This is another in a long line of Oscar winners that I've never seen, but I expect that's going to change as I get into the late 80s and 90s. As soon as this one gets rolling I find the feel of it familiar (As Good As It Gets and Spanglish make a lot more sense in the context of James L Brooks' career), and I can see why this was so exciting at the time.
It's wild to see Jack Nicholson segueing into the time that I first knew him as an actor - this is more Prizzi's Honor Jack than Cuckoo's Nest Jack. In fact, there's an awful lot of his Joker performance in this movie.
And I can't put my finger on why but I've never bought into Shirley MacLaine, except for her part in Walter Mitty but that's because I'm a sucker for everything in that one. But she was great here, too, and so was Winger, and Lithgow, and Daniels, and just the whole thing. I was really very impressed by it.
And then it goes for the jugular in a way that should have felt ham-fisted and cheap, but it somehow pulled it off for me by keeping clear of melodrama. There was something about the pacing of it that refused to linger on the most sentimental parts but just dropped emotional bombs and then moved on because there was more stuff to get to. And then, when it's done, it just ends - again, without lingering to make sure that you're feeling the weight of it, but just finishing up because it's done.
Very glad to have seen this one.
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