The Evening Star

The Evening Star
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Harling
Screenplay byRobert Harling
Based onThe Evening Star
by Larry McMurtry
Produced byDavid Kirkpatrick
Polly Platt
Keith Samples
Starring
CinematographyDon Burgess
Edited byDavid Moritz
Music byWilliam Ross
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • December 25, 1996 (1996-12-25)
Running time
129 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[citation needed]
Box office$12.8 million[citation needed]

The Evening Star is a 1996 American comedy drama film directed by Robert Harling, adapted from the 1992 novel by Larry McMurtry. It is a sequel to the Academy Award-winning 1983 film Terms of Endearment starring Shirley MacLaine, who reprises the role of Aurora Greenway, for which she won an Oscar in the original film.

Taking place about thirteen years after the original, following the characters from 1988 to 1993, the plot focuses on Aurora's relationship with her three grandchildren, her late daughter Emma's best friend Patsy and her longtime housekeeper Rosie. Along the way, Aurora enters into a relationship with a younger man, while watching the world around her change as old friends pass on and her grandchildren make lives of their own.

Miranda Richardson co-stars alongside Juliette Lewis, Marion Ross, Bill Paxton, and Ben Johnson in his final film role before his death; the film is dedicated to him. Jack Nicholson returns in an extended cameo appearance, reprising his role from Terms of Endearment.

Unlike its predecessor, The Evening Star received negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb.