The Evening Star (1996): Dir: Robert Harling / Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Juliette Lewis, Bill Paxton, Miranda Richardson, Jack Nicholson: Enlightening sequel to Terms of Endearment expressing the dusk of life. Shirley MacLaine reprises her role with many new family trials. She visits her son in jail realizing that the brownies she brings are always thrown away. Her daughter quit school and caught having sex with her boyfriend. She decides to see a shrink at the forceful request of her maid. This leads to fornication and a sense of freedom. Screenplay is disjointed and overuses the death theme. We are not as moved by the conclusion as we should be. Director Robert Harling does a fine job at continuing this family and is backed with beautiful photography. MacLaine holds strong as a woman needing a break from routine responsibilities. Juliette Lewis plays her daughter who aims to be an actress. Miranda Richardson plays a nosy neighbor whom MacLaine dislikes because she is closer to her daughter than she is. Bill Paxton plays a shrink with a showgirl mother. Their affair is predicted but her dealing with it is right. The one complaint is that Jack Nicholson merely makes an appearance here and it seems rather tacked on. With a tremendous ensemble cast this makes for a worthy followup to Terms of Endearment with themes regarding age and legacy that allow the star to shine. Score: 7 ½ / 10
Review of The Evening Star
