I watched this film again having first seen it on late night TV in the mid 1980s when I was twenty. I thought it would be unintentionally funny, expecting it to have dated badly. How wrong I was! This film is an important timepiece, a fascinating insight in to hip west coast middle class life at a time when America was still on top of the world, yet to realize it would all be downhill from there. The film has stood up remarkably well, it's subject matter still poignant. The cultural and social concepts of fidelity are forever shifting, often turning full circle making films like B&C&T&A relevant and thought provoking some forty years after release. The film is beautifully directed by Mazursky, and is arguably the finest work ever done by all four leads in the film. I found it fascinating observing each performance closely – noting how the actors juggled their obvious affection for their character, while at the same time being true to Mazursky's raison d'être – a gentle dig at the new social mores of the wealthy west coast hip set. Delicately picking at the counter-culture as if choosing hors d'oeuvres from a waiter at a cocktail party, Bob and Carol experiment with dope, extra marital sex and new age group therapy. The dialogue sparkles, the actors so in tune with Mazursky's vision they breathe life in to what are essentially caricatures. At times the film is laugh out loud funny, though not unintentionally as I had expected. I was surprised to realize the film was released in 1969, thinking it was more an early 70s creation, so ahead of its' time does it seem even today. It was years before other artists dared tackle the difficult subject of middle class vacuity, and rarely with the eloquence and humour of this film. The film is also sumptuous to look at, Bob and Carol's elegant faux Spanish villa positively luxurious even by today's standards. The scene of the foursome cruising to Las Vegas in Ted's convertible Cadillac is an elegiac vision, a scene of America that no longer exists. A time when wealthy Americans still bought Cadillacs, when Las Vegas was seen as a place of glamor and fun and despite the social unrest and Vietnam, America was still big, brash and confident. The greatest civilization in the history of the world, all there to see as the white ragtop barrels down the highway, the foursome laughing and in high spirits – a scene that in some ways summed up the theme of the movie. With so much at their fingertips, the luckiest people to have ever lived, but they don't know what to do with the privilege. They are lost, their search for sexual and emotional fulfillment nothing more than a desperate search for meaning, a sad attempt to fill a nagging void. In the mid 1980s, former Eagle front man Don Henley had his last big hit with 'The Boys Of Summer', in which he sings of his dismay at seeing a new Cadillac pass him on the LA freeway, a Dead-head sticker on the bumper. The former hippies, the baby boomers, had sold out. Mazursky was telling us the same thing fifteen years earlier. Perhaps Pete Townsend of the Who summed it up best in his anthemic Won't Get Fooled Again – 'meet the new boss, same as the old boss' A highly thought-provoking experience seeing this film again, and for those interested in culture, counter or otherwise – this is a must.
78 Reviews
A product of its time
AlsExGal10 February 2023
This is a sex farce about the sexual revolution sweeping America during the late 1960s. The counter culture comes full circle in affluent Angelinos Bob (Robert Culp), Carol (Natalie Wood), Ted (Elliott Gould) and Alice (Dyan Cannon). Bob and Carol view themselves as in tune with the times, with occasional but not unlikeable smugness. The film begins with them visiting a retreat for spiritual and mental awakening. And they come away changed, especially Carol. So much so that Bob decides to have an affair and confess it to Carol. Carol thinks it's so wonderful she has one herself. I loved Natalie Wood's explaining to her angry husband, who walks in on her: "I wanted to do it. Because, I wanted to do it. I.... wanted to do it", while Bob's head is about to explode. He eventually calms down. Bob and Carol need to stay true to their ideals, and anger over an affair is an outdated 1950s response. Moreover, there's a difference between sex and love.
Their best friends, Ted and Alice, are solid philistines. But it's only a matter of time before Ted and Alice realize they're missing out. The performances are pitch perfect. Natalie Wood continues the hilarious neurosis of her Sex and the Single Girl (1964) character. Dyan Cannon's moral abhorrence becomes a comedy sketch when she's talking to her shrink, and in another sequence denying Ted sex as he begs like a teenager whose life depends on it. Inevitably, the couples swap partners, and it's filmed with remarkable poignancy.
The film remains fresh, and modern. Paul Mazursky directed and co-wrote it with Larry Tucker. They have affection for the characters, without mocking them, even the square Ted and Alice.
Their best friends, Ted and Alice, are solid philistines. But it's only a matter of time before Ted and Alice realize they're missing out. The performances are pitch perfect. Natalie Wood continues the hilarious neurosis of her Sex and the Single Girl (1964) character. Dyan Cannon's moral abhorrence becomes a comedy sketch when she's talking to her shrink, and in another sequence denying Ted sex as he begs like a teenager whose life depends on it. Inevitably, the couples swap partners, and it's filmed with remarkable poignancy.
The film remains fresh, and modern. Paul Mazursky directed and co-wrote it with Larry Tucker. They have affection for the characters, without mocking them, even the square Ted and Alice.
