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When families get together to remember their times together, the conversation has a way of moving easily from the tragedies to the funny things. You'll mention someone who has passed away, and there'll be a moment of silence, and then somebody will grin and be reminded of some goofy story. Life always has an unhappy ending, but you can have a lot of fun along the way, and everything doesn't have to be dripping in deep significance.

The most remarkable achievement of "Terms of Endearment," which is filled with great achievements, is its ability to find the balance between the funny and the sad, between moments of deep truth and other moments of high ridiculousness. A lesser movie would have had trouble moving between the extremes that are visited by this film, but because "Terms of Endearment" understands its characters and loves them, we never have a moment's doubt: What happens next is supposed to happen. because life's like that.

"Terms of Endearment" feels as much like life as any movie I can think of. At the same time, it's a triumph of show business, with its high comic style, its flair for bittersweet melodrama and its star turns for the actors. Maybe the best thing about this movie is the way it combines those two different kinds of filmmaking. This is a movie with bold emotional scenes and big laughs, and at the same time it's so firmly in control of its tone that we believe we are seeing real people.

The movie's about two remarkable women and their relationships with each other and with the men in their lives. The mother is played by Shirley MacLaine . She's a widow who lives in Houston and hasn't dated a man since her husband died. Maybe she's redirected her sexual desires into the backyard, where her garden has grown so large and elaborate that she either will have to find a man pretty quickly or move to a house with a bigger yard.

Her daughter, played by Debra Winger , is one of those people who seems to have been blessed with a sense of life and joy. She marries a guy named Flap who teaches English in a series of Midwestern colleges; she rears three kids and puts up with Flap, who has an eye for coeds.

Back in Houston, her mother finally goes out on a date with the swinging bachelor ( Jack Nicholson ) who has lived next door for years. He's a hard-drinking, girl-chasing former astronaut with a grin that hints of unspeakable lusts. MacLaine, a lady who surrounds herself with frills and flowers, is appalled by this animalistic man and then touched by him.

There are a couple of other bittersweet relationships in the film. Both mother and daughter have timid, mild-mannered male admirers: MacLaine is followed everywhere by Vernon, who asks only to be allowed to gaze upon her, and Winger has a tender, little affair with a banker. The years pass. Children grow up into adolescence, Flap gets a job as head of the department in Nebraska, the astronaut turns out to have genuine human possibilities of becoming quasi-civilized, and mother and daughter grow into a warmer and deeper relationship. All of this is told in a series of perfectly written, acted and directed scenes that flow as effortlessly as a perfect day, and then something happens that is totally unexpected, and changes everything.

I don't want to suggest what happens. It flows so naturally that it should be allowed to take place.

This is a wonderful film. There isn't a thing that I would change, and I was exhilarated by the freedom it gives itself to move from the high comedy of Nicholson's best moments to the acting of Debra Winger in the closing scenes. She outdoes herself. It's a great performance. And yet it's not a "performance." There are scenes that have such a casual piety that acting seems to have nothing to do with it. She doesn't reach for effects, and neither does the film, because it's all right there.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Terms of Endearment (1983)

132 minutes

Shirley MacLaine as Aurora Greenway

Jack Nicholson as Breedlove

Debra Winger as Emma

Jeff Daniels as Flap Horton

John Lithgow as Sam Burns

Danny DeVito as Vernon

Based on the novel by

• Larry McMurtry

Produced, directed and written by

• James L. Brooks

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Terms of Endearment Reviews

A rather atypical Best Picture winner, this look at the complicated relationship between mother and daughter is notable for bucking conventions rather than serving them.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Feb 7, 2024

A genuine heart-warmer and true heartbreaker.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Nov 19, 2023

Terms of Endearment is more than just the epitome of a tearjerker. It is an often-hilarious look at the love that prevails within a dysfunctional family.

Full Review | Jun 27, 2023

Terms of Endearment is the rare commercial picture that sets audiences to laughing hysterically and crying unashamedly, sometimes within consecutive seconds, and then shoos them out of the theater in contended emotional exhaustion.

Full Review | Dec 6, 2022

The picture isn't boring; it's just fraudulent.

Full Review | Aug 22, 2022

Thanks mainly to fine acting in all the major roles and most of the minor ones, "Terms" is pretty well irresistible entertainment. It turns giggles into lumps in the throat and crinkles the eyes with laughter while it is misting them with tears.

Full Review | Jul 21, 2022

Though the sudden shift into Love Story territory may have the clang of soap opera for some, it's an effective twist.

Director James L. Brooks peppered the script with wry dialogue and some touching moments. But in jumping between Aurora's farce and Emma's earnest melodrama, Brooks left his other characters with neither heart nor intelligence.

This is a smart, funny, emotionally devastating picture that refuses to pander to an audience by giving it merely the expected.

[Terms of Endearment] is in a lofty class by itself, addressing its issues as it creates them, shooting from the hip with deadly accuracy. That it is also one of the most profoundly funny movies of the year is a joy in itself.

Terms of Endearment is a movie of heart. And not a pink one cut from satin; a heart of muscle and blood shuddering away in its encasement of bone and sinew. A real heart.

Terms of Endearment is that uncommon kind of American movie, the kind that doesn't just manipulate our feelings, but releases them. It rates a resounding yes because it doesn't insult our emotional intelligence.

Terms of Endearment uses illness as a manipulative theatrical subterfuge that is completely misdirected, poorly handled, and ultimately destructive to enjoyment of the first portion of the film.

[James L. Brooks] is so intent on giving his film a leisurely, lived-in feeling that he even courts our boredom. But without the actual leisure of an entire TV season to develop his characters, he doesn't leave square one.

In a true Hollywood miracle, first time director-producer James Brooks and his stars Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger transplant these characters, with all their vivid eccentricities intact, from the page to the screen's best comedy-drama in years.

There's something enlightening -- and disturbing -- about a motion picture that is so well written, so well-acted and so wise and knowing in its scope that you become swept up in the lives of its characters.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jul 21, 2022

The most remarkable achievement of Terms of Endearment, which is filled with great achievements, is its ability to find the balance between the funny and the sad, between moments of deep truth and other moments of high ridiculousness.

Terms of Endearment is one of the few American movies of the last few years to tell a genuinely epic story of a woman.

The two [tones] just do not belong to each other, and while polished acting and good use of locations are not entirely wasted, they deserve better than this.

