When I rented "The Evening Star", I had no idea that it was a sequel to "Terms of Endearment". I just watched it because I've seen early all of Jack Nicholson's films....and this is one I somehow missed. And, like in "Terms of Endearment", sadly, Nicholson is just a supporting actor.
At the end of the previous film, Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) was now forced to deal with the death of her daughter...as well as their very estranged relationship. Now, 13 years later, you learn that Aurora raised her daughter's kids...and two of the three of them are nightmares. One is in prison...and is angry. Another is an impulsive idiot who make dumb choices...and is angry. The final one drives a tow truck and seems like a nice enough guy...though he's not as successful as Aurora hoped he'd be...and he's an ineffectual parent to his nasty little boy. The amazing thing about all this is that the first two grand kids treat Aurora like dirt...and she just puts up with it and appears to have very poor boundaries. Her maid (Marion Ross) is concerned about Aurora....how much of this can Aurora take?! So, she sets up a counseling session for Aurora...which she reluctantly goes to but insists he doesn't need. What's next? Well....all sorts of things! And fortunately, over time, her complete mess of a family shows improvement.
"The Evening Star" is a film where the acting and characters are more important than the story itself...at least that's how I felt. Shirley MacLaine does a nice character study of Aurora and the acting is quite nice. I didn't particularly like any of these folks all that much...especially at first. But the film was well acted and well made. In other words, it's enjoyable and worth seeing but is also one where you might want to have some Kleenex handy...just in case.
By the way, a major story element involves Aurora sleeping with her counselor. While this might seem cute or entertaining, it also would undoubtedly result in the therapist losing his license. That the film romanticizes this is a bit disturbing for me considering I am a trained psychotherapist.
At the end of the previous film, Aurora (Shirley MacLaine) was now forced to deal with the death of her daughter...as well as their very estranged relationship. Now, 13 years later, you learn that Aurora raised her daughter's kids...and two of the three of them are nightmares. One is in prison...and is angry. Another is an impulsive idiot who make dumb choices...and is angry. The final one drives a tow truck and seems like a nice enough guy...though he's not as successful as Aurora hoped he'd be...and he's an ineffectual parent to his nasty little boy. The amazing thing about all this is that the first two grand kids treat Aurora like dirt...and she just puts up with it and appears to have very poor boundaries. Her maid (Marion Ross) is concerned about Aurora....how much of this can Aurora take?! So, she sets up a counseling session for Aurora...which she reluctantly goes to but insists he doesn't need. What's next? Well....all sorts of things! And fortunately, over time, her complete mess of a family shows improvement.
"The Evening Star" is a film where the acting and characters are more important than the story itself...at least that's how I felt. Shirley MacLaine does a nice character study of Aurora and the acting is quite nice. I didn't particularly like any of these folks all that much...especially at first. But the film was well acted and well made. In other words, it's enjoyable and worth seeing but is also one where you might want to have some Kleenex handy...just in case.
By the way, a major story element involves Aurora sleeping with her counselor. While this might seem cute or entertaining, it also would undoubtedly result in the therapist losing his license. That the film romanticizes this is a bit disturbing for me considering I am a trained psychotherapist.