Mike Nichols directs Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine and Dennis Quaid in this Hollywood drama based on Carrie Fisher’s semi-autobiographical novel about her addiction recovery.

Solid but lacks focus. Streep feels miscast. This needed someone a bit punkier, less vanilla in the lead… Pfeiffer? Rosanna Arquette? Why not Fisher herself? MacLaine as the spotlight hogging mom walks away with the movie ironically. Adds both grit and sparkle. Otherwise it is hard to really care as no aspect (addiction, maternal rivalry, choppy love life) is drilled into deep enough to hit a payload.

5

Perfect Double Bill: Terms of Endearment (1983)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/