It's akin to going to a family reunion and seeing people you haven't had contact with in 15 years and then filling in all the new boyfriends, kids and others. That's the feeling of "The Evening Star", the second coming of Aurora Greenway, whose life and tribulations captivated us in "Terms of Endearment".
With Shirley MacLaine reprising her Oscar-winning role to prickly perfection, this follow-up film will surely tug at the hearts of Aurora followers, but its episodic nature is not as likely to enthrall audiences as its heart-tugging predecessor. Unquestionably, this "Star" will shine brightest among an older, female audience who will savor Aurora's life adventures, but lacking the big emotional burst of the former, this soap-operatic sequel is not likely to negotiate "Term"'s popularity. More discerning viewers will be downright rankled by its strident tendencies toward emotional melodramatics.
Unlike the daily soaps, you can't pick this one up quite lickety-split. It takes awhile to learn the players. As you already know, Aurora's daughter (Debra Winger) has passed on with cancer, and what you perhaps didn't realize is that Aurora has raised her grandchildren, with decidedly mixed results.
"Terms of Endearment"'s mother-daughter rivalry is now a grandmother-granddaughter tug of war as Aurora struggles to keep her feisty granddaughter, Melanie (Juliette Lewis) from "doing everything wrong in life."
Then there are her grandsons: Teddy (Mackenzie Astin) who's not ambitious enough for Aurora, and Tommy (George Newbern) who, break her heart, is doing time in the penitentiary. Even Aurora's imperturbable front cannot mask the deep disappointment she feels in how her grandkids turned out.
Even worse, they resent her for it, especially Melanie, who has a much tighter bond with her mother's old chum, Patsy (Miranda Richardson) who, as a blond nouveau rich socialite, is everything that Aurora despises and is, as she readily admits, her worst nightmare.
Force of nature that she is, Aurora leaves everything in her wake: bad blood, broken hearts, big grudges, but, best of all, undying love. While some of the story's plot permutations fry a bit fast and are served somewhat slick-side up, screenwriter-director Robert Harling has done an overall solid job of cinematically shaping Larry McMurtry's massive, rambling novel.
Despite some crammed dramatics, "The Evening Star" radiates with many rich emotional moments. And, most of them, fittingly, are the result of Shirley MacLaine's splendid performance as the indomitable Aurora. She's the force to which all others react and, indeed, the drive of MacLaine's performance and personality has undoubtedly kindled the supporting players to their fullest dimension.
Supporting standouts include Lewis as Aurora's brittle and confused but resilient granddaughter; and Richardson who as the still-blond Texas socialite Patsy, is, indeed, a thorny yellow rose. A tip of the brim also to the late Ben Johnson for his solid-rock performance as Aurora's physician neighbor and to Donald Moffat for his spit-and-polish panache as Aurora's old-military ex-beau. Tooling into town for a quickie NASA reunion, Jack Nicholson briefly flashes the devilish grin that continues to defy all of Aurora's better sense and good judgment.
The outstanding technical contributions certainly put the eyes of Texas upon you: Bruno Rubeo's production design sharply delineates the contradictions between down-home Texas and modern-day Houston, similarly, Renee Ehrlich Kalfus' costume design captures the ground-level garishness of Texas garb. A particular highlight is Aurora's costumery, frilly and light-colored as befits a woman whose star will never quietly fade into the night.
THE EVENING STAR
Paramount Pictures
Rysher Entertainment
A David Kirkpatrick production
Producers David Kirkpatrick, Polly Platt,
Keith Samples
Screenwriter-director Robert Harling
Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry
Director of photography Don Burgess
Production designer Bruno Rubeo
Editors Priscilla Nedd-Friendly, David Moritz
Costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus
Music William Ross
Co-producer Dennis Bishop
Casting Jennifer Shull
Sound mixer Douglas Axtell
Color/stereo
Cast:
Aurora Greenway Shirley MacLaine
Jerry Bruckner Bill Paxton
Melanie Horton Juliette Lewis
Patsy Carpenter Miranda Richardson
Arthur Cotton Ben Johnson
Bruce Scott Wolf
Tommy Horton George Newbern
Rosie Dunlop Marion Ross
Teddy Horton Mackenzie Astin
Hector Scott Donald Moffat
Jane China Kantner
Garrett Breedlove Jack Nicholson
Running time -- 127 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
With Shirley MacLaine reprising her Oscar-winning role to prickly perfection, this follow-up film will surely tug at the hearts of Aurora followers, but its episodic nature is not as likely to enthrall audiences as its heart-tugging predecessor. Unquestionably, this "Star" will shine brightest among an older, female audience who will savor Aurora's life adventures, but lacking the big emotional burst of the former, this soap-operatic sequel is not likely to negotiate "Term"'s popularity. More discerning viewers will be downright rankled by its strident tendencies toward emotional melodramatics.