Still worth watching.
brefane28 November 2004
B&C&T&A is still entertaining and has a number of funny scenes. Two of my favorites are the opening scene at the Esalen Institute, and Alice's session with her psychiatrist. The cast,particularly Dyan Cannon (Best Supporting Actress- NY Film Critics)and Elliot Gould, is perfect. B&C&T&A really do seem like couples and friends. It's Natalie Wood's best adult film role, and arguably her best film performance:she's never been more natural or at ease in front of the camera. Robert Culp never had a better role or vehicle. The film marked Mazursky's directorial debut, and it's probably his best film. The final scene in front of the Riviera Hotel in Vegas, recalls the "looking" exercise at the Institute, and was influenced by the parade at end of Felini's "81/2". Therefore, I give the film an 81/2 out of 10. Rent(or buy) the DVD and listen to the commentary with Cannon,Culp,Gould and Mazursky. Did you know that Leif Garrett plays Bob and Carol's son, and that Culp's "I Spy" costar, Bill Cosby, appears briefly(don't blink) in a scene at a club? The film has aged better than Midnight Cowboy, Z, Butch Cassidy, Hello Dolly and Anne of the Thousand Days,the films nominated for Best Picture of 1969. B&C&T&A feels more representative of the 60's than The Graduate, and is definitely worth seeing.
Bob & Carol Get in Bed with Alice & Ted
wes-connors10 December 2011
In Southern California, documentary filmmaker Robert Culp (as Bob Sanders) and his beautiful wife Natalie Wood (as Carol) participate in group sensitivity for research. They meditate and get in touch with inner feelings; they stare at each other, hit pillows and cry. The experience enlightens our co-stars, and Mr. Culp later reveals he had a one night stand in San Francisco. This leads Ms. Wood to consider hitting the rackets with a tennis instructor. Wood and Culp share sexual feelings with each other and best friends Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon (as Ted and Alice Henderson) come into the bed...
Though considered by many to be very 1960s, sessions like the one in the opening are used today to "bond" workers in new employment situations; however, the cigarette smokers and topless women are not in evidence. The swinging sixties weren't easy to capture in films, as most of the movies trying to reflect the times seem silly; moreover, they usually presented through the eyes of personnel older than hippie age. "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" is really only a hesitating tease, and consequently works better than some contemporary fare. Most obviously, Natalie Wood is sexy and stupendous.
******* Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (9/17/69) Paul Mazursky ~ Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, Dyan Cannon
Though considered by many to be very 1960s, sessions like the one in the opening are used today to "bond" workers in new employment situations; however, the cigarette smokers and topless women are not in evidence. The swinging sixties weren't easy to capture in films, as most of the movies trying to reflect the times seem silly; moreover, they usually presented through the eyes of personnel older than hippie age. "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" is really only a hesitating tease, and consequently works better than some contemporary fare. Most obviously, Natalie Wood is sexy and stupendous.
******* Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (9/17/69) Paul Mazursky ~ Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, Dyan Cannon
An anti-Sixties '60s film
krumski25 July 2001
Any film made during the "Swinging Sixties" is almost sure to look silly to us today - a plethora of "groovy man"s as well as doped-up pontifications about "letting it all hang out" and becoming one of the "beautiful people", all served up with garish camera tricks and gaudy production design. You know, "Austin Powers" but without the wink-wink knowingness.
(NOTE: To see how a so-called "classic" can be killed by the passage of time - and the absence of pharmaceuticals in one's system - check out "Easy Rider". That is, if you can stand it.)
On the surface, "B&C&T&A" seems to be in line with such films: it is, after all, how a quartet of middle class "squares" become indoctrinated into the hippie values of free love and "doing your own thing." However, the film uses that set-up as a means to deflate - gently and good naturedly - those very values. For, as the group becomes more uninhibited and "with it," the more goofy and ridiculous they all seem. This is particularly true of Robert Culp and Natalie Wood (Bob and Carol), as they take on the hippie philosophy full-bore and unquestionably. Casting here is impeccable: seeing the square-jawed, All-American looking Culp (then the epitome of middle-brow, as star of "I Spy") utter lines straight out of the Dennis Hopper - Peter Fonda playbook is just unutterably funny; he's got the words all right, but the music is woefully wrong. Same thing with Natalie Wood; can there be anyone more whitebread than her? The more she attempts to be "groovy" the more perfectly square she seems, particularly as Carol appears to just be parroting everything her husband says and does in adopting this new lifestyle. Quite the opposite of "liberation", wouldn't you say?
Perhaps funnier, though, are Elliot Gould and Dyan Cannon as Ted and Alice, since they get to register all the (comic) shock and horror of their friends' complete abandonment of rationality. And the equally strong undercurrents of jealousy that their friends are getting to enjoy all the freedom and sexual gratification that they themselves, as good well-behaved members of society - are missing out on. Cannon's neurotic sessions with her psychiatrist - where she continually broaches, and then backs off of, what's really troubling her - provide wonderful moments of comic denial and delusion.