Terms of Endearment manages to be sentimental and sophisticated at the same time. Its characters and situations are wholly contemporary. Yet the film maintains a solid, old-fashioned conviction that the human heart is at least close to where it should be.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 21, 2022

Terms of Endearment

By James Harwood

James Harwood

• Film Review: ‘Out of Africa’ 38 years ago
• Film Review: ‘Return of the Jedi’ 41 years ago
• Happy Birthday To Me 43 years ago

Teaming of Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson at their best makes “Terms of Endearment” an enormously enjoyable offering for Christmas, adding bite and sparkle when sentiment and seamlessness threatens to sink other parts of the picture.

It’s a double pleasure to see Nicholson back in just the kind of role that catapulted him to stardom, playing a devilish, boozing astronaut who lives next door to MacLaine who has overlayed her libido with too many years of stifled feelings for everyone.

As writer and director, James L. Brooks has not made too clear what “Terms” is supposed to be about and, most of the time, it seems to be about too much, setting up situations and then skipping out of them as it tries to compress 30 years of a family relationship.

At the core is mother MacLaine and daughter Debra Winger, fondly at odds from the beginning over the younger’s impending marriage to likeable, but limited, Jeff Daniels. Literally, it’s just one cut to the next; then Winger is a mother and moving away from Texas to Iowa, where she becomes a mother a couple of more times, talks to MacLaine every day, carries on an affair with John Lithgow while Daniels dallies at college with Kate Charleson.

Plotwise, MacLaine and Nicholson are first introduced as she watches him come home next door drunk. Then it’s several more years before the film finds them together again as he makes a stumbling pass at her over the fence. Then it’s several more years before they’re together again and she finally agrees to go out to lunch.

If that seems disjointed, it is. But the encounters between these two–always reminiscent of Hepburn and Bogart–are so much fun, it really doesn’t make much difference. And when their romance starts to warm up, they are terrific and continue to be when it cools down and ripens into something else.

When they’re missing from the action, Brooks has even more trouble concentrating on other single aspects of the picture, finally getting trapped into an overlong, lingering involvement with the sadness that finally befalls the characters. But tears will flow, no doubt.

Forgetting structure, though, Brooks’ dialog is wonderful throughout and all the characters carry off their assignments beautifully, even down to Danny De Vito and Norman Bennett as MacLaine’s other suffering suitors.

Production designer Polly Platt and makeup artist Ben Nye, Jr. make the 30-year time stretch completely acceptable, enhanced naturally by Andrzej Bartkowiak’s camerawork. And ably at the controls of all of this, to be sure, is Brooks the director.

• Production: A Paramount Pictures release, produced, directed and written by James L. Brooks, based on a novel by Larry McMutry. Co-producers, Penny Finkelman, Martin Jurow. Reviewed at the Bruin Theater, L.A., Nov.16, 1983.
• Crew: Camera (Metrocolor), Andrzej Bartkowiak; editor, Richard Marks, sound, James Alexander; production design, Polly Platt; costumes, Kristi Zea; assistant director, Albert Shapiro; makeup, Ben Nye Jr., art direction, Harold Michelson, set design, Sandy Veneziano; music, Michael Gore. (MPAA rating: (G.) Running time: 130 MINS. Original review text from 1983.
• With: Emma - Debra Winger Aurora - Shirley MacLaine Garrett - Jack Nicholson Flap - Jeff Daniels Sam - John Lithgow Teddy - Huckleberry Fox Tommy - Troy Bishop Vernon - Danny DeVito Patsy - Lisa Hart Carroll Rosie -Betty R. King Edward - Norman Bennett Janet - Kate Charleson

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Terms of Endearment

Time out says, release details.

• Duration: 132 mins

Cast and crew

• Director: James L Brooks
• Screenwriter: James L Brooks
• Shirley MacLaine
• Debra Winger
• Jack Nicholson
• John Lithgow
• Danny DeVito
• Jeff Daniels
• Lisa Hart Carroll

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Terms of Endearment (United States, 1983)

Warning : As with most retrospective reviews, this reveals key plot points. Spoilers abound.

Undoubtedly, one of the reasons why James L. Brooks’ feature debut, the three-hankie weeper Terms of Endearment , won the Oscar for Best Picture is that 1983 was a weak year for competition. Nevertheless, it’s somewhat bewildering that this movie bested the likes of The Right Stuff and Silkwood (not to mention more than 20 films that did better at the box office). A big screen soap opera based on the Larry McMurtry novel, Terms of Endearment works as a device to manipulate audiences while highlighting over-the-top performances. Jack Nicholson won a Best Supporting Actor award for playing himself and Shirley MacLaine triumphed in the Best Actress category primarily because she had been passed over too many times previously for her to continued to be ignored.

For what it is, Terms of Endearment isn’t bad entertainment. Like all Douglas Sirk-inspired melodramas, it’s funny at times and touching at others. It goes overboard toward the end, pulling out the stops to provoke tears and there’s nothing about Brooks’ approach that hints at restraint. MacLaine’s fit of screaming at a nurse is emblematic of the production’s overall approach: be loud and annoying. The actress’ character, Aurora Greenway, is the living embodiment of that philosophy. One could argue that MacLaine deserved recognition for successfully making Aurora such a thoroughly dislikable individual.

Meanwhile, back in Texas, Aurora puts off a number of suitors, including the diminutive but persistent Vernon Dahlart (Danny DeVito). Sparks fly when she’s with her next-door neighbor, the womanizing, alcoholic, risk-taking astronaut Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson), who spars with Aurora in and out of bed. Although she admits to loving him, he decrees that he’s not the man for her, although he’s still hanging around at the end. That ending provides a reconciliation of sorts between Aurora and Emma – although it comes at the expense of the latter’s life. She dies of an unspecified form of cancer.

MacLaine enjoys chewing on the scenery and provides the kind of boisterous caricature the Academy occasionally recognizes. Aurora isn’t a person – she’s a writer’s construct who might have resembled a human being had Brooks and MacLaine dialed down the personality. Nicholson, meanwhile, isn’t required to do more than present his off-screen personality to the camera. Garrett is oddly charismatic in the way that misogynistic alpha males often are but he’s reptilian and seems more comfortable sneering than uttering sweet nothings. Debra Winger arguably gives the best performance in the film (a portrayal that is sweetened by allowing her to act her deathbed scenes) but she was notoriously difficult to work with.

Some thirteen years after Terms of Endearment , a sequel was released. Dealing primarily with Aurora’s relationships with her grandchildren and housekeeper, The Evening Star brought back MacLaine in a starring role (and Jack Nicholson in an extended cameo) and failed to enrapture the critics who had swooned over the earlier film. The Evening Star is often cited as one of the worst-ever sequels but, in my opinion, the drop in quality isn’t as dramatic as some might argue.

