Terms of Endearment

Summary

“Imagine you having a date with someone where it wasn’t a felony.”

Paramount Pictures has recently brought the 1983 film Terms of Endearment to 4K UHD. Directed by James L. Brooks, the film was a critical and financial success. Made for roughly eight million dollars, the film grossed over one hundred and eight million dollars globally. The film was nominated for eleven Oscars, and won five including Best Actress (Shirley MacLaine,) Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson,) Best Director (James L. Brooks,) Best Adapted Screenplay (James L. Brooks – adapting from the novel by Larry McMurtry,) and Best Picture. By any measure, for a small scale comedy-drama that evokes tear shedding in nearly any audience who views the film, Terms of Endearment was a huge success. James L. Brooks is a filmmaker that I have admired from a young age due to his strong humanist tendencies. I had not viewed Terms of Endearment since I was a teenager, but it just so happens that I am also reading a Larry McMurtry novel as I write this (The Last Picture Show,) so I was keen to revisit the film. 

Spoiler Alert: Given that this is a slice-of-life film, it is probably better to just enjoy the film on its own dramatic merits the way in which it unfolds. The film is primarily a story of a mother and a daughter as they grow older and navigate the romances of their lives. A longer synopsis is provided below.

As the film begins, an elongated montage shows the relationship between Aurora and her daughter Emma as Emma is raised in Houston, Texas. After Emma’s father dies at a young age, Aurora becomes quite attached to her. Emma (Debra Winger) grows up with her friend Patsy (Lisa Hart Carroll) and they plan to be best friends for life. On the night before her wedding, Emma and Patsy get stoned. While Emma is high, Aurora asks to speak with her. Aurora tells Emma that if she marries Flap Horton the next day it will undoubtedly ruin Emma’s life. Aurora points out that Flap’s highest ambition would be in professorial work, and therefore his highest ambition would still be a form of failure. Emma tells Aurora if that’s her attitude she doesn’t have to come to the wedding, and Aurora agrees. The next day Emma marries Flap (Jeff Daniels.) Aurora does not attend the wedding, but she phones Emma repeatedly until they can talk. Flap knows exactly how much Aurora disapproves of him. Next door to Aurora lives a hard partying former astronaut named Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson.) Aurora’s friend Edward (Norman Bennett) has been trying to get Aurora to love him for years. Affable Texan Vernon Dahlart (Danny DeVito) meets Aurora at church and falls for Aurora as well. Both Edward and Vernon seemingly hang around with Aurora trying to win her over. When Emma and Flap come to dinner at Aurora’s home, they tell Aurora that they are expecting. Like with the news of their engagement, Aurora once again does not take the news well. She can’t stand the idea of being a “grandmother.” Flap and Emma’s boy Tommy begins to grow. Flap gets a job as an associate professor in Des Moines and Emma becomes pregnant with their second baby. Garrett talks to Aurora from over the fence line and they begin a flirtation. He comes on too strong after she agrees to go to lunch with him, and the matter is dropped. As time moves forward, Emma becomes pregnant once again as Flap begins to start philandering with women at the school. Emma and Flap begin fighting. At the grocery store, when Emma comes up short on cash for groceries, banker Sam (John Lithgow) covers the last couple dollars she was short. They have a moment. Back in Houston, Aurora turns “fifty” in front of her suitors. When a recently widowed doctor, also in attendance, says Aurora must be turning fifty two, Aurora walks next door and asks Garrett if the offer still stands for lunch. That lunch blossoms into something more substantial. Emma starts an affair with Sam whose wife has a hurt back. The film continues from there and I don’t want to spoil the final act.

Terms of Endearment is a thoughtful and moving drama about characters navigating life and facing normal difficulties along the way. Like other James L. Brooks films, Terms of Endearment is deeply human, which means it is frequently funny and occasionally sad. Brooks was drawing from strong material. Author Larry McMurtry was an exceptionally gifted writer who had already written novels that had served as the basis for the films Hud and The Last Picture Show. McMurtry had a unique ability to craft characters that felt fully developed with their own eccentricities and personalities that never felt overcooked. McMurtry was a realist with a sense of compassion that came across in his writing. Terms of Endearment was based on the third novel in McMurtry’s series of novels that focused on characters in Houston. He wrote that novel a full decade before he won the Pulitzer Prize for his magnum opus Lonesome Dove. 

