# Terms of Endearment

Terms of Endearment is a 1983 American family tragicomedy film directed, written, and produced by James L. Brooks, adapted from Larry McMurtry's 1975 novel of the same name. It stars Debra Winger, Shirley MacLaine, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff Daniels, and John Lithgow. The film covers 30 years of the relationship between Aurora Greenway (MacLaine) and her daughter Emma Greenway-Horton (Winger).
Terms of Endearment was theatrically released in limited theatres on November 23, 1983, and to a wider release on December 9 by Paramount Pictures. The film received critical acclaim and was a major commercial success, grossing $165 million at the box office, becoming the second-highest-grossing film of 1983 (after Return of the Jedi). At the 56th Academy Awards, the film received a leading 11 nominations, and won a leading five awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (MacLaine), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor (Nicholson). A sequel, The Evening Star, was released in 1996.

## Plot

Aurora Greenway, a widow since her daughter Emma was a young girl, keeps several suitors at arm's length in River Oaks, Houston, focusing instead on her close, but controlling, relationship with Emma. Anxious to escape her mother, Emma marries callow young college professor Flap Horton over her mother's objections.
Despite their frequent spats and difficulty getting along with each other, Emma and Aurora have very close ties and keep in touch by telephone. Soon after the wedding, Emma gets pregnant with their first child. He is a few years old when she is again expecting another.
The small family moves to Iowa in order for Flap to pursue a career as an English professor. When they run into financial difficulties, Emma calls Aurora for help. Admitting she is pregnant with a third, her mother suggests she go to Colorado for an abortion.
When Flap gets home, as he was away overnight, Emma demands to be told if he is having an affair. He insists it is paranoia, brought on by the pregnancy hormones. While at the grocery store, Emma does not have enough money to pay for all of her groceries and meets Sam Burns, who helps pay for them.
Meanwhile the lonely Aurora, after her doctor discloses her real age at her birthday celebration, overcomes her repression and begins a whirlwind romance with her next-door neighbor, retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove, who is promiscuous and coarse. Simultaneously Emma and Sam strike up a friendship and quickly an affair as Sam's wife refuses to have sex with him, and she suspects Flap of infidelity.
Over the course of the next few years, the marriage begins to fray. Emma catches Flap flirting with one of his students on campus, so drives back to Houston immediately. There, Garrett develops cold feet about his relationship with Aurora after seeing her with her daughter and grandkids and breaks it off.
While Emma is gone, Flap accepts a promotion in Nebraska; she and the children return to Iowa, then they move to Nebraska. While on the campus, Emma sees the same young woman who she had seen Flap with in Iowa. Confronting her, she finds out he moved them to Nebraska so he could work with his girlfriend Janice.
When Emma is diagnosed with cancer, before she knows how advanced it is, her lifelong friend Patsy convinces her to explore NYC. She is there a short time when Patsy's friends there first find it strange she has never worked then it gets more uncomfortable when they hear about the cancer. Not enjoying herself, she returns home early.
When they discover it is terminal cancer, Aurora and Flap stay by Emma's side through her treatment and hospitalization. Garrett flies to Nebraska to be with Aurora and her family. The dying Emma shows her love for her mother by entrusting her children to Aurora's care.
The newly formed family, Aurora and the kids with Garrett, live together in Houston.

## Cast

* Shirley MacLaine as Aurora Greenway
* Debra Winger as Emma Greenway-Horton
* Jack Nicholson as Garrett Breedlove
* Danny DeVito as Vernon Dalhart
* Jeff Daniels as Flap Horton
* John Lithgow as Sam Burns
* Lisa Hart Carroll as Patsy Clark
* Huckleberry Fox as Ted "Teddy" Horton
* Troy Bishop as Tom "Tommy" Horton
** Shane Sherwin as Tom "Tommy" Horton (toddler)
* Megan Morris as Melanie Horton
** Tara Yeakey as Melanie Horton (infant)
* Norman Bennett as Edward Johnson
* Kate Charleson as Janice
* Debi Richter as Leann
* Mary Kay Place as Doris (voice)
* David Wohl as Phil
* Paul Menzel as Dr. Maise
* Albert Brooks as Rudyard Greenway, Aurora's husband (voice only)

## Production

James L. Brooks wrote the supporting role of Garrett Breedlove for Burt Reynolds, who turned down the role because of a verbal commitment he had made to appear in Stroker Ace. "There are no awards in Hollywood for being an idiot", Reynolds later said of the decision. Harrison Ford and Paul Newman also turned down the role.
The exterior shots of Aurora Greenway's home were filmed at 3060 Locke Lane, Houston, Texas. The exterior shots of locations intended to be in Des Moines, Iowa and Kearney, Nebraska were instead filmed in Lincoln, Nebraska. Many scenes were filmed on, or near, the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. While filming in Lincoln, the state capital, Winger met then-governor of Nebraska Bob Kerrey; the two wound up dating for two years.
Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger reportedly did not get along with each other during production. MacLaine confirmed in an interview that "it was a very tough shoot ... Chaotic...(Jim) likes working with tension on the set."
On working with Jack Nicholson, MacLaine said, "Working with Jack Nicholson was crazy", but that his spontaneity may have contributed to her performance. She also said,
   We're like old smoothies working together. You know the old smoothies they used to show whenever you went to the Ice Follies. They would have this elderly man and woman – who at that time were 40 – and they had a little bit too much weight around the waist and were moving a little slower. But they danced so elegantly and so in synch with each other that the audience just laid back and sort of sighed. That's the way it is working with Jack. We both know what the other is going to do. And we don't socialize, or anything. It's an amazing chemistry – a wonderful, wonderful feeling.
MacLaine also confirmed in an interview with USA Today that Nicholson improvised when he put his hand down her dress in the beach scene.