What the film ultimately exposes is the moral vacuity of much of the hippie philosophy - that happiness and feeling good about oneself are not all there is to life, and that focusing too narrowly on them leads ultimately to emptiness. It also makes the subtle point, however, that much of what might initially have been good about hippie thought (or at least, the thoughts of those who inspired the hippies in the first place) was oversimplified and thereby corrupted when the middle class tried to incorporate it, seizing only upon those elements of it which seemed "fun" or "a turn-on" to them. Let's face it: how much of the so-called Woodstock Nation really had any deep political or philosophical commitments; most were just middle class kids turned on to the immediate buzz of easy drugs, free sex, and rebellion for its own sake. Likewise, cosmetic changes such as longer hair or listening to rock'n'roll didn't necessarily change the minds or policies of many in the power structure. As John Lennon said in 1971: "The Sixties didn't change anything. The same b***ards are in power now, it's just they've all got long hair."
I don't mean to suggest that the film gets into issues like this directly; it is never less than a pleasant and even sunny comedy. But these issues in a very real way undergird the film and make it ahead of its time. Released in 1969, "Bob, Carol et al. . ." displays a jaundiced attitude about the counterculture - at least, the middle-class *embrace* of the counterculture - that wouldn't come widely into vogue until at least a decade later. Indeed, the film almost seems contemporary in its bemused and dismissive view of Sixties mores. Austin Powers fans would do well to check it out.
(NOTE: To see how a so-called "classic" can be killed by the passage of time - and the absence of pharmaceuticals in one's system - check out "Easy Rider". That is, if you can stand it.)
On the surface, "B&C&T&A" seems to be in line with such films: it is, after all, how a quartet of middle class "squares" become indoctrinated into the hippie values of free love and "doing your own thing." However, the film uses that set-up as a means to deflate - gently and good naturedly - those very values. For, as the group becomes more uninhibited and "with it," the more goofy and ridiculous they all seem. This is particularly true of Robert Culp and Natalie Wood (Bob and Carol), as they take on the hippie philosophy full-bore and unquestionably. Casting here is impeccable: seeing the square-jawed, All-American looking Culp (then the epitome of middle-brow, as star of "I Spy") utter lines straight out of the Dennis Hopper - Peter Fonda playbook is just unutterably funny; he's got the words all right, but the music is woefully wrong. Same thing with Natalie Wood; can there be anyone more whitebread than her? The more she attempts to be "groovy" the more perfectly square she seems, particularly as Carol appears to just be parroting everything her husband says and does in adopting this new lifestyle. Quite the opposite of "liberation", wouldn't you say?
Perhaps funnier, though, are Elliot Gould and Dyan Cannon as Ted and Alice, since they get to register all the (comic) shock and horror of their friends' complete abandonment of rationality. And the equally strong undercurrents of jealousy that their friends are getting to enjoy all the freedom and sexual gratification that they themselves, as good well-behaved members of society - are missing out on. Cannon's neurotic sessions with her psychiatrist - where she continually broaches, and then backs off of, what's really troubling her - provide wonderful moments of comic denial and delusion.
What the film ultimately exposes is the moral vacuity of much of the hippie philosophy - that happiness and feeling good about oneself are not all there is to life, and that focusing too narrowly on them leads ultimately to emptiness. It also makes the subtle point, however, that much of what might initially have been good about hippie thought (or at least, the thoughts of those who inspired the hippies in the first place) was oversimplified and thereby corrupted when the middle class tried to incorporate it, seizing only upon those elements of it which seemed "fun" or "a turn-on" to them. Let's face it: how much of the so-called Woodstock Nation really had any deep political or philosophical commitments; most were just middle class kids turned on to the immediate buzz of easy drugs, free sex, and rebellion for its own sake. Likewise, cosmetic changes such as longer hair or listening to rock'n'roll didn't necessarily change the minds or policies of many in the power structure. As John Lennon said in 1971: "The Sixties didn't change anything. The same b***ards are in power now, it's just they've all got long hair."
I don't mean to suggest that the film gets into issues like this directly; it is never less than a pleasant and even sunny comedy. But these issues in a very real way undergird the film and make it ahead of its time. Released in 1969, "Bob, Carol et al. . ." displays a jaundiced attitude about the counterculture - at least, the middle-class *embrace* of the counterculture - that wouldn't come widely into vogue until at least a decade later. Indeed, the film almost seems contemporary in its bemused and dismissive view of Sixties mores. Austin Powers fans would do well to check it out.
The New Freedom
marcslope5 February 2007
Encounter groups, terrible late-'60s clothes, bare breasts (though not the leading ladies'), wife-swapping, pot smoking, extramarital hijinx -- Mazursky's movie dives into the deep end of the "New Freedom" mainstream movies were beginning to enjoy around then (this is also the year of "Midnight Cowboy" and "Easy Rider," among others). It has some perceptive observations about the counterculture as experienced by the upper class: They seem to be doing so not out of a profound need but just to be trendy. There's some smart dialogue and a very funny performance by Dyan Cannon as perhaps the most confused of the quartet. But for all that, the whole thing seems a little... snarky. Mazursky laughs too quickly at these misguided rich people, makes too much fun of the Esalen group at the beginning, wants its audience to feel superior to everybody on screen. Too, Robert Culp and Natalie Wood aren't very convincing as a happily married but perhaps over-experimental couple. (And they seem lackadaisical parents at best; who's minding the kid during all these sexual exploits?) A fun time capsule, but with a slightly acid aftertaste.
