Movie Reviews from
By John Ruch
© 1996 CM Media, Inc.
The Evening Star (1996)
The most amazing thing about “The Evening Star,” the sequel to “Terms of Endearment,” is simply that it’s taken so long to appear.
Since the
1983 original made its box-office and Oscar splash, there’ve been three “Batman”s, a couple “Alien”s, a
couple “Terminator”s and God only knows how many “
The
original film was an overpraised soap opera about a
domineering
The sequel feels “Endearment”-y enough: MacLaine reprises her role, and the film is full of hugs and deaths and is very long. But it’s not quite the same, largely because original writer/director James Brooks is gone. (Hard to get work after you direct something like “I’ll Do Anything.”) He’s replaced in both positions by “Steel Magnolias” writer and debut director Robert Harling.
As a writer, Harling wisely sticks to the original film’s comedy-to-poignancy story curve. And he’s made the story self-contained enough to make seeing the original unnecessary.
As a director, he’s naturally uneven, and has trouble controlling his stars. MacLaine and Juliette Lewis (as MacLaine’s granddaughter) can both veer into chaotic hamminess if not strictly controlled, and both do just that quite often. Each has her moments, but consistency is nonexistent.
Bill Paxton, as a young counselor who falls for MacLaine, is similarly uneven, alternately idiotically flat and slyly charming. But he’s that way in all his work. Miranda Richardson, as MacLaine’s bitchy rival, is the one lead to hold her own.
The family-epic story meanders over about eight years, still never explaining why most of these people don’t have a Texan accent. A lot has the pathetic, obligatory sequel feel: When Nicholson makes a big cameo appearance, MacLaine reacts with, “Oh, it’s so great to see you,” and that’s about it.
Don’t
expect a lot of emotional punch. This is more like floating lazily down a river
and taking in the scenery. Some of it’s worth seeing, a lot of it isn’t.