Am I being too harsh on Terms of Endearment? As a throwaway bobbing among the flotsam of ‘80s cinematic history, it’s a passable way to spend a couple of hours (dated though it may be). It’s diverting and, although Brooks’ manipulation is extreme, it’s often effective. But to label it as the Best Picture of 1983 (or any year) is a miscarriage.

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Movie Review

Terms of endearment.

US Release Date: 12-09-1983

Directed by: James L. Brooks

Starring ▸ ▾

• Shirley MacLaine ,  as
• Aurora Greenway
• Debra Winger ,  as
• Emma Horton
• Jack Nicholson ,  as
• Garrett Breedlove
• Danny DeVito ,  as
• Vernon Dahlart
• Jeff Daniels ,  as
• Flap Horton
• John Lithgow ,  as
• Lisa Hart Carroll ,  as
• Patsy Clark
• Betty King ,  as
• Rosie Dunlop
• Huckleberry Fox ,  as
• Teddy Horton
• Troy Bishop ,  as
• Tommy Horton
• Shane Serwin ,  as
• Younger Tommy Horton
• Megan Morris ,  as
• Melanie Horton
• Norman Bennett ,  as
• Edward Johnson
• Albert Brooks ,  as
• Rudyard (voice)
• Mary Kay Place as
• Doris (voice)

Jack Nicholson, Debra Winger and Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment .

The tearjerker movie, specifically those dealing with a young woman dying from a terminal disease, has been around for a long time. Bette Davis succumbed to a brain tumor in 1939's Dark Victory , Ali MacGraw lost her battle with cancer in Love Story in 1970, and Susan Sarandon bravely met the same fate in 1998 in Stepmom . And those are just a few of the most famous examples.

Terms of Endearment , from 1983, represents the absolute apex of the genre, winning five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay for producer/director/writer James L. Brooks, as well as Best Actress for Shirley MacLaine (beating out costar Debra Winger in the same category) and Supporting Actor for Jack Nicholson (over cast-mate John Lithgow).

In addition, Michael Gore's instrumental theme became quite well-known and he was likewise Oscar nominated for Best Original Score, losing to Bill Conti for The Right Stuff . Terms finished the year as the second highest grossing domestic hit of 1983 behind box office juggernaut Return of the Jedi , making it one of those rare movies that appears once every decade or so that charms audiences and critics alike.

Although the entire cast is superb the movie belongs to Shirley MacLaine. As Aurora Greenway she gives her finest performance. This was her fifth Oscar nomination for Best Actress and her first win. She began her acceptance speech by saying, “I am going to cry because this show has been as long as my career!” Well, as of 2012, Shirley MacLaine's long career is still going strong, which means that Terms of Endearment now represents the halfway point!

Terms of Endearment was based on the novel by Larry McMurtry. He was no stranger to Hollywood having previously seen successful movies made from his books Hud and The Last Picture Show . McMurtry would win an Oscar with Diana Ossana for adapting the screenplay for 2005's Brokeback Mountain .

The story covers 30 years or so in the lives of a wealthy, uptight Texas woman and her free-spirited daughter. The daughter marries against her mother's wishes and eventually has three children. Other people come in and out of their lives as the years go by, until the fateful day Emma is diagnosed with cancer... Cue the waterworks.

One unique little detail of the story that I personally enjoy is Emma's (the daughter) penchant for show tunes. Throughout the movie she plays Ethel Merman and Judy Garland records. Jeff Daniels, as her husband Flap, comments in one scene on how odd it is to have sex to “Gee, Officer Krupke” from West Side Story .

From Shirley MacLaine and Jack Nicholson driving in that convertible in the surf, or Debra Winger saying a tearful deathbed goodbye to her two young sons, or MacLaine dramatically begging the nurses to give her daughter her painkiller shot, Terms of Endearment is filled with classic scenes. It offers a textbook lesson on how to balance the tragic with the comic.

Some movies lose their emotional impact over time but Terms of Endearment remains every bit as powerful today as it was in 1983. Regardless of whether you've never seen it or are watching it for the tenth time be sure to have plenty of tissues nearby.

Photos © Copyright Paramount Pictures (1983)

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Terms of Endearment: 4K UHD Review

Posted on November 14, 2023 by popcornnights in DVD/BLU-RAY REVIEWS // 0 Comments

To celebrate the 40 th anniversary of James L. Brooks’ five time Academy Award winning, Terms of Endearment , Paramount has released a new 4K UHD as part of its’ Paramount Presents line. I wish I had an explanation for how I have gone forty years without ever seeing this film before now, even though I had seen its’ forgettable 1996 sequel, The Evening Star . Many people don’t even realize Terms of Endearment had a sequel and somehow, I had seen that but never the one that was actually good. When Paramount announced that they were releasing a new 4K, I figured, now was my chance.

Ever since Emma (Debra Winger) was a baby, her mother Aurora (Shirley Maclaine) watched over her like a hawk. Aurora would constantly wake up her daughter from sleeping just to see if she was still breathing. You could even hear the father in the background, yelling…let her sleep! As Emma got older, Aurora would not loosen her controlling grip. While the mother and daughter had a close relationship, it clearly wasn’t a very healthy one.

Even though Aurora felt it was a huge mistake, Emma married college professor Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels). To make things even more difficult for Aurora, Emma and Flap move to Iowa after he was offered a job as an English Professor. Now with three children, the family has run into financial troubles with marriage issues that followed due to Flap’s infidelity. Emma does find some happiness when she meets and falls for a married man named Sam (John Lithgow). Meanwhile, back in Texas, a relationship develops between Aurora and her former astronaut neighbor Garrett (Jack Nicholson). Although Aurora thinks he is crude, disrespectful and kind of a drunk, she does find herself attracted to him.

There are quite a few unforeseen back and forth situations that occur within both relationships, but that all comes to a screeching halt when Emma learns she has cancer.  Terms of Endearment is a drama above all, but does have its’ share of laugh-out-loud comedy moments. Everyone is terrific here. We even get supporting roles from the likes of Danny Devito. He isn’t given a whole lot to do, but he makes the most of it.

Presented with Dolby Vision HDR and it looks fantastic. The transfer was sourced from the original camera negative and approved by James L. Brooks. Blacks are rich, the greens in the grass and trees around Aurora’s house look natural, along with those around Flap’s college campus. Flesh tones are also nearly perfect. This is truly a beautiful presentation. We get a 5.1 DTS-HD audio track, which is apparently the same one used for the 2013 Blu-ray, which I had never seen. As this is a dialogue driven drama, we really didn’t need anything more than what is being presented here. Michael Gore’s score sounds fantastic and there isn’t anything to complain about with anything else. Even louder scenes, like when Garrett and Aurora are racing down the beach in his sports car while yelling sounds great.