INSIGHT! INSIGHT!
MicheBel24 August 1999
I love this movie. Although some people may classify it as "dated," the concepts that it deals with are worth exploring today. How honest are we to one another? How often do we actually look at people? And what is love?
From its opening shots (tooling up PCH in a cool car) to its closing ones (people really looking at each other), it's a true work of art. The beginning truly captures the free and concept-expanding atmosphere that is the Esalen Institute, which itself has not changed much since then. Screen goddess Natalie Wood, in one of her best roles, inhabits the honesty and sexual freedom that is Carol. Robert Culp is a strong counterpart to her as Bob. The more repressed couple, Eliott Gould and Dyan Cannon, are perfect.
Along the way, they explore the boundaries of sexuality, monogamy and friendship, and realize that some lines are better left uncrossed. To me, it puts a very fine point on what was going on in the 60s, and where exactly we went wrong.
SEE THIS FILM. It'll give you insight. Promise.
From its opening shots (tooling up PCH in a cool car) to its closing ones (people really looking at each other), it's a true work of art. The beginning truly captures the free and concept-expanding atmosphere that is the Esalen Institute, which itself has not changed much since then. Screen goddess Natalie Wood, in one of her best roles, inhabits the honesty and sexual freedom that is Carol. Robert Culp is a strong counterpart to her as Bob. The more repressed couple, Eliott Gould and Dyan Cannon, are perfect.
Along the way, they explore the boundaries of sexuality, monogamy and friendship, and realize that some lines are better left uncrossed. To me, it puts a very fine point on what was going on in the 60s, and where exactly we went wrong.
SEE THIS FILM. It'll give you insight. Promise.
One for the Time Capsule
DukeEman11 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
I feel that the director sold the idea of the movie to the studios as a hip sex comedy film. Then he went out and purposely made a serious film for its time. And when it came time to release it, the studio continued to sell it a sex comedy, which it isn't. There is humor, but not laugh out funny.
What Mazursky did was capture moments of the relationships and tied them up beautifully. The first scene is amusing as Bob and Carol go to a remote retreat to discover themselves. The other interesting moment was when Alice and Ted are going to bed and just found out about Bob's infidelity and how disgusted they are that Carol has accepted it. Some argue that it is too long a scene, but that's what makes it amusing, watching Elliott Gould brilliantly attempting to have sex with Alice, but she is in no mood. This playful event is worth watching alone for the acting abilities of Gould and Dyan Cannon.
The other great scene is when Bob rejects another fling to go home earlier and finds Carol with the tennis instructor. How it unravels is pure delight and shines the light on man's hypocrisy that it's okay for them to sleep around, but for the wife! Bob eventually comes around and accepts the situation with a great moment in cinema history.
The final scene when they all get it on together is played wonderfully. But when they get to that bed, they all realize the situation they are in. Are they able to handle the reality of an orgy? A poignant moment played without dialogue right to the final frame. The very end scene is pure homage to Fellini's 8 1/2 as the characters come out of the casino with a crowd and they all march in a circle and then group together.
A very interesting piece of cinema history, and one worth tracking down. Maybe out of date, but it sure shows us the period that it was aimed at, a period were it was time to liberate the mind and soul. We may need it again, as there are now evil forces attempting to shut down the human spirit for financial gain.
What Mazursky did was capture moments of the relationships and tied them up beautifully. The first scene is amusing as Bob and Carol go to a remote retreat to discover themselves. The other interesting moment was when Alice and Ted are going to bed and just found out about Bob's infidelity and how disgusted they are that Carol has accepted it. Some argue that it is too long a scene, but that's what makes it amusing, watching Elliott Gould brilliantly attempting to have sex with Alice, but she is in no mood. This playful event is worth watching alone for the acting abilities of Gould and Dyan Cannon.
The other great scene is when Bob rejects another fling to go home earlier and finds Carol with the tennis instructor. How it unravels is pure delight and shines the light on man's hypocrisy that it's okay for them to sleep around, but for the wife! Bob eventually comes around and accepts the situation with a great moment in cinema history.
The final scene when they all get it on together is played wonderfully. But when they get to that bed, they all realize the situation they are in. Are they able to handle the reality of an orgy? A poignant moment played without dialogue right to the final frame. The very end scene is pure homage to Fellini's 8 1/2 as the characters come out of the casino with a crowd and they all march in a circle and then group together.
A very interesting piece of cinema history, and one worth tracking down. Maybe out of date, but it sure shows us the period that it was aimed at, a period were it was time to liberate the mind and soul. We may need it again, as there are now evil forces attempting to shut down the human spirit for financial gain.