James L. Brooks was a good choice for adapting McMurtry’s work, because Brooks shares so many of the same qualities as McMurtry in terms of his compassion for his characters. Speaking of characters, Shirley MacLaine is wonderful in the film. She absolutely dominates the screen as Aurora – vacillating between domineering and deeply unsure of herself from moment to moment. Her performance is exceptional. MacLaine had been a great beauty in films like The Apartment and Irma La Douce, but her screen presence may have only become greater in age. Debra Winger has always received excellent reviews for her performance, and it is warranted. She plays the role with a goofy sincerity that is relatable. Jack Nicholson is really damn good in the film. Whenever he is onscreen, he steals the picture. His moment where he yells the line “wind in my hair, lead in my pencil” while driving his car with his feet is classic. Jeff Daniels is well cast in an early serious role. He looks the part of the young professor and plays it well. John Lithgow is great, but that should come as no surprise. That man is a chameleon. I also enjoyed seeing Danny DeVito in a minor role.

Overall – Terms of Endearment is a very good film. I had probably avoided revisiting the film since my teenage years simply based on some of the heartbreaking elements in the final act, but revisiting the film as an adult I enjoyed the picture even more. I personally like some of James L. Brooks’s later films better (As Good As It Gets, Broadcast News, Spanglish,) but I honestly can’t think of any negative feedback for Terms of Endearment whatsoever. The only possible downside to the film would be limited replay value. If you have never seen the film and enjoy well crafted dramas, Terms of Endearment comes highly recommended. 

Video

Paramount has given Terms of Endearment essentially a reference quality transfer for this 4K UHD release. Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, Terms of Endearment has been given a solid improvement over the well made Blu-ray from 2013. Fine detail is solid and the grain is well resolved. I did not detect any noticeable compression artifacts. That said, expectations on this presentation need to be tempered towards the relatively soft looking cinematography from Andrzej Bartkowiak. This may give Blu-ray owners pause, because while the UHD is a significant uptick over the 2013 Blu-ray, the soft focus cinematography by Bartkowiak can only be improved by formats so much. That said, the HDR brings out the very best in the film’s color palette and certain sequences look very pretty (in particular the moments in Des Moines.) Fans should be pleased overall.

Audio

Paramount has provided a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track that does a solid job of updating the original sound design of the film from stereo to surround. This is a dialogue driven film, but the beautiful piano driven music by Michael Gore really benefits from the expanded sound. As expected, this track is front channel heavy. Dialogue is crisp and clear. I didn’t have any issues with the track.

Supplements:

• A Digital Copy of the Film is included.
• Filmmaker Focus with James L. Brooks.- in this new piece, the filmmaker explains how the film came together, the pressure he felt to finish the script after Paramount’s option ran out and it was forced to purchase the book, his interactions with Larry McMurtry and the cast, and more. I really enjoyed this piece, especially when he explained that he had set out to make a comedy. 
• Commentary with director James L. Brooks, co-producer Penney Finkelman Cox, and production designer Polly Platt – this is the same commentary which was originally featured on the DVD release (and was on the 2013 Blu-ray.)
• Theatrical Trailer 

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4/5

Supplements – 2.5/5

Overall – 4.25/5

Terms of Endearment is an excellent slice-of-life family drama. Adapting excellent source material by Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Larry McMurtry, James L. Brooks crafted an extremely touching film that examines the love between a mother and her daughter. The characters are lovingly rendered. I keep coming back to the word “human” when I think about James L. Brooks’s film work. The same could be said about the writing of Larry McMurtry, so the paring makes sense. The film is flawlessly executed with strong performances by Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Debra Winger, and Jeff Daniels. The only downside to the film at all would possibly be its replay value due to the depressing aspects of the final third of the film. Paramount’s new 4K UHD of Terms of Endearment looks better than ever. Fans of the film will definitely want to purchase this release. If you like sweet natured dramas and comedies, this film and release comes highly recommended.