If you are a fan of Terms of Endearment , this is a disk you may want to pick up and watch with your family during the holidays.

Bonus Features:

• NEW Filmmaker Focus with James L. Brooks
• Audio Commentary
• Theatrical Trailer

By: Marc Ferman

• Terms of Endearment

© Copyright 2014-present. The Film Junkies. All Rights Reserved.

Terms of Endearment

Terms Of Endearment dazzled critics and audiences alike with its believable, insightful story of two captivating people, mother and daughter, unforgettably played by Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger. From grand slapstick to deepest sentiment, director James L. Brooks masterfully paints scenes from their evolving 30-year relationship.

Jack Nicholson turns in a great comic performance as Maclaine's neighbor, a boozy, womanizing former astronaut.

Winner of five Academy Awards®: Best Picture 1983; Best Actress - Shirley MacLaine; Best Supporting Actor - Jack Nicholson; Best Director and Best Screenplay Adaptation - James L. Brooks.

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Though it won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay, 'Terms of Endearment' has always struggled to earn the respect it deserves. Its estrogen-fueled storyline about a close yet volatile relationship between a mother and daughter, their combustible romances, and the ultimate medical crisis that tears their respective worlds apart screams Lifetime Movie of the Week, and over the years, the film's detractors have called it shamelessly tear-jerking, manipulative, and trite. Yet somehow writer-director James L. Brooks and his talented cast infuse the seemingly cloying, clichéd material with enough warmth, wisdom, wit, and brutal honesty to elevate it high above typical genre entries. While not as searing and revelatory as some family dramas, 'Terms of Endearment' strikes many chords, and its undeniable humanity keeps it relatable. It will make you laugh, it certainly will make you cry (if it doesn't, you're made of stone), and most importantly, it will make you cherish the relationships in your own life, especially the rocky ones.

If ever a film runs the gamut of emotions, it's 'Terms of Endearment,' and though nothing in its trailer would suggest the movie is anything but an innocuous, light-hearted look at familial foibles, things take a serious turn during the narrative's final quarter. Some find the jarring change of tone difficult to swallow and out of left field, but life is notorious for throwing curveballs, and the way the film reflects such devastating unpredictability is one of its many strengths. Another is Brooks' adaptation of Larry McMurtry's novel, which brings a gallery of distinct characters to brilliant life. Brooks' previous experience in TV sitcoms (he produced such legendary programs as 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' and 'Taxi') helps him fashion an appropriate rhythm of dialogue that lends the various verbal zingers and snappy retorts maximum impact. He also laces the serious scenes with just the right level of humor to continually emphasize each character's unique qualities.

And it's those qualities that make almost every character a gem. Arguably one of the all-time great female screen roles, Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) is an uptight, judgmental, uncompromising pillar of strength who loves her daughter Emma (Debra Winger) unconditionally, but often shrouds her affection with relentless criticism and blunt remarks. A prisoner of her rigid principles, Aurora disapproves of Emma's impending nuptials to English professor Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels), telling her in classic Aurora fashion, "You are not special enough to overcome a bad marriage." Nonplussed but undeterred, the free-wheeling, equally outspoken Emma goes ahead with the union, and almost immediately begins having children and relishing her life as a stay-at-home mom. Marital stresses between Emma and Flap do develop, however, changing the direction and dynamics of their lives, just as a fed-up Aurora decides to throw caution to the wind, dump her three worshipping yet impotent suitors, and pursue a relationship with her randy next-door neighbor, Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson), a drunken former astronaut who over the years has used his lofty status to bed a bevy of young babes. As Aurora and Emma try to manage their respective bumpy relationships, they also try to come to terms with each other, but an unexpected illness rocks the foundation of both their lives.

Juggling humor and pathos is tricky business, but Brooks navigates the dangerous minefield with aplomb, as do his actors, whose spot-on performances are a joy to watch. First and foremost, it's impossible to imagine anyone other than MacLaine as Aurora. Like Bette Davis' Margo Channing in 'All About Eve,' Judy Garland's Dorothy in 'The Wizard of Oz,' and Vivien Leigh's Scarlett O'Hara in 'Gone With the Wind,' Aurora is MacLaine's signature role, and she puts her indelible stamp on the often maddening, always spirited, and forever feisty character. Whether freaking out over the prospect of becoming a grandmother, trading barbs with Nicholson over lunch, extolling the ecstasy of middle-age sex, or, in her most memorable moment, hysterically chewing out a brigade of hospital nurses as she implores them to "give my daughter the shot!!!!", MacLaine is nothing less than genuine, and her admirable work justly earned her a long overdue Academy Award.

Reportedly, MacLaine and Winger did not get along at all off-screen, rarely speaking to each other when the cameras stopped rolling, yet their on-screen rapport is legendary. Their conversations brim with the heightened level of intimacy only a real mother and daughter could achieve, and Winger's naturalness, spunk, warmth, and deep attachment to her mother and children shine through at every turn. Hers is another bravura performance, and it's a shame she couldn't have been honored with an Oscar as well.

And then there's Nicholson. In a supporting role, Jack plays a character as delightfully devilish as his own persona, and comes close to stealing every scene in which he appears. With classic lines like "We're going to need a lot of drinks...to kill the bug up your ass," "I'd rather stick needles in my eyes," and "I was inches from a clean getaway," all delivered with an impish glint, Nicholson gets plenty of laughs, but also displays a rare sensitivity and tenderness that makes his portrayal utterly winning. He, too, won a well-deserved Oscar, beating out co-star John Lithgow (also memorable as Emma's mild-mannered, sexually frustrated lover), the first of two he would receive in Brooks films. (The other came 14 years later for 'As Good as It Gets.' ) Also worthy of a nomination, Jeff Daniels, as Emma's irresponsible, selfish, and philandering husband, files a marvelously nuanced performance that launched a stellar film career.

Any discussion of 'Terms of Endearment,' however, would not be complete without lauding the excellent work of the movie's child actors. Brooks wrings from this juvenile quartet some of the most natural and affecting portrayals I have ever seen. The reactions shots of Troy Bishop as Emma and Flap's sullen and resentful son Tommy are especially telling, and the unvarnished emotion expressed by adorable Huckleberry Fox as younger son Teddy during a devastating scene will truly break your heart. It's moments such as these that heighten the story's impact and make the film resonate.

'Terms of Endearment' shows its age around the edges, but remains a delightfully humorous, deeply affecting study of interpersonal relationships. Like the tagline says, "Come to laugh, come to cry, come to care, come to terms." Such simplicity defines this intimate movie that celebrates our emotional complexities and the ties that both bind us and rip us apart.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

'Terms of Endearment' arrives on Blu-ray packaged in a standard case. Video codec is 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 and default audio is DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Once the disc is inserted into the player, the static menu immediately pops up; no previews or promos precede it.

