---
title: "Terms of Endearment"
year: 1983
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/terms-of-endearment"
fi1m_id: "terms-of-endearment"
imdb_id: "tt0086425"
tmdb_id: 11050
wikidata_id: "Q185071"
fi1m_score: 81
critics_score: 72
critics_reviews: 8
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:35.477554+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Terms of Endearment (1983)

Directed by James L. Brooks · 2h 12m · MPA PG · Drama, Comedy

## Identity

Terms of Endearment

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/terms-of-endearment
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** terms-of-endearment
- **IMDb ID:** tt0086425
- **TMDB ID:** 11050
- **Wikidata ID:** Q185071
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086425/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/11050, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q185071

**Fi1m score: 81** · Critics 72 from 8 reviews

*In a sentence:* Nobody in this family is going to let affection spoil a perfectly good argument

> Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger and Jack Nicholson make James L. Brooks’s family drama funny and moving without making its people easy to like. We recommend it warmly, despite the uneven pace of its thirty-year story.

## Synopsis

Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra Winger) live with an attachment that leaves plenty of room for disagreement. Their family story stretches across thirty years, taking in the affection, arguments and strains of a mother-and-daughter relationship. Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson), a retired astronaut, provides Aurora with company outside that relationship. Jeff Daniels plays Flap Horton, with John Lithgow as Sam Burns and Danny DeVito as Vernon Dahlart. Written and directed by James L. Brooks from Larry McMurtry’s novel, the film follows the family’s life through comedy and drama.

## Review

*Terms of Endearment* is a funny, affecting family drama that survives some untidy storytelling. James L. Brooks, writing and directing from Larry McMurtry’s novel, gives the relationship between Aurora Greenway and her daughter Emma room to be difficult. These women do not become agreeable simply because we are meant to care about them. That makes the comedy sharper and gives the emotion a chance of being believed. We recommend it, with the warning that its 132 minutes sometimes feel loosely assembled.

Shirley MacLaine’s Aurora can be a lot to take, and MacLaine seems entirely comfortable with that risk. Debra Winger’s Emma makes the daughter’s side of the relationship feel equally deserving of attention. It matters that she can hold our interest when MacLaine is the more conspicuous presence. We like the friction between their performances, and the unwillingness to make affection look consistently pleasant. Brooks’s dialogue allows irritation and humour to belong in the same conversation, without either woman having to apologise for being difficult.

Jack Nicholson, as retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove, gives MacLaine someone who can match her for sheer insistence on being noticed. We laughed at their exchanges because neither performer seems willing to let the other have the last word. Nicholson’s expansiveness is funny in this company, where it meets something equally forceful. He also gives the film a useful rest from the strain of the central family relationship. There is a cost: whenever the pairing disappears, Brooks has to work harder to hold our attention.

We like Andrzej Bartkowiak’s cinematography most for making the actors so easy to watch. With MacLaine and Winger, there is plenty to notice without a busy image competing for attention. Polly Platt’s production design gives the family life a convincing everyday setting, which helps when the performances grow large. Michael Gore’s score is the contribution we would turn down: the music’s emotional prompting sometimes makes us notice how hard Brooks is trying. There is enough feeling in the acting already.

Richard Marks has the difficult editing job of helping Brooks fit thirty years into a single film, and the joins are not always comfortable. Individual passages have an easy conversational pace, but the larger movement can feel abrupt. We sometimes want another few minutes with a relationship before the story moves on. Then a less compelling passage is allowed to linger, and the length becomes noticeable. Brooks has given the MacLaine–Nicholson partnership an appeal that the rest of the writing cannot consistently match.

The second half takes a turn we will not describe, and Brooks asks for a stronger emotional response than the earlier comedy might suggest. The acting earns much of it, though we are less persuaded by how the story gets there. His confidence with performers is clearer than his control of the film’s changing pace. That unevenness matters in a drama that depends on our feeling we have lived alongside these people.

Even so, this is the kind of family melodrama that benefits from letting people be funny before asking us to worry about them. Brooks understands how exhausting close relatives can be, and his actors make that exhaustion entertaining without making the affection look foolish. It trusts us to recognise affection even when the people expressing it are behaving badly. Give it the evening, but allow Brooks a little more time than he strictly needs.

*Fi1m score 81, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

With only 5 reviews in so far, the consensus is positive, with praise centred on the mother-daughter relationship, the mixture of wit and feeling, and the performances of Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson. The reviews value the sharply observed family tensions and the humour that keeps them from becoming oppressive. Reservations concern construction rather than performances: Variety finds the decades-spanning structure disjointed and the film weaker when its leads are absent. Time Out offers the strongest reservations, arguing that the later emotional intensity, though powerfully acted, unbalances what begins as an amusing family comedy.

## Straight answers

**Is Terms of Endearment worth watching?**

*Terms of Endearment* is worth watching for anyone who likes a family drama that lets its people be funny and difficult before asking us to care about them, and we scored it 81. Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger and Jack Nicholson carry it. Its thirty-year story is loosely assembled, so allow James L. Brooks a little more time than he strictly needs.

**How long is Terms of Endearment, and what is it rated?**

*Terms of Endearment* runs 2h 12m and is rated PG by the MPA in the US. It is a drama and comedy film.

**Where can I watch Terms of Endearment in the US?**

*Terms of Endearment* is streaming on Paramount+, Hulu, The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Terms of Endearment, and is it suitable for children?**

*Terms of Endearment* is a UK 12A and contains no violence to speak of; its difficulties are emotional rather than frightening. The second half asks for a stronger emotional response than the earlier comedy suggests, so younger children may find it upsetting rather than scary. Teenagers and adults who can sit with a family arguing for two hours will be fine.