This movie holds up!
nlevin1130 April 2005
I rented this movie because I remembered one scene from 35 years ago. I was astounded to see that the whole movie holds up very well. The 4 leads are terrific (Natalie Wood and Dyan Canon are beautiful, by the way, and Robert Culp hits just the right note with his "sensitive-new- age-guy" hip/naive performance) and you can see director Paul Mazursky's touch with what seems to be stretches of impromptu dialog I found true.
The movie also does a great job of balancing drama with farce, superficiality with intimacy.
The scenes at the Esalen-type retreat start at as spoof but evolve into real empathy. Parenthetically, check out the fashions in this film. There is one scene in a discotheque that Mazursky must have known even then would be a source of laughter and certainly, today, it's a hoot.
The movie also does a great job of balancing drama with farce, superficiality with intimacy.
The scenes at the Esalen-type retreat start at as spoof but evolve into real empathy. Parenthetically, check out the fashions in this film. There is one scene in a discotheque that Mazursky must have known even then would be a source of laughter and certainly, today, it's a hoot.
"First we'll have an orgy, and then we'll go see Tony Bennett."
classicsoncall25 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
Watching today, almost a half century after it was made, the movie comes across like a parody of the Sixties with it's free love and preoccupation with the sexual revolution. But if you were around back then, this was, I presume, a serious treatment of people in search of fulfillment and meaning and getting as much sex as you can while the getting is good. It also features Robert Culp wearing all of the most pretentious looking clothes one might have appropriated to impress like minded hedonists - Nehru jacket, frilly shirt, love beads and whistle - the kind of outerwear that I, even as a teenager at the time, fully regarded as a complete turn off.
The best scene for me had Ted (Elliott Gould) trying to make love to his wife Alice (Dyan Cannon) right after learning their friend Bob (Culp) had a fling in San Francisco, with wife Carol (Natalie Wood) being so understanding about it. It's a scene every guy can relate to, because even knowing that his wife is seriously not in the mood, bad sex is still way ahead of anything in second place, and there's no giving up until he either scores or it becomes totally hopeless. With the cut away, you have to use your imagination on how that one turned out.
Gould had another great scene when he confessed his infidelity about a fling in Miami. Trying to come to grips with it he's got the peanuts falling out of his mouth and he's just hilarious. Actually, all the principal players did a fantastic job with their characters, to the point that it's impossible to say who was best.
Others reviewing the picture here make note of it's dated quality, and in a lot of respects I agree - the clothes, the hair styles, the whole Sixties vibe that pushes the envelope on relationships, open marriages and wife swapping in it's heyday. If you weren't around for the decade, this one offers a nice time capsule snapshot of the era, one you could sit down with and gaze in awe at how folks often put themselves into some ridiculous situations. And while you're at it, don't forget the astonishing gazpacho.
The best scene for me had Ted (Elliott Gould) trying to make love to his wife Alice (Dyan Cannon) right after learning their friend Bob (Culp) had a fling in San Francisco, with wife Carol (Natalie Wood) being so understanding about it. It's a scene every guy can relate to, because even knowing that his wife is seriously not in the mood, bad sex is still way ahead of anything in second place, and there's no giving up until he either scores or it becomes totally hopeless. With the cut away, you have to use your imagination on how that one turned out.
Gould had another great scene when he confessed his infidelity about a fling in Miami. Trying to come to grips with it he's got the peanuts falling out of his mouth and he's just hilarious. Actually, all the principal players did a fantastic job with their characters, to the point that it's impossible to say who was best.
Others reviewing the picture here make note of it's dated quality, and in a lot of respects I agree - the clothes, the hair styles, the whole Sixties vibe that pushes the envelope on relationships, open marriages and wife swapping in it's heyday. If you weren't around for the decade, this one offers a nice time capsule snapshot of the era, one you could sit down with and gaze in awe at how folks often put themselves into some ridiculous situations. And while you're at it, don't forget the astonishing gazpacho.
The rich hippies of suburbia
bako10124 November 2002
This is a grainy, sun-drenched, hippy farce. An examination of whether married relationships can withstand/be improved by free love - it seems almost a parody of itself, showing how a bunch of rich LA types have jumped on the peace and love bandwagon and are riding it out of existence. Like all revolutions though, it had become (main)streamlined by movies like this, and as such was about to burn out. It's 1969 and the end of the line for the hippy ideal. So this movie accurately depicts where the movement had gotten to (but is this intentional?). The film itself is a dreamy, bizarre, occasionally amusing, often boring, sex farce.
