As a movie standing by itself, The Evening Star is a decent film with strong performances by MacLaine and Richardson. However, as a sequel to Terms of Endearment, the movie is mostly middling.
The plot line starts off about fifteen to sixteen years after Terms ended. The grandchildren are now all grown, and each has their own problems. Aurora remains the queen bee, but feels like she is losing her family, as her grandchildren resent her interfering and blame her for their current state. Added to the mix is Patsy, Emma's rich best friend and Aurora's nemesis who feels like she could have done a better job raising Melanie. Also along for the ride is Rosie, Aurora's long term maid and companion.
The movie mainly follows Aurora as she attempts to deal with life, by dating various men and trying to put her grandchildren on the right path.
There are a number of problems with this movie. The first being the complete lack of Flap Horton, the children's father. Here, he has no role in his children's lives, and he is only briefly mentioned as living in New Mexico. The second issue is the character of Melanie. She is essentially a stand in for Emma in this movie, but the dynamic between her and Aurora is underdeveloped and does not work very well. The other two grandchildren, Tommy and Teddy, are even more underdeveloped. The fourth issue is the virtual cavalcade of death this movie becomes in its second half where three main characters die! The one positive note is the Patsy/Aurora relationship. Both actresses have a good chemistry and play well off each other. You can feel the way each resents the other, but it is also understood that at the end of the day, there is a grudging respect.
So overall, not a bad movie, but don't watch it expecting another Terms.
The plot line starts off about fifteen to sixteen years after Terms ended. The grandchildren are now all grown, and each has their own problems. Aurora remains the queen bee, but feels like she is losing her family, as her grandchildren resent her interfering and blame her for their current state. Added to the mix is Patsy, Emma's rich best friend and Aurora's nemesis who feels like she could have done a better job raising Melanie. Also along for the ride is Rosie, Aurora's long term maid and companion.
The movie mainly follows Aurora as she attempts to deal with life, by dating various men and trying to put her grandchildren on the right path.
There are a number of problems with this movie. The first being the complete lack of Flap Horton, the children's father. Here, he has no role in his children's lives, and he is only briefly mentioned as living in New Mexico. The second issue is the character of Melanie. She is essentially a stand in for Emma in this movie, but the dynamic between her and Aurora is underdeveloped and does not work very well. The other two grandchildren, Tommy and Teddy, are even more underdeveloped. The fourth issue is the virtual cavalcade of death this movie becomes in its second half where three main characters die! The one positive note is the Patsy/Aurora relationship. Both actresses have a good chemistry and play well off each other. You can feel the way each resents the other, but it is also understood that at the end of the day, there is a grudging respect.
So overall, not a bad movie, but don't watch it expecting another Terms.