Terms of Endearment

Widowed Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) keeps several suitors at arm's length in Houston, focusing instead on her close, but controlling, relationship with daughter Emma (Debra Winger). Anxious to escape her mother, Emma marries callow young college professor Flap Horton (Jeff Daniels) over her mother's objections, moves away, and has three children. Despite their frequent spats and difficulty getting along, Emma and Aurora have a very close tie between them, and keep in touch by telephone.