Clever & Cool & Classy & Funny
middleburg13 August 2004
What a delightful movie! I don't think its aged one bit. Sure the clothes are different, the latest self-help fads are different, the priorities are different--but SO much still resonates today. The relationship between love and sex and spouses and friends. Human desire, and commitment are timeless topics, and they are explored with great wit and panache in this thoroughly entertaining movie. And the dialogue! Many scenes purely consist of the twists and turns of intelligent people in verbal games--some of the scenes feel like being in a verbal
amusement park, going up and down roller-coasters of clever and surprising
dialogue. The funny moments are priceless: the tennis instructor asking for a glass of Pernod, Dyan Cannon in the therepist's office--probably the funniest and most perceptive take on the "therepy experience" ever shown on film-- (along with Kirstie Alley's therapist melt-down scene in Woody Allen's
"Deconstructing Harry"), the opening group therapy session in the beautiful
California countryside, that first dinner in the restaurant with Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice all declaring their love for each other in front of the table of bemused gay diners--it is a film filled with endless, perceptive and highly
amusing details. Its a terrific entertainment. (One last comment--Dyan Cannon lights up the screen everytime she appears, with her sexy persona, her high
spirits, her warmth and generosity, and that truly infectious laugh!)
amusement park, going up and down roller-coasters of clever and surprising
dialogue. The funny moments are priceless: the tennis instructor asking for a glass of Pernod, Dyan Cannon in the therepist's office--probably the funniest and most perceptive take on the "therepy experience" ever shown on film-- (along with Kirstie Alley's therapist melt-down scene in Woody Allen's
"Deconstructing Harry"), the opening group therapy session in the beautiful
California countryside, that first dinner in the restaurant with Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice all declaring their love for each other in front of the table of bemused gay diners--it is a film filled with endless, perceptive and highly
amusing details. Its a terrific entertainment. (One last comment--Dyan Cannon lights up the screen everytime she appears, with her sexy persona, her high
spirits, her warmth and generosity, and that truly infectious laugh!)
Ultimately timid bedroom farce
NORDIC-230 June 2014
Warning: Spoilers
After a weekend of emotionally charged encounter sessions at an Esalen- like retreat known as "The Institute," L.A.-based documentary filmmaker Bob Sanders (Robert Culp) and his wife Carol (Natalie Wood) become zealous acolytes of the late-Sixties, hippie-inspired cult of expressive individualism: an apolitical ideology of bourgeois hedonism that sanctifies joyful spontaneity, uninhibited candor, and guilt-free (extramarital) sex as the sine qua non of a fulfilling life. Adhering to the new openness, Bob confesses to Carol that he has had a "just physical" one-night stand with a 20-year-old blonde while on a business trip to San Francisco. Though seemingly sanguine about the news, Carol proceeds to have her own dalliance with Horst (Horst Ebersberg), her handsome tennis instructor, but is caught in the act when Bob comes home early from a trip to New York. After a bout with old-fashioned jealousy, Bob seems able to reconcile himself to Carol's infidelity. As for Bob and Carol's best friends—Ted (Elliott Gould) and Alice (Dyan Cannon)—this New Age ethos strikes them as suspiciously naive and self-indulgent until Ted succumbs to his own opportunity to cheat while on a trip to Miami. When he confesses his indiscretion to Alice while the foursome is on vacation in Las Vegas, Alice calls everyone's bluff by stripping down to her underwear and suggesting the two couples have a spouse-swapping orgy in their hotel suite before going to a Tony Bennett concert! Supposedly dutiful swingers all, the four climb into bed and commence foreplay with each other's spouse but come to find that they cannot go through with it; evidently, primal taboos surrounding conjugal intimacy are too strong to overcome. In the somewhat surreal denouement, a chastened Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice march out of their casino hotel, followed by a long string of other hand holding couples and promenade in the parking lot to the lilting strains of Jackie DeShannon singing Bert Bacharach's "What the World Needs Now is Love." The ending, and the movie as a whole, is tonally ambiguous. Are viewers meant to applaud or sneer at the triumph of conventional morality over revolutionary sexual-emotional mores? Probably more the former but the film still manages to raise questions about status quo hypocrisy that it cannot put to bed peacefully. Made for a mere $2 million, 'Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice' was a smash hit, earning $30 million at the box office. A watered-down TV series based on the film lasted only half a season in the autumn of 1973. VHS (1996) and DVD (2004).
Not a great movie. See it anyway.
Screen-731 March 2008
This is one of those movies that's worth seeing even though it really isn't very good.
See it for Natalie Wood. Holy smokes what a fantastic beauty and talented actress she was. For me, she alone made the movie worthwhile. Of course, Rebel Without A Cause is _the_ movie to see her in but she is more mature and, if possible, even sexier in this one.
See it for the cultural time capsule. This film captures a cultural moment that lasted about two weeks in the 60s.
See it for the fashions! Beautiful, outrageous, goofy, the works.
See it for Elliot Gould. Remember why he was an A-list actor once.
See it for the totally ill-advised ending but with a great song!
See it for Natalie Wood. Holy smokes what a fantastic beauty and talented actress she was. For me, she alone made the movie worthwhile. Of course, Rebel Without A Cause is _the_ movie to see her in but she is more mature and, if possible, even sexier in this one.
See it for the cultural time capsule. This film captures a cultural moment that lasted about two weeks in the 60s.
See it for the fashions! Beautiful, outrageous, goofy, the works.
See it for Elliot Gould. Remember why he was an A-list actor once.
See it for the totally ill-advised ending but with a great song!
Not particularly funny....but interesting
mikeghee22 January 2004
I found this film at a video store and immediately rented it out of curiosity. It stars Robert Culp, Natalie Wood, Elliot Gould, and Dyan Cannon as the namesakes respectively. I remember when I was a kid this film came out in 1969 so I really did not know anything about it other than it was supposed to be some kind of "sex comedy".