Video Review

Warner has fashioned a faithful 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 transfer that maintains the movie's medium grain structure, yet features excellent clarity and contrast. The pristine print is devoid of any marks, nicks, or scratches, and though some scenes sport a more textured look than others, due to fluctuating grain levels, the film maintains a refreshing natural appearance that suits the intimate subject matter well. Colors are bright and vibrant, with the flowers in Aurora's garden, the green foliage, and various bits of costuming exuding a lovely sheen, but fleshtones err a tad toward the orange side. Inky black levels lend appropriate weight to nocturnal scenes, while whites remain stable and resist blooming.

Close-ups exhibit wonderful amounts of fine detail, allowing us to drink in the varied nuances of individual performances, yet background elements tend to be slightly fuzzy, especially in scenes with pronounced depth of field. No noise, banding, or crush afflict the image, however, and any digital tinkering has been judiciously applied and escapes notice. Though I haven't seen any other home video editions of 'Terms of Endearment,' I can't imagine this Best Picture winner looking better than it does here. Fans should be pleased with this solid rendering; just don't expect any revelatory moments.

Audio Review

Two audio options are included on the disc - a new lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and a restored Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track. The DTS-HD MA sound is full bodied and well modulated, but both surround activity and front-channel stereo separation are practically non-existent. The music score nicely fills the room and is distinguished by excellent fidelity and tonal depth, but not much in the way of ambient effects bleed into the rears. 'Terms of Endearment' is, after all, a dialogue-driven film, but accents such as screeching tires and an over-active washing machine are crisp and distinct. A wide dynamic scale keeps distortion at bay, even when MacLaine gets a little screechy, and though the subwoofer is all but silent, subtle bass frequencies possess good weight and provide essential warmth to the track.

The all-important conversations are clear and easy to comprehend, and any age-related imperfections, such as hiss, pops, and crackles have been meticulously erased. Solid but unspectacular is the best way to describe this workmanlike transfer that never muscles in on the narrative and its powerful emotional thread.

Special Features

Just a couple of extras are included. A retrospective featurette with MacLaine, Winger, Nicholson, Daniels, and Lithgow would have been a special feature indeed, but is not part of this package.

Final Thoughts

One of the best films ever produced about the vagaries of familial relationships, 'Terms of Endearment' deftly balances humor with heartbreak as it examines the tug of war between a mother and daughter, husband and wife, and next-door neighbors who form a most unlikely union. A superb script and top-notch performances distinguish this deserved Best Picture winner that wrings every ounce of emotion from the material, which runs the gamut from hilarious one-liners to some of the most unabashed tear-jerking moments ever committed to celluloid. Warner's Blu-ray presentation is short on supplements, but solid video and audio transfers make this catalogue release worthy of a purchase for fans. And if you've never seen this intimate, involving film, now is the perfect time to experience its warmth and wit. Highly recommended.

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Every Movie Jack Nicholson Was Oscar-Nominated For, Ranked

"Forget it, Jack. It's Oscartown."

Few actors have been in as many classic movies as Jack Nicholson , whose humble beginnings in the 1960s (mostly supporting roles in B-movies) gradually raised his profile, with an Oscar nomination by that decade’s end. During the 1970s, he reached a level of stardom that made him one of the most celebrated actors of his generation, and his reputation is still strong to this date, even with the actor retiring in 2010.

He's one of the most-nominated actors in Oscar history , and with three wins to his name, he joins a prestigious club of actors with only six members (while only one person, Katherine Hepburn , has won four Oscars for acting). Those 12 movies that earned Jack Nicholson an Oscar nomination for action are ranked below, not necessarily by how good Nicholson is in them (though that plays a role), but by how good they are as movies overall, starting with the decent and ending with the great.

12 'Ironweed' (1983)

Director: héctor babenco.

Ironweed is probably the most obscure movie for which Jack Nicholson received an acting nomination at the Oscars, and there’s an argument to be made it’s also the worst film in this category. It sounds like it could be something on paper, especially because Nicholson stars alongside fellow three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep , and indeed, both were nominated for the performances they gave .

But the film itself is a little boring, sadly, revolving around two people having a tumultuous relationship following the Great Depression; Nicholson’s character being defined by his alcoholism, and Streep’s being terminally ill. Given the story and when the movie’s set, Ironweed isn’t supposed to be a fun time, but it would’ve been nice if the drama had just been more compelling. The two leads do their best with what they’re given, but it’s probably only worth seeking out for the most dedicated fans of either.

Rent on Apple TV

11 'As Good as It Gets' (1997)

Director: james l. brooks.

Proving successful critically, commercially, and awards-wise upon release, As Good as It Gets not only got Jack Nicholson his penultimate Oscar nomination, but also his third and final win. In the film, he plays an intensely unlikable individual who strikes up a relationship with a younger woman and slowly – very slowly, considering the nearly 2.5-hour runtime – learns to be a bit less of a jerk to those around him.

Just like how the depression of Ironweed was intentional, the meanness of As Good as It Gets is a part of the film, but nowadays, it feels like it pushes things a little too far while also giving the main character too simple and unearned a redemption arc . It might’ve worked for the 1990s, and people clearly liked Nicholson’s performance and the film as a whole, but it’s aged kind of lousily, to be perfectly honest.

As Good As It Gets

10 'prizzi's honor' (1985), director: john huston.

Things start to turn around a little here, because even though Prizzi’s Honor isn’t amazing, it is surprisingly good, and it’s possible to even call it one of Jack Nicholson’s more underrated movies . He plays a hitman who works for a very wealthy crime family, though beyond being about crime, it’s also a romantic comedy, given much of it revolves around Nicholson’s character falling for a woman who’s also an assassin.

Beyond Nicholson, two other people got Oscar nominations for their roles in Prizzi’s Honor : William Hickey and Anjelica Huston , with the latter also winning. As far as darkly comedic crime movies from the 1980s go, it generally works fairly well. It can’t be called a criminally overlooked film, but it’s definitely a little overlooked , seeming to have an impact upon release (it got eight Oscar nominations) without necessarily being remembered as a classic. It's not, but it's also far from bad.

Rent on Amazon

9 'A Few Good Men' (1992)

Director: rob reiner.

A highly-regarded courtroom drama , A Few Good Men stands out within the genre for not being about a typical criminal or civil case, but instead centering on military law. Namely, the case at the center of A Few Good Men involves a pair of U.S. marines being on trial for allegedly killing another, with the case unfolding certain complex secrets that some individuals would rather be kept suppressed.

