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The Evening Star

1996, Movie, PG-13, 129 mins

The Evening Star: Review

EVENING STAR, THE
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More than a decade after the lachrymose triumph of TERMS OF ENDEARMENT -- a resolutely old-fashioned melodrama about the tempestuous mother-daughter relationship between strong-willed Texas belles Aurora and Emma Greenway (Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger) -- the sequel has arrived, trailing a cloud of nostalgic sentiment just in time for the holidays. Clumsily condensed from Larry McMurtry's sprawling novel and weighed down by its huge cast, this shameless, shapeless soap opera meanders from hissy fit to snippy sulk, sketching characters and relationships far too broadly to make the average viewer care about their petty troubles. MacLaine's Aurora is a classic sacred monster, an iron butterfly who crushes her loved ones so close to her perfumed bosom they have to fight and claw just to breathe. The professionally overbearing MacLaine is flawless, but the movie is hamstrung by the fact that among its cast members, not a single individual can stand up to her the way Winger did. TERMS OF ENDEARMENT took flack for zapping the headstrong Emma with cancer, but her deathbed scenes packed a real, tear-jerking punch. Who cares about the dreary grandkids (Scott Newbern, MacKenzie Astin and Juliette Lewis)? The boys are interchangeable, and Lewis is reduced to sitcom temper tantrums to show that she's rebellious like her mom. Once again, Aurora has her way: The sequel is her very own one-gorgon show. leave a comment
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