Unlike the daily soaps, you can't pick this one up quite lickety-split. It takes awhile to learn the players. As you already know, Aurora's daughter (Debra Winger) has passed on with cancer, and what you perhaps didn't realize is that Aurora has raised her grandchildren, with decidedly mixed results.
"Terms of Endearment"'s mother-daughter rivalry is now a grandmother-granddaughter tug of war as Aurora struggles to keep her feisty granddaughter, Melanie (Juliette Lewis) from "doing everything wrong in life."
Then there are her grandsons: Teddy (Mackenzie Astin) who's not ambitious enough for Aurora, and Tommy (George Newbern) who, break her heart, is doing time in the penitentiary. Even Aurora's imperturbable front cannot mask the deep disappointment she feels in how her grandkids turned out.
Even worse, they resent her for it, especially Melanie, who has a much tighter bond with her mother's old chum, Patsy (Miranda Richardson) who, as a blond nouveau rich socialite, is everything that Aurora despises and is, as she readily admits, her worst nightmare.
Force of nature that she is, Aurora leaves everything in her wake: bad blood, broken hearts, big grudges, but, best of all, undying love. While some of the story's plot permutations fry a bit fast and are served somewhat slick-side up, screenwriter-director Robert Harling has done an overall solid job of cinematically shaping Larry McMurtry's massive, rambling novel.
Despite some crammed dramatics, "The Evening Star" radiates with many rich emotional moments. And, most of them, fittingly, are the result of Shirley MacLaine's splendid performance as the indomitable Aurora. She's the force to which all others react and, indeed, the drive of MacLaine's performance and personality has undoubtedly kindled the supporting players to their fullest dimension.
Supporting standouts include Lewis as Aurora's brittle and confused but resilient granddaughter; and Richardson who as the still-blond Texas socialite Patsy, is, indeed, a thorny yellow rose. A tip of the brim also to the late Ben Johnson for his solid-rock performance as Aurora's physician neighbor and to Donald Moffat for his spit-and-polish panache as Aurora's old-military ex-beau. Tooling into town for a quickie NASA reunion, Jack Nicholson briefly flashes the devilish grin that continues to defy all of Aurora's better sense and good judgment.
The outstanding technical contributions certainly put the eyes of Texas upon you: Bruno Rubeo's production design sharply delineates the contradictions between down-home Texas and modern-day Houston, similarly, Renee Ehrlich Kalfus' costume design captures the ground-level garishness of Texas garb. A particular highlight is Aurora's costumery, frilly and light-colored as befits a woman whose star will never quietly fade into the night.
THE EVENING STAR
Paramount Pictures
Rysher Entertainment
A David Kirkpatrick production
Producers David Kirkpatrick, Polly Platt,
Keith Samples
Screenwriter-director Robert Harling
Based on the novel by Larry McMurtry
Director of photography Don Burgess
Production designer Bruno Rubeo
Editors Priscilla Nedd-Friendly, David Moritz
Costume designer Renee Ehrlich Kalfus
Music William Ross
Co-producer Dennis Bishop
Casting Jennifer Shull
Sound mixer Douglas Axtell
Color/stereo
Cast:
Aurora Greenway Shirley MacLaine
Jerry Bruckner Bill Paxton
Melanie Horton Juliette Lewis
Patsy Carpenter Miranda Richardson
Arthur Cotton Ben Johnson
Bruce Scott Wolf
Tommy Horton George Newbern
Rosie Dunlop Marion Ross
Teddy Horton Mackenzie Astin
Hector Scott Donald Moffat
Jane China Kantner
Garrett Breedlove Jack Nicholson
Running time -- 127 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 12/17/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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