Those well-versed with movies that are largely set in courtrooms might not find a ton here to be surprised by, even with the plot of the film involving a court-martial, but it’s still generally well-acted, presented, and written. Jack Nicholson has something of a villainous role here and makes the most of his somewhat infrequent screen time , succeeding – as he often does – at stealing the scenes he does show up in.

A Few Good Men

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8 'Reds' (1981)

Director: warren beatty.

Reds is an absolutely huge movie with a remarkable cast, and stands as one of the longest-ever movies to get a Best Picture nomination at the Academy Awards . Directed by and starring Warren Beatty in what’s clearly a passion project, it tells a story based on true events about U.S. journalist John Reed being inspired by what he witnessed of the October Revolution in Russia during the 1910s, and set about trying to introduce socialist ideas in his home country.

It spans many years, and on top of being a historical drama, also works in an element of romance, which involves Nicholson’s character, playwright Eugene O'Neill , being involved with activist Louise Bryant ( Diane Keaton ), whom Reed is also in love with. Reds bites off a good deal and manages to chew the majority of it, and it ended up being nominated for a staggering 12 Oscars (ultimately winning three).

7 'Terms of Endearment' (1983)

Terms of Endearment isn’t the only Best Picture winner Jack Nicholson appeared in, given he also starred in the winner for 2006, the Martin Scorsese crime/thriller, The Departed . However, he wasn’t Oscar-nominated for his (very entertaining) performance there, so that’s the only time that movie will get mentioned here. Also, another notable omission: Nicholson wasn’t nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Shining , even though that’s typically regarded as one of his best films.

Anyway, back to Terms of Endearment . It was a well-awarded dramedy that mostly revolved around the relationship between a mother and her daughter, and the way their dynamic was further challenged by the latter getting diagnosed with cancer. Nicholson won an Oscar here, his second overall and his only one for a supporting performance, playing a retired astronaut/neighbor of the mother character, who was played by Shirley MacLaine (who also won an Oscar for her role). It’s a good movie. Not great, nor the best of the Best Picture winners, but it works well as a quintessential cinematic tearjerker .

Terms of Endearment

6 'easy rider' (1969), director: dennis hopper.

While it’s certainly a product of its time, there is something inherently compelling about Easy Rider that endures some 50+ years later . And, at worst, most will be able to appreciate what it was for its time, and how radical it would’ve seemed at the time of its release: a moment in history that itself was – at least in hindsight – rather tumultuous and tied with a certain rebellious spirit .

That all might sound a little lofty and vague, but that’s because it’s hard to talk about Easy Rider in the traditional sense, given there’s little by way of narrative, by design. It’s a road trip sort of movie about two bikers going on a long – and potentially doomed – journey, with everything getting progressively darker and more psychedelic as it goes along. It’s a film that’s earned its reputation as a decade-defining cult classic , and is also a pivotal one within Jack Nicholson’s body of work, seeing as it earned him his very first Oscar nomination.

5 'Five Easy Pieces' (1970)

Director: bob rafelson.

A straightforward, downbeat, and character-focused drama film , Five Easy Pieces came just one year on from Easy Rider . While that film saw Nicholson play a very memorable – yet still relatively brief – supporting role, Five Easy Pieces was the movie that well and truly established his capacity to not only carry a movie, but carry it in such a way that would be considered worthy of awards attention.

It’s a movie all about a man struggling with the dead-end nature of his life, reckoning with not feeling able to live up to certain expectations and struggling with issues in both his relationship and within his family. Five Easy Pieces is the sort of thing that would sink or swim based, in large part, on how good the central performance is , and Jack Nicholson undoubtedly delivers, with this being the second part of a one-two-punch – alongside the also “ Easy ” Easy Rider – that solidified his star power.

4 'About Schmidt' (2002)

Director: alexander payne.

Barring some sort of very unexpected comeback, About Schmidt is very likely to remain the final film for which Jack Nicholson received an Oscar nomination. It certainly wasn’t his last good movie, but it was a fitting final one when we’re just talking about those that got him Academy Award attention, because he carries the film and is pivotal in helping both its humorous and melancholic scenes work effectively.

About Schmidt is about Schmidt (first name Warren), a retired man embarking on a reasonably long journey to attend the wedding of a daughter he’s become largely estranged from. It’s perhaps one of Jack Nicholson’s very best movies , and is certainly worth watching for anyone who enjoyed some of Alexander Payne’s better-known movies, as About Schmidt doesn’t seem to be quite as well-remembered as some other films of his , like Sideways and Nebraska , even though it scratches a similar itch.

About Schmidt

3 'the last detail' (1973), director: hal ashby.

The Oscars seem to really love the kinds of Jack Nicholson movies where plot takes a backseat to characters, because The Last Detail is pretty simple from a narrative perspective. It’s about a young and troubled sailor being escorted from one location to another by two older men, both of whom feel sorry for the young man and decide to show him a good time while they’re all on the trip together.

The Last Detail is quiet but surprisingly moving, and balances its sadder moments with some solid comedy , as well as a surprising amount of profanity for a film of its age. It’s up there as one of the best dramedies of the 1970s , and it’s a shame Nicholson didn’t collaborate with director Hal Ashby again (truth be told, it’s unfortunate Ashby didn’t make more movies in general).

Watch on Tubi

2 'Chinatown' (1974)

Director: roman polanski.

Speaking of great 1970s movies, here’s Chinatown . This is perhaps the definitive neo-noir movie, but more broadly, you could also describe it as one of the greatest crime/mystery films ever made . It takes place during the 1930s, and follows a private detective named Jake Gittes as he takes on a case that initially just seems to involve infidelity, but turns out to be part of a much larger – and more deadly – conspiracy.

Things unfold slowly but steadily in Chinatown , and it all culminates with one of the bleakest and most legendary movie endings of all time. It’s a film where everything it could be praised for, it has been praised for, and Jack Nicholson’s Oscar-nominated lead performance is just one of the many great things the film’s got going for it . It’s a shame it had stiff competition in the form of 1974’s The Godfather: Part II , which was the biggest Oscar success for that year, as it won six trophies (including Best Picture).

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1 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' (1975)

Director: miloš forman.

1973 to 1975 saw Jack Nicholson have a remarkable run of stellar and amazingly well-acted movies, with The Last Detail being followed by Chinatown , and then Chinatown being followed by One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest . Within this trio of movies, the best was saved for last , as not only is One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest arguably the greatest of the three, but it was also the movie that got Nicholson his first Oscar win.

