---
title: "Terms of Endearment: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/terms-of-endearment/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/terms-of-endearment"
critics_score: 72
critics_reviews: 8
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): what the critics said

Critics' score 72 from 8 reviews: 6 positive, 0 mixed, 2 negative.

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.

## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert

Rating 4/4. 23 November 1983. 

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 the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/terms-of-endearment-1983)

## Los Angeles Times — Sheila Benson

Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 1983. 

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 the review](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

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 4 December 1983. 

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 the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/04/arts/film-view-talented-actors-enrich-a-fine-script.html)

## Empire — William Thomas

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/term-endearment-review/)

## Variety — James Harwood

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 1983. 

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 the review](https://variety.com/1983/film/reviews/terms-of-endearment-2-1200425821/)

## Time Out — DP

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 10 September 2012. 

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 the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/terms-of-endearment)

## The Times — The Times Arts Correspondents

Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 16 March 1984. 

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 the review](https://www.thetimes.com/article/terms-of-endearment-zqt69svqx6z)

## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 5 December 1983. 

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 the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1983/12/12/retro-retro)

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