Jennifer Aniston, best known for her iconic role as Rachel Green in the beloved 1990s sitcom Friends, has had an extraordinary journey in Hollywood. Her breakout role in the 1994 series catapulted her to stardom, and for ten memorable seasons, fans around the world laughed, cried, and rooted for her character. To this day, Friends continues to charm audiences on platforms like Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and YouTube.

But behind the bright lights and laughter, Aniston has always carried a sensitive, deeply emotional side — something fans got a rare glimpse of when she opened up about a particular film that never fails to move her. This isn’t just any movie. It’s the one she can watch over and over again, at any moment, just to relive the feeling, to reconnect with something personal — and to cry like a child.

The film? Terms of Endearment — the 1983 Oscar-winning drama that explores the complex, bittersweet relationship between a mother and daughter as they face love, betrayal, heartbreak, and ultimately, loss.

In the book You Gotta See This by Cindy Pearlman, Jennifer reveals her deep connection to the movie, saying: “I’ve seen Terms of Endearment hundreds of times. It’s one of those movies where you can turn it on or catch it at any point, and it just makes me burst into tears.”

There’s something hauntingly beautiful about the way Aniston speaks of this film — as though every scene stirs something buried deep inside her. One character, in particular, seems to awaken a memory of someone real. While she doesn’t mention names, it’s clear that Terms of Endearment is more than just a movie to her. It’s a portal, a mirror, reflecting a part of her own life, perhaps a loss, or a person she still holds dear.

During her years filming Friends, Jennifer lived a very public love story with Brad Pitt. Their relationship was Hollywood royalty, culminating in a grand wedding in July 2000. Pitt even appeared on Friends in Season 8, playing “Will,” a character who ironically held a grudge against Rachel. Despite the laughs, their real-life romance came to an end in 2005, with the couple citing “irreconcilable differences.” It was a breakup that shattered fans, and perhaps left emotional scars that still linger.

Could Terms of Endearment be Jennifer’s emotional safe space, a way to process that part of her life? Or is the film’s mother-daughter storyline what resonates most deeply? No one knows for sure, but what’s certain is that the movie touches her in a way few others can.

Starring Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, and Danny DeVito, Terms of Endearment earned widespread acclaim and took home five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress. The film is known for its emotional depth, it doesn’t shy away from life’s messiness. It lets the audience feel everything: the joy, the resentment, the helplessness, and the unconditional love that endures through it all.

On IMDb, the film has been called “a work of art,” with reviewers describing it as “undeniably gripping” and “an emotional rollercoaster that will have you rolling on the floor in one scene and sobbing uncontrollably in the next.”

Perhaps that’s exactly what makes this movie so meaningful to Jennifer Aniston. It allows her to let go, to remember, to feel. Whether it’s a particular line, a fleeting expression, or the heartbreak etched into the eyes of the characters — something in this film brings her back. To someone. To somewhere. To a version of herself that once loved, lost, and learned.

And so, whenever she needs to reconnect with those feelings, to embrace the ache and the beauty of it all, Jennifer presses play.

Because for her, Terms of Endearment isn’t just a movie. It’s a moment. A memory. A tearful reunion with emotions she’ll never outgrow.