It's a perfectly written movie , with Nicholson portraying a charismatic and flawed hero of sorts, as well as Louise Fletcher playing an all-time great movie villain , and herself winning an Oscar. Telling a story about finding hope within a bleak environment, and rebelling against tyranny (in a way), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest continues to endure as a great film, and will likely never lose its emotional power.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

NEXT: The Most Underrated Jack Nicholson Movies, Ranked

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Terms of Endearment

• Follows hard-to-please Aurora looking for love and her daughter's family problems.
• Aurora and Emma are mother and daughter who march to different drummers. Beginning with Emma's marriage, Aurora shows how difficult and loving she can be. The movie covers several years of their lives as each finds different reasons to go on living and find joy. Aurora's interludes with Garrett Breedlove, retired astronaut and next door neighbor are quite striking. In the end, different people show their love in very different ways. — John Vogel <[email protected]>
• Approximately ten years in what is the complex relationship between long widowed Houston-based upper middle class Aurora Greenway and her adult daughter Emma Horton is presented. There is general love and affection between the two, which is nonetheless characterized by Aurora's overbearing and judgmental nature and Emma's need for acceptance from her mother regardless. Aurora's focus on being a constant influence on Emma's life was strengthened upon the death of Aurora's husband/Emma's father Rudyard when Emma was an adolescent. Despite allowing a few ardent but rather undistinguished admirers into her life, Aurora did not actively pursue romance following being widowed, again turning that energy largely to Emma. This phase of Aurora and Emma's story starts when Emma marries Flap Horton, of who Aurora openly disapproves as a man she considers ambitionless (as he wants to be an academic). Aurora and Emma's relationship hits some further challenges when Emma, Flap and their children at whatever given time make moves away from Houston for Flap's career advancement. Although Aurora and Emma talk frequently on the phone due to the distance, Emma, a stay at home mom, is largely left to deal with the issues in her and Flap's less than perfect marriage on her own. Meanwhile, with extra time without Emma nearby and the hands of time slowly passing, Aurora eventually decides to take a chance and ultimately accept a date with her longtime next door neighbor Garrett Breedlove, an aging astronaut to who she never really even talked over the years due to their outward differences. While Garrett is miles away from the gentility that Aurora seems to admire in others and in herself, Aurora is conversely unlike most of the women Garrett pursues, he using his celebrity status to chase after nubile young women half his age. — Huggo
• Widow Aurora Greenway and her daughter, Emma, have a strong bond, but Emma marries teacher Flap Horton against her mother's wishes. When the marriage grows sour due to Flap's cheating, Emma eventually splits from him, returning to her mother, who is involved with a former astronaut. — Jwelch5742
• Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) and her daughter Emma (Debra Winger) are both searching for deep romantic love. The film opens with Emma's early childhood, Aurora reveals how difficult and caring she can be by nearly climbing into Emma's crib in order to make sure her daughter is breathingonly to be reassured when Emma starts crying (after being woken up). After the death of Aurora's husband and Emma's father, Rudyard, Aurora and Emma develop an extremely close love-hate mother/daughter relationship as Emma grows up. Skipping forward several years, Emma gets married immediately upon graduating from high school in the Houston area, to Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels), of whom Aurora so disapproves that she refuses to attend the wedding. Emma's best friend Patsy Clark (Lisa Hart Caroll) continues on to college, eventually becoming successful and rich in New York City. Over the next few years, Emma has two children with Flap, a college professor who relocates the family to a university in Des Moines, Iowa, separating the family hundreds of miles from Emma's meddlesome mother. Emma later telephones to ask her mother for money when she is pregnant with her third child. Aurora, not knowing by the telephone call that Emma is already several months into her pregnancy, wants Emma to get an abortion. Emma's once-passionate marriage to Flap becomes strained, thanks mostly to his philandering. Emma eventually has a secret romantic affair of her own with a married small-town older banker, Sam Burns (John Lithgow). Meanwhile back in Houston, Aurora remains celibate but cultivates the attention of several gentlemen in the area, some rather bizarre. However, she is attracted to her next-door neighbor of 15 years, the womanizing, alcoholic retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove (Jack Nicholson). Aurora and Garrett eventually go on a lunch date, make love, and develop a tenuous relationship. Emma returns to her mother's home in Houston after discovering her husband is having an affair with a young grad student named Janice (Kate Charleston). Emma's appearance along with her three young children makes Garrett uncomfortable, as he has been single for a long time. Flap telephones and she reluctantly returns home to Iowa, trying to reconcile with him. Unwilling to become a one-woman man, Garrett breaks up with Aurora, making her feel "humiliated." Emma ends her relationship with Sam as soon as Flap accepts a new teaching position in Kearney, Nebraska. Although she does not want to, Emma agrees to relocate to further Flap's career. She soon discovers that Janice is attending the same college where Flap now works, realizing that Flap followed her to Nebraska. Emma angrily confronts Janice before taking daughter Melanie to the doctor's office so both can get flu shots. While administering the injection, Emma's doctor notices two large lumps under Emma's armpit. Although Emma is only in her 30s, the doctor orders a biopsy and discovers she has cancer. To cheer her up, Patsy invites Emma to New York City for her first vacation without her children. However, after arriving, Emma feels out-of-place among Patsy's friends and returns home early to begin chemotherapy treatment for her illness. Her doctor soon breaks the news that the drugs she was taking did not have the desired effect, and that Emma will not survive her illness. Flap and Aurora remain by her bedside in the hospital for weeks. Although devastated and exhausted, Aurora is still very supportive and loving towards Emma. Garrett flies to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he surprises Aurora, who confesses her love for him. He issues his stock reply: "I love you, too, kid." In a discussion in the hospital cafeteria, Aurora tells Flap bluntly that he does not have the energy managing a job, chasing women, and raising children. Patsy, who has no children of her own, wants to adopt Melanie, but Flap and Emma do not want their kids to be separated. Emma also doesn't want Janice to raise her children, so Flap, feeling like a failure as both a father and a husband, agrees that having them live with Aurora is best. As Emma's time begins to run short, eldest child Tommy shows open resentment toward his mother due to circumstances such as social class, fights between his parents, and Tommy's perception of feeling unloved. Emma reassures her two sons, and, after an altercation with Aurora (she slaps him in the hospital parking lot for criticizing his mother), Tommy weeps in his grandmother's arms. Emma dies later that night. Following the funeral, Emma's friends and family gather in Aurora's backyard for a memorial service. Garrett shows affection toward each of Emma's children and helps Tommy cope during the wake. The film closes on Aurora, sitting next to Melanie.

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Terms of Endearment: Movie Review

Terms of Endearment is a 1983 romantic comedy-drama film adapted by James L. Brooks from the novel by Larry McMurtry. It’s story of Emma who is diagnosed with cancer and how she reignites her relationships.

