Shirley MacLaine won her Oscar for the superb comedy-tragedy "Terms of Endearment," as the feisty Aurora Greenway, an independent middle-aged woman who can't refrain from trying to run her daughter's life.
In that film, the daughter (Debra Winger) was a troubled woman who ultimately contracted a fatal disease and had to decide what to do about her flaky husband and three young children. In the end, when she dies, it is left to Aurora to raise the kids, and the audience is left wondering how in the world they'll turn out.
But there are some questions better left unanswered, as proven by "The Evening Star," an ill-advised sequel that tries desperately to duplicate the first film's love-hate relationship between mother and daughter.
This new film begins 15 years later, and the love-hate relationship is now between grandmother and granddaughter, as aging Aurora finds 18-year-old Melanie (Juliette Lewis) to be more than a handful. If that's not enough, Melanie's two younger brothers are also troublesome - one is in prison and the other has an out-of-wedlock family.
The Aurora-Melanie story is nominally the film's centerpiece, but there are two other parallel stories going on as well. One has to do with Aurora's continuing rivalry with her late daughter's best friend Patsy (Miranda Richardson), a much-married (and monied) divorcee who is very much a part of Melanie's life. And along with this story is Aurora's relationship with a much-younger man (Bill Paxton), who sparks some additional rivalry with Patsy.
The other story has to do with Aurora's relationship with her longtime maid and best friend Rosie (Marion Ross). When Melanie heads off to California with her ne'er-do-well boyfriend (Scott Wolf) and Rosie decides to accept the proposal of their next-door neighbor (Ben Johnson), Aurora finds herself truly alone.
And toward the end of the film, former astronaut Garrett Breedlove, Aurora's next-door neighbor and sometime lover in "Terms of Endearment," returns for a brief cameo appearance. Why? Because he's played by Jack Nicholson.
What's interesting about this latter development is the jolt of energy Nicholson gives the film, albeit too little too late, and despite the fact that he appears to be a bit at sea, as if he's adlibbing all of his dialogue. (In fact, it almost looks like he dropped by the set to say hello and someone turned on a camera.)
Not that the main players aren't giving the film their all - they are. But they are let down by writer-director Robert Harling (a first-time director whose script credits include "The First Wives Club," "Steel Magnolias" and "Soap-ish"). The script is overly episodic, overly sentimental and overly predictable, and with the late-in-the-film death of a beloved character or two, it seems too much like a rehash of the first film. And Har-ling's heavy-handed direction doesn't help.
MacLaine dominates the film, of course, and she is a powerhouse, and Richardson manages to hold her own with a performance full of pizazz. But the film's real surprise is Ross - best known for playing Richie's mom on TV's "Happy Days"! Her performance is very well-rounded, funny and touching, and she may well be in line for a best supporting actress Oscar nom-ination. In fact, it's fair to say that she pretty much steals the show, no easy feat in this ensemble.
Ben Johnson, who died shortly after finishing his role here, is also very good, as are Paxton and Donald Moffat.
And, in order to evoke the first film, Harling puts so many photographs of Debra Winger on display that she should get co-star billing.