The tagline for the movie posters should have been "We're slowly dying."

I feel this film makes a mockery of the subject of life and death. It becomes like a body count after a while. After the General's death, you're just rolling your eyes like "really?" The relationship of Aurora and her grandchildren, as well as their lives in general, take a backseat to this bummer of a death theme, whereas he opposite is true in Terms of Endearment - the fleshed-out relationship of a mother and daughter is the main theme and the subject of life and death is secondary.

Good things: Some good scenes and good acting make it worth watching once. I love the scene of Aurora carrying Rosie back to her house in the rain. I like the bonding scene between Teddy and Melanie in Aurora's room where Teddy hugs Melanie and orders her to laugh as a way to describe what their life with their mom around was like. (The added touch of a painting of Emma on Aurora's wall in that scene was moving but also kind of funny. It seems like such an Aurora thing to do. Those of us who already know Emma from "Terms" know she is the kind of person who would have chuckled at something that extravagant in her honor.) The scene of Aurora sneaking the photos to Tommy by way of the brownies was great. Marion Ross as Rosie was brilliant. Most of us only know her from Happy Days. If she didn't get nominated for an award for this movie, she should have been. Jack Nicholson's cameo as an older and wiser Garett Breedlove was great. I like that Jeff Daniels was not a part of the film. Nothing against Jeff Daniels, but that was very true to life. That happens sometimes and I like that they represented that. It's very fitting with the character of Flap and how he would behave. I enjoyed the thing with Aurora and her therapist. That was funny.

Not-so-good things: Patsy was miscast. Miranda Richardson is a good actress, but she played Patsy more like a wealthy southern belle. I can't even imagine Emma being friends with this Patsy. (That's the chick she smoked dope with?) They should have stuck with what the original actress in the first movie had done with the character. Patsy had money, but she was no snooty southern broad. And Aurora's dramatic death on Christmas Day was as cheesy as all get out.