Let’s not beat around the bush. I possibly speak for most critics in acknowledging that it gives me zero pleasure to dismiss a late-career work from a beloved entertainment industry titan who has given us so much. James L. Brooks co-created epochal television with The Mary Tyler Moore Show , Taxi and The Simpsons ; he wrote and directed movies that explored complicated relationships with infinite wit and heart, notably Terms of Endearment , As Good as It Gets and the truly wonderful Broadcast News ; and he has lent his imprimatur as producer to a string of favorites, from Big and The War of the Roses through The Edge of Seventeen and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret .

Let’s not beat around the bush. I possibly speak for most critics in acknowledging that it g

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