This is a movie I went into with very low expectations but ended up loving it.

I’m not normally a fan of family drama ‘weepies’. (I generally will run a mile from anything by Nicholas Sparks, for example). But for Terms of Endearment I will make an exception. I saw this at the cinema in my university film reviewing days, and I wrote a glowing review afterwards. Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson both won Oscars for their performances, but the whole cast elevates what is basically a Hallmark Channel soapy drama to another level entirely.

The stills above and below come from my original press screening. My wife also loves this movie, so she bought us a US one-sheet recently from eBay as a memento. It is not the sort of poster I would normally collect, but I’m happy she likes it.

My wife also made me sit through the lesser-known sequel, The Evening Star, and I must admit this was a weepie too far for me. Whilst it also features MacLaine plus a cameo from Nicholson, it fails to even remotely capture the magic of the original. Far from tearing up, I found myself cringing towards the end when (spoiler alert!) MacLaine’s character passes away. It just goes to show what an achievement the original movie is.