In writing this blog, one of the things I am trying to do is watch every Best Picture winner. Sometimes it is a slog (The Broadway Melody), sometimes its a punishment (Tom Jones), sometimes it is puzzling (Marty), but a few times it has been majestic. This was one of those times. I adored this movie. Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger breath imperfect life into the mother/daughter dynamic and Jeff Daniels, Jack Nicholson, and John Lithgow all deliver muted performances that don't interfere with the powerhouse performances from their on-screen romances. I really want to seek out more from both MacLaine and Winger because I have loved pretty much everything I have seen them in and this movie allowed them to flex their acting muscles more than most. The story is the epitome of melodrama, while avoiding manipulation and the need for very much suspension of disbelief.
Looking at the films nominated for awards at the Oscars from this year, I have only seen 3. So, while I love this movie, I recognize that I still have a pretty significant blindspot in the early '80s.
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