**How does Terms of Endearment compare to Tokyo Story?**

*Terms of Endearment* is the louder and funnier of the two films, with people who insist on being noticed, where [*Tokyo Story*](https://film.one/film/tokyo-story) keeps its hurt beneath quiet everyday conversation. Ozu's film is the more controlled and the more patient; Brooks's is the easier evening and the more uneven. Choose the earlier film for stillness, the later one for arguments.

**Is Terms of Endearment based on a true story or a book?**

*Terms of Endearment* is based on Larry McMurtry's novel of the same name, not on a true story. James L. Brooks wrote and directed the adaptation himself, and the film stands entirely on its own; knowing the book is not needed to follow Aurora and Emma's thirty years together.

**What should I watch after Terms of Endearment?**

After *Terms of Endearment*, try [*Tokyo Story*](https://film.one/film/tokyo-story) (1953, Fi1m 92): A quieter family reckoning, with just as much hurt beneath everyday conversation. Then [*Secrets & Lies*](https://film.one/film/secrets-and-lies) (1996, Fi1m 88): Family grievances and defensive jokes, with actors given room to be difficult; and [*The Farewell*](https://film.one/film/the-farewell) (2019, Fi1m 84): Relatives argue about care while finding elaborate ways to avoid plain speaking.

### Reviews we read (8)

- **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (4/4): The film masterfully balances comedy and tragedy in a way that feels true to life. Ebert singles out Debra Winger's performance as outstanding and natural. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/terms-of-endearment-1983)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Sheila Benson (95/100, inferred): The film is the most completely satisfying of the year, a pungent and beautifully observed portrait of life as a fascinating, tender, hilarious and faintly absurd predicament, with a front-row seat to one of the most compelling mother-daughter relationships on screen. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/story/2022-08-25/from-the-archives-coming-to-terms-with-the-predicament-of-life)
- **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby (85/100, inferred): The film is not perfect and meanders over 30 years but is one of the most engaging of the year, cherished for its low-pressure operation and containing possibly the best performances ever given by Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/04/arts/film-view-talented-actors-enrich-a-fine-script.html)
- **Empire**, William Thomas (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's clever and witty blend of comedy and emotion, highlighting Jack Nicholson's perfect fit as the retired astronaut who provides relief to the main story's angst. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/term-endearment-review/)
- **Variety**, James Harwood (80/100, inferred): The teaming of MacLaine and Nicholson at their best makes it an enormously enjoyable Christmas offering that adds bite and sparkle, though the structure is disjointed as it compresses 30 years and struggles when the leads are offscreen; Brooks' dialogue is wonderful throughout. [Read](https://variety.com/1983/film/reviews/terms-of-endearment-2-1200425821/)
- **Time Out**, DP (70/100, inferred): The film starts as an amusing family comedy but shifts into high gear with a powerful, well-acted death-bed sequence that delivers an emotional impact. It ultimately unbalances the movie, raising questions about the director's skill at overall construction despite his evident strength with emotion. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/terms-of-endearment)
- **The Times**, The Times Arts Correspondents (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film overly soapy and episodic, like a TV soap opera with abrupt character appearances and disappearances, despite its box-office success and awards nominations. They highlight the central mother-daughter relationship and the daughter's cancer storyline. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/article/terms-of-endearment-zqt69svqx6z)
- **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (30/100, inferred): The movie is a calculated, pious mix of TV-style sitcom comedy and forced emotional drama that feels fraudulent. Kael praises Debra Winger's vivid performance but criticizes the overall contrived humanity and use of tragedy. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1983/12/12/retro-retro)

## Details

- **Director:** James L. Brooks
- **Director:** James L. Brooks
- **Screenplay:** James L. Brooks
- **Novel:** Larry McMurtry
- **Cinematography:** Andrzej Bartkowiak
- **Editor:** Richard Marks
- **Music:** Michael Gore
- **Production design:** Polly Platt
- **Costume design:** Kristi Zea
- **Producer:** James L. Brooks
- **Cast:** Shirley MacLaine as Aurora Greenway; Debra Winger as Emma Greenway Horton; Jack Nicholson as Garrett Breedlove; Danny DeVito as Vernon Dahlart; Jeff Daniels as Flap Horton; John Lithgow as Sam Burns; Lisa Hart Carroll as Patsy Clark; Betty King as Rosie Dunlop
- **Runtime:** 2h 12m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG
- **Release (the US):** 9 December 1983
- **Genres:** Drama, Comedy
- **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Winner, 1983); [Golden Globe Best Drama winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-drama.md) (Winner, 1983)
- **Budget:** $8 million
- **Box office:** $108 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjLFMTIDkIM

## Where to watch in the US

- Paramount+: streaming
- Hulu: add-on, hd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, CA, CH, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IN, IT, LT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 1984: Best Film Editing (nominated); Best Original Score (nominated); Best Production Design (nominated); Best Sound (nominated); Best Actress (won); Best Director (won); Best Picture (won); Best Supporting Actor (won); Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (won)

## If you liked this

- *Tokyo Story* (1953), Fi1m 92: A quieter family reckoning, with just as much hurt beneath everyday conversation. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/tokyo-story.md)
- *Secrets & Lies* (1996), Fi1m 88: Family grievances and defensive jokes, with actors given room to be difficult. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/secrets-and-lies.md)
- *Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore* (1974): Another woman allowed to be funny, frustrated and more than somebody’s mother.
- *The Farewell* (2019), Fi1m 84: Relatives argue about care while finding elaborate ways to avoid plain speaking. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-farewell.md)
- *Muriel's Wedding* (1994), Fi1m 81: Family cruelty and broad comedy coexist without cancelling out the damage. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/muriels-wedding.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/terms-of-endearment