Well being an adult now and renting it, I found that it basically deals with 2 married couples, the ages of which suggest upper 30's to me. They decide to experimentally partake of the late 60's climate of free love, drugs, etc. I think that is where the film is supposed to derive its humor from.
Instead, the film plays like prolonged unfunny sketches on "Saturday Night Live" which they save for the end of the broadcast. However, I was compelled to keep watching the film to see what would be the result of their "experiment" The film did have some funny moments such as Elliot Gould fantasizing about a marital affair and Dyan Cannon at the shrink.
I give the film credit since I could not figure out what the ending would be like and was somewhat surprised by it when it happened. There is a second part of the ending right before the credits roll which still has me confused though. Overall, an OK film in my opinion.
Side Note: Natalie Wood and Dyan Cannon look pretty hot in this movie so if your a male like myself and always found these woman attractive, its a must rental !
Well being an adult now and renting it, I found that it basically deals with 2 married couples, the ages of which suggest upper 30's to me. They decide to experimentally partake of the late 60's climate of free love, drugs, etc. I think that is where the film is supposed to derive its humor from.
Instead, the film plays like prolonged unfunny sketches on "Saturday Night Live" which they save for the end of the broadcast. However, I was compelled to keep watching the film to see what would be the result of their "experiment" The film did have some funny moments such as Elliot Gould fantasizing about a marital affair and Dyan Cannon at the shrink.
I give the film credit since I could not figure out what the ending would be like and was somewhat surprised by it when it happened. There is a second part of the ending right before the credits roll which still has me confused though. Overall, an OK film in my opinion.
Side Note: Natalie Wood and Dyan Cannon look pretty hot in this movie so if your a male like myself and always found these woman attractive, its a must rental !
Worth watching once, if you're a fan of any of the leads.
stanford929 September 2005
If you're a fan of any of the four leads, see this once. I am a Robert Culp fan, and I originally went into it simply to see him. When I initially started watching it, I muddled through the retreat scene, got to the restaurant scene of the four, post-retreat, and couldn't watch any more. I slammed the headphones down and said, This movie SUCKS! My sister, who's 8 1/2 years older and remembered it when it came out, laughed and told me she could've told me that, but NOOOOO, I just had to see Robert Culp.
I gave up on it for a few days and figured I'd try it again. So I got through those two major scenes, sans sound this time, and once it picked up from the restaurant and I turned the sound up, I have to admit...I began getting caught up in it.
The going back and forth between the four was entertaining and as someone said in another comment, a good portion of this is simply the great acting and the dialogue, the verbal exchanges and parrying back and forth as Bob and Carol discover things about one another, and work to whittle away at Ted and Alice about the possibilities inherent in emotion-free sexual dalliances.
Cannon's character is pivotal in a lot of this, as the outraged friend of Carol. Alice flips out when Carol casually tells her that Bob had had an affair when he was off on his last shoot (he's a filmmaker), and later wigs out again when she learns that Carol, too, had had a casual affair while Bob was gone.
As anyone who's seen the movie poster for this will know, the four end up in bed together. It's surprising how this is instigated, and very surprising how it all ends. As another comment said, back in the day, many were crying FOUL! and COP-OUT! about the ending, but I really liked the twist of how it ends. Bob and Ted, and Carol and Alice, come to a startling revelation about their situation and about their love and friendship amongst themselves. It couldn't have ended any other way in my opinion.
I gave it a 6/10, just a wee bit above middle-of-the-road. I could find no fault in the acting of the four, the basic storyline (as I discovered) was enough to grab and hold one's interest, but it's far from a "great" film as many have said. See it, just once, you'll like it.
I gave up on it for a few days and figured I'd try it again. So I got through those two major scenes, sans sound this time, and once it picked up from the restaurant and I turned the sound up, I have to admit...I began getting caught up in it.
The going back and forth between the four was entertaining and as someone said in another comment, a good portion of this is simply the great acting and the dialogue, the verbal exchanges and parrying back and forth as Bob and Carol discover things about one another, and work to whittle away at Ted and Alice about the possibilities inherent in emotion-free sexual dalliances.
Cannon's character is pivotal in a lot of this, as the outraged friend of Carol. Alice flips out when Carol casually tells her that Bob had had an affair when he was off on his last shoot (he's a filmmaker), and later wigs out again when she learns that Carol, too, had had a casual affair while Bob was gone.
As anyone who's seen the movie poster for this will know, the four end up in bed together. It's surprising how this is instigated, and very surprising how it all ends. As another comment said, back in the day, many were crying FOUL! and COP-OUT! about the ending, but I really liked the twist of how it ends. Bob and Ted, and Carol and Alice, come to a startling revelation about their situation and about their love and friendship amongst themselves. It couldn't have ended any other way in my opinion.
I gave it a 6/10, just a wee bit above middle-of-the-road. I could find no fault in the acting of the four, the basic storyline (as I discovered) was enough to grab and hold one's interest, but it's far from a "great" film as many have said. See it, just once, you'll like it.