The film will leave you in splits of laughter at one moment and in tears the next. It deals with love of all kinds and leaves a sweet aftertaste for a long time. Released in 1983, starring Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger and Jack Nicholson, it won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress (Shirley MacLaine) and Best Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson) and four Golden Globes.

Cancer – The end or the beginning?

Aurora Greenway (MacLaine) is the overprotective and difficult mother of Emma (Winger). They share a tenuous relationship and Emma marries Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels) almost only to get away from her mother. However, the mother-daughter relationship endures even after Emma moves away with her husband and child, and grows through daily telephone calls.

The story progresses and unexpectedly one day Emma is diagnosed with cancer. She reconciles with her philandering husband, her children and her mother. Every relationship she has is laid to rest peacefully in her mind.

The little acts of love shown – Breedlove turning up at the hospital after their breakup to support Aurora; Emma telling her confused pre-teen son that she loves him and she knows that he loves her too even if he acts like he hates her; Aurora screaming at the nurses for her daughter’s pain medications – create deep impressions.

What does this movie tell us?

Terms of Endearment shows what cancer can do to relationships, the hardships and the mends and everything in between.

In Emma’s words,

“In less than two hours, two of them told me that they’d had abortions. Three of them told me they were divorced.  One hasn’t talked to her mother in four years.  And the one that has little Natalie in a boarding school because she has to travel for her job? Hell, Patsy! Oh, the one with the yeast disease that thought she had vaginal herpes? If that’s fit conversation for lunch, what’s so god-awful terrible about my little tumours?… I want you to tell them it ain’t so tragic! People do get better. Tell them it’s OK to talk about the cancer!”

Movie : “ Terms of Endearment ” by James L. Brook ( This link is for your information only. We do not earn any commissions/ fees when you click it and/or when you purchase the book .)

Written by Shruthi, a first-year student of Mass Communications from Mt Carmel College, Bangalore.

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‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Finale Retries the ‘Seinfeld’ Ending, Just for Laughs

Ben travers.

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[Editor’s Note: The following review contains spoilers for “Curb Your Enthusiasm” Season 12 , Episode 10, “No Lessons Learned” — the series finale.]

Larry can barely contain his laughter, even as he continues outlining the parameters of this utterly fictitious dilemma. Sure, he and Jerry could be dealing with serious issues, like: Is Larry going to end up in prison? Will Jerry take the stand to defend Larry’s honor? What will he say? What can he do? Will anything make a lick of difference in the face of all these witnesses coming forward to defame David’s already dubious reputation?

But they don’t talk about any of that. Their two-minute reunion doesn’t make any headway toward Larry’s ultimate fate. Why not? Because it doesn’t matter to Larry. He couldn’t care less, and he’s told us as much in a million different ways — in the finale, during Season 12, and across the preceding 110 episodes. But he does it again, and again, and again in the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” not-so-subtle finale, including in this critical scene. When Jerry first arrives, he’s worried. He hugs Larry. He defends Larry. He cares about Larry.

“So how are you getting through this?” Jerry says. “You’re sitting in court all day — what do you think about?”

Everyone is up in arms. Even Jerry is concerned. But Larry doesn’t care.

OK, clearly, he cares a little bit. You don’t base an entire episode around the “Seinfeld” finale because you’ve moved on. But David’s primary goal isn’t rewriting history. While the episode references, follows, and reverses (at first blush) the oft-criticized “Seinfeld” ending — as many had predicted thanks to plenty of foreshadowing peppered throughout Season 12 — it’s not an apology for his vilified ending to the NBC sitcom. It’s not a mea culpa or a do-over. If anything, it’s David doubling down on what he did 25 years ago. It’s Larry being Larry, and we should love him for it.

When “Seinfeld” ended, the common complaints were that its closing notes were too harsh and not funny enough. From a certain vantage point, “Curb Your Enthusiasm’s” conclusion could be seen as amending both issues. Larry, in the end, is a free man, and the episode itself is very, very funny. Larry complaining about a squealer calling out his cell phone usage only to then squeal on Leon (J.B. Smoove) and Jeff (Jeff Garlin) for the same thing? Funny. Allison Janney blocking Larry from exiting the freeway by giving him the bird, and then denying it later? Funny. Larry catching her in a lie about suicide ? I mean, come on. Classic Larry.

Viewers’ mileage for meta comedy and nostalgic quips may vary, but the bigger picture painted by “No Lessons Learned” is still a winner. “Curb” may end with Larry on the plane, arguing with his best buds about who has the right to control an airplane’s window shade, but before that, the finale comes to the same conclusion as “Seinfeld”: Larry is guilty. He’s sentenced to a year in prison. The prosecution’s parade of character witnesses worked, from Mocha Joe (Saverio Guerra) and Mr. Takahashi (Dana Lee) to Bruce Springsteen (as himself) and Auntie Rae Black (Ellia English). The crowd outside turned on him (just as it embraced Ted). The world turned on him. He’s left alone in his cell.

…and he’s fine with it. Of course he is! Larry strikes up a conversation with a fellow inmate about that annoying “pants tent” plaguing khakis, and director Jeff Schaffer’s camera starts to pull back, just like it did when “Seinfeld” ended on Jerry, George (Jason Alexander), Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and Kramer (Michael Richards) repeating one of their old conversations .

Then their lives proceeded accordingly. After all they went through, they were unchanged. And so is Larry.

The “Seinfeld” finale argues that these four friends are unfit for society. The “Curb” finale contends Larry doesn’t belong either. It’s only by the grace of his good friend Jerry — who spots a jury member violating his sequester, thus causing a mistrial in Larry’s case — that he’s a free man in the end. “You don’t want to end up like this,” Jerry says. “Nobody wants to see it.” And he’s right. We don’t. We didn’t then, with “Seinfeld,” because we loved those four mooks despite their flaws, and we don’t now, especially when Larry has been proven right so many times over during the episode. (It’s also fitting, realistically, that a rich and powerful guy like Larry could evade punishment, while the “Seinfeld” crew would have no such recourse.)

If the “Curb” finale is meant to rewrite the “Seinfeld” ending in any way, it’s during that first scene between Jerry and Larry. Their silly hypothetical about the Bearded Lady lets us see Larry and Jerry, the co-creators of “Seinfeld,” cracking each other up. They’re playing out the kind of scene they used to write for Jerry and George, and getting that silly, joyful spark between two TV legends — even for a moment — is pure bliss. Maybe that finale didn’t have enough of those moments for some of you, but this one sure does. And either way, Larry doesn’t give a shit. He’s just having a laugh.

“Curb Your Enthusiasm” is available from HBO and can be streamed on Max.

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