Comeback kids

Debra Winger, “Rachel Getting Married”

Debra Winger leapt to fame opposite John Travolta in 1980’s “Urban Cowboy,” going on to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar three times—in 1982’s “An Officer and a Gentleman,” 1983’s “Terms of Endearment” and 1993’s “Shadowlands.” But for the past 15 years, she has all disappeared from sight (there was even a 2002 documentary called “Searching for Debra Winger”). She’s done a few indie films but her performance in this year’s “Rachel Getting Married,” as the deeply flawed mother of a dysfunctional character played by Anne Hathaway, has significantly raised her profile. When Winger lashes out at her daughter in a gut-wrenching scene of guilt and despair, it’s obvious that a death in the family is the sort of wound that never heals. Her Oscar buzz isn’t as deafening as Rourke’s, but it’s there.