Okay, WHO said that it had a cop-out ending?
lee_eisenberg8 July 2005
With the sexual revolution of the '60s, there of course would have to be a movie about sex. "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" was it. Having visited a therapy group, Bob and Carol Sanders (Robert Culp and Natalie Wood) have become more open about their sexuality, and are identifying more with the counterculture in general. Their repressed friends, Ted and Alice Henderson (Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon) can't seem to get into it. But while in a hotel room in Las Vegas, after they've all revealed some secrets, they decide to have an orgy. You've probably seen the picture of the four of them in bed together.
When this movie came out, many critics thought that it had a cop-out ending. In an interview, director Paul Mazursky explained that he felt that they only could go as far as they eventually went. Anyway, you can't judge an entire movie by one individual scene; it's what the movie's saying overall that matters. As for the characters, Bob seems sort of wooden, Carol is hot (as Natalie Wood always was), Ted is a dork, and Alice is a little eccentric. Overall, it's a pretty good movie.
When this movie came out, many critics thought that it had a cop-out ending. In an interview, director Paul Mazursky explained that he felt that they only could go as far as they eventually went. Anyway, you can't judge an entire movie by one individual scene; it's what the movie's saying overall that matters. As for the characters, Bob seems sort of wooden, Carol is hot (as Natalie Wood always was), Ted is a dork, and Alice is a little eccentric. Overall, it's a pretty good movie.
an amusing look at older people trying out our new found freedoms
christopher-underwood10 January 2019
A big deal back in the day, when I saw this last on its theatrical release, this must look a little strange to a new generation. Even then it seemed a bit strange. We youngsters thought the sexual revolution was just for us, not our parents and this I think was where a lot of the humour came from back then. Many interesting questions raised about sex and marriage and love but essentially an amusing look at older people trying out our new found freedoms. Looked at know it remains interesting and somewhat amusing but mainly we notice how lovely the diminutive Natalie Wood was and wishing that Elliott Gould had had a larger part - in the film, that is, of course.
Swinging couples don't just hop into bed together.
mark.waltz13 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Don't let the famous poster of this swinging comedy of the late 1960's fool you; This is actually more a study of two marriages, two inseparable couples. This shows how modern morals changed the way people communicated, and how they just interrelate. These couples believe in total honesty, but it takes its toll on the real star of the film, Oscar nominated Dyan Cannon.
This starts with the seemingly leading couple of Robert Culp and Natalie Wood heading towards a spa, driving into the beautiful countryside as the "Hallelujah Choir" plays lushly in the background. Wood finally gets to be free and honest and practically has a nervous breakdown over it. Back home, they begin to change their existence based upon their experience, and when motherly Cannon overhears Wood's blase revelation that Culp had an affair, she looses it, pretty much having a nervous breakdown in a very groovy nightclub. The tides turn as the honesty leads them to decide to switch partners, Wood ending up with Cannon's husband (a very droll Elliot Gould) and Culp preparing to make love with his best friend's wife, all in a rather tiny bed.
So you can say that this is not as wild as it looks, supposedly happily married couples getting together and seeing if they can be as swinging as the world has been trying to tell them that it's OK to be. But individual morals are stronger than sexual desires, so there's a great lesson for them to learn. Thanks to a witty and smart screenplay, this ends up being surprisingly sweet, and nobody gets to point and laugh.
This starts with the seemingly leading couple of Robert Culp and Natalie Wood heading towards a spa, driving into the beautiful countryside as the "Hallelujah Choir" plays lushly in the background. Wood finally gets to be free and honest and practically has a nervous breakdown over it. Back home, they begin to change their existence based upon their experience, and when motherly Cannon overhears Wood's blase revelation that Culp had an affair, she looses it, pretty much having a nervous breakdown in a very groovy nightclub. The tides turn as the honesty leads them to decide to switch partners, Wood ending up with Cannon's husband (a very droll Elliot Gould) and Culp preparing to make love with his best friend's wife, all in a rather tiny bed.
So you can say that this is not as wild as it looks, supposedly happily married couples getting together and seeing if they can be as swinging as the world has been trying to tell them that it's OK to be. But individual morals are stronger than sexual desires, so there's a great lesson for them to learn. Thanks to a witty and smart screenplay, this ends up being surprisingly sweet, and nobody gets to point and laugh.
Great 60's comedy w/beautiful actresses
shepardjessica24 June 2004
One of the best of 1969 with Natalie Wood and Dyan Cannon at their sexiest. Perfect casting, great story, and Mazursky's best film. I know the critics were split on this one, but it came out at the right time and it holds up today. What's not to like about this? Elliott Gould was never more befuddled, Dyan Cannon's best acting when she was gorgeous, Robert Culp's only decent movie, and Natalie Wood was born to play Carol.
Certainly a 9 out 10! Mazursky would never again be so in touch with the times and the ending is NOT a cop-out! Check this out. Great stuff! Even the encounter session scenes have the ring of truth for that sort of thing. This movie is great!
