her daughter because she loves her daughter.
The presentation of Aurora and Emma’s lives is done well. It makes you understand each character in their own unique way. Their relationship and love come in full force when Emma has terminal cancer. That is when Aurora, in all her stuck-up ways, goes ballistic for her daughter. She plays NO games with anyone. The whole shot scene was done so well that you actually feel for Aurora because she is hurting, and then Garrett comes back into her life for a bit of relief. Also, she slaps the shit out of her grandson. When Emma says her goodbyes, you feel for the family, and it all was done so well, from the acting to the direction.
Shirley MacLaine, as Aurora Greenway, was the perfect person for this role. You want to talk about being a southern debutante, then she showed it. She was quite annoying, and I really didn’t like her that much until she asked for that shot for her daughter. That is when she won the Academy Award because she went H.A.M in that scene.
Debra Winger, as Emma Greenway-Horton, was a pleasure to watch as the woman who lives her life even if it isn’t perfect. She does have an affair, and when she sees how much her life is different from her best friend, you wonder if she has any regrets. She hit her final scene perfectly.
Jack Nicholson as Garrett Breedlove was just as cool as the other side of the pillow. He just has a way of making all his roles just seem so cool and effortless. I don’t know how he won, but maybe because he was just doing his thing while having that iconic Nicholson smile.
Terms of Endearment is one of those films that you can enjoy but forget rather quickly. All the actors did a phenomenal job at their roles, and the story is nice, but overall, it doesn’t leave a lasting impression on you. It is a film that shows the ups and downs of relationships and the major love of a mother to her only daughter.
