I generally leave this type of tear-jerker to my mother, and I honestly had no real desire to ever watch it. So, when I was roped into seeing this film and found myself actually caring about what happens to the characters, I was pleasantly surprised.
The performances, especially Shirley MacLaine's, are very emotionally charged, yet believable. I found myself really liking and really disliking each character in turn, but that's what makes them real.
The plot bounces right along and the film is all-together very watchable (even for a seasoned chick-flick hater such as myself). Larry McMurtry always had a penchant for entertaining story-telling, and this movie is no exception.
The only character I had trouble believing was Garrett Breedlove. As much as I respect Jack Nicholson's ability, not even he could make his corny antics work. Garrett the astronaut stuck out like a sore--albeit sometimes amusing--thumb among all the other "ordinary" people. Nicholson did what he could with it, but the subplot itself just seemed like it belonged in a different movie.
All in all, a good flick, even if you typically don't go in for movies that try to evoke the full gamut of human emotion in two hours flat.
The performances, especially Shirley MacLaine's, are very emotionally charged, yet believable. I found myself really liking and really disliking each character in turn, but that's what makes them real.
The plot bounces right along and the film is all-together very watchable (even for a seasoned chick-flick hater such as myself). Larry McMurtry always had a penchant for entertaining story-telling, and this movie is no exception.
The only character I had trouble believing was Garrett Breedlove. As much as I respect Jack Nicholson's ability, not even he could make his corny antics work. Garrett the astronaut stuck out like a sore--albeit sometimes amusing--thumb among all the other "ordinary" people. Nicholson did what he could with it, but the subplot itself just seemed like it belonged in a different movie.
All in all, a good flick, even if you typically don't go in for movies that try to evoke the full gamut of human emotion in two hours flat.