## Reception
### Box office

Terms of Endearment was commercially successful at the box office. On its opening weekend, it grossed $3.4 million, ranking number two at the US box office, until its second weekend, when it grossed $3.1 million, ranking number one at the box office. Three weekends later, it arrived number one again, with $9,000,000, having wide release. For four weekends, it remained number one at the box office, and it slipped to number two on its tenth weekend. On the film's 11th weekend, it arrived number one (for the sixth and final time), grossing $3 million. The film grossed $108,423,489 in the United States and Canada and $165 million worldwide.

### Critical reception

Terms of Endearment received critical acclaim at the time of its release. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 82% approval rating based on 109 reviews, with a weighted average of 7.9/10. The site's consensus reads: "A classic tearjerker, Terms of Endearment isn't shy about reaching for the heartstrings – but is so well-acted and smartly scripted that it's almost impossible to resist." Metacritic reports a score of 79 out of 100 based on reviews from ten critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Roger Ebert gave the film a four-out-of-four star rating, calling it "a wonderful film" and stating, "There isn't a thing that I would change, and I was exhilarated by the freedom it gives itself to move from the high comedy of Nicholson's best moments to the acting of Debra Winger in the closing scenes." Gene Siskel, who also gave the film a highly enthusiastic review, correctly predicted upon its release that it would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1983.
In his movie guide, Leonard Maltin awarded the film a rare four-star rating, calling it a "Wonderful mix of humor and heartache," and concluded the film was "Consistently offbeat and unpredictable, with exceptional performances by all three stars."

## Accolades

As of July 2022, Nicholson is one of the few supporting actors to ever sweep "The Big Four" critics awards (Los Angeles Film Critics Association, National Board of Review, New York Film Critics Circle, National Society of Film Critics) for his performance of Garrett Breedlove.
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| Academy Awards | Best Picture | James L. Brooks | Won |
| Academy Awards | Best Director | James L. Brooks | Won |
| Academy Awards | Best Adapted Screenplay | James L. Brooks | Won |
| Academy Awards | Best Actress | Debra Winger | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Actress | Shirley MacLaine | Won |
| Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Jack Nicholson | Won |
| Academy Awards | Best Supporting Actor | John Lithgow | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Production Design | Polly Platt, Harold Michelson, Tom Pedigo, and Anthony Mondell | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Film Editing | Richard Marks | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Original Score | Michael Gore | Nominated |
| Academy Awards | Best Sound | James R. Alexander, Rick Kline, Donald O. Mitchell and Kevin O'Connell | Nominated |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Won |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Jack Nicholson | Won |
| British Academy Film Awards | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Shirley MacLaine | Nominated |
| David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Film | Best Foreign Film | Nominated |
| David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Actress | Debra Winger | Nominated |
| David di Donatello Awards | Best Foreign Actress | Shirley MacLaine | Won |
| Directors Guild of America Awards | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures | James L. Brooks | Won |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Best Motion Picture – Drama | Won |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama | Debra Winger | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama | Shirley MacLaine | Won |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture | Jack Nicholson | Won |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Director – Motion Picture | James L. Brooks | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Screenplay – Motion Picture | James L. Brooks | Won |
| Japan Academy Film Prize | Outstanding Foreign Language Film | James L. Brooks | Nominated |
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Won |
| Kansas City Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Jack Nicholson | Won |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Won |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | James L. Brooks | Won |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actress | Shirley MacLaine | Won |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor | John Lithgow | Runner-up |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Jack Nicholson | Won |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Screenplay | James L. Brooks | Won |
| National Board of Review Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Won |
| National Board of Review Awards | Top Ten Films | Top Ten Films | Won |
| National Board of Review Awards | Best Director | James L. Brooks | Won |
| National Board of Review Awards | Best Actress | Shirley MacLaine | Won |
| National Board of Review Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Jack Nicholson | Won |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Actress | Shirley MacLaine | 3rd Place |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Actress | Debra Winger | Won |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Jack Nicholson | Won |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Screenplay | James L. Brooks | Nominated |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Film | Best Film | Won |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Actress | Shirley MacLaine | Won |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Actress | Debra Winger | Runner-up |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Supporting Actor | John Lithgow | Nominated |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Jack Nicholson | Won |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Screenplay | James L. Brooks | Nominated |
| Online Film & Television Association Awards | Hall of Fame – Motion Picture | Hall of Fame – Motion Picture | Inducted |
| Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Comedy – Adapted from Another Medium | James L. Brooks | Won |
American Film Institute (nominations):
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes:
** Aurora: "Would you like to come in?" Garrett: "I'd rather stick needles in my eyes."
* AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)

## Sequel and stage adaptions

The sequel The Evening Star (1996), in which MacLaine and Nicholson reprised their roles, was a critical and commercial failure. A stage play of the same name, based on the novel, was written by Dan Gordon.