Sydney (Philip Baker Hall) is a seasoned, respected gambler and occasional con artist. He knows all the tricks, but is getting a little long in the tooth in an increasingly modern world. John (John C. Reilly) is a fool who lost all his money in Vegas trying to win enough to pay for his mother’s funeral. Sydney takes John under his wing to show him where he went wrong.
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Uh oh, I’m getting behind again. I’ve always been pretty terrible at, once I’ve watched a film from one of my various lists, actually getting around to reviewing the darn thing so I can officially cross it off, and that’s a habit I’m slipping back into. I’ve currently got 6 films, all from Paul Thomas Anderson (last weekend’s Lambcast was a PTA Director Retrospective, look out for it soon), awaiting a review, and there’s at least two that I don’t particularly want to watch again, so I need to get those thoughts written down, and soon. My aim is one-a-day for the next six days, but we’ll see. Check back tomorrow to see if I’ve reviewed Hard Eight, or if I’m still being rubbish.
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This review was originally written as part of my USA Road Trip series at French Toast Sunday.
Terms of Endearment tells the story of a mother and daughter, Aurora and Emma, played by Shirley MacLaine and, from adulthood onwards, Debra Winger. As a young girl, Emma’s father and Aurora’s husband passes away, leaving the two of them alone with one another. Aurora was always an overprotective mother, who also doesn’t seem to leave the house in order to make money, so her daughter is essentially the main focus of her life. Thus when Emma grows up, marries a young Jeff Daniels and has to move away, both her’s and her mother’s lives are forever altered.
Terms of Endearment has a reputation for being a thoroughly depressing story. I knew very little about it, other than it featuring a mother/daughter relationship, so I was expecting an almost constant barrage of one sad thing after another, culminating in literally everyone dying, horribly and slowly. Image It’s A Wonderful Life, but instead of the upbeat ending, James Stewart drowned in an ocean of orphan’s tears. That’s how I imagined Terms of Endearment, so I wasn’t exactly looking forward to this viewing. As it turns out, whilst there is a certain degree of sadness to the story, there’s also plenty of uplifting and even funny parts too. Continue reading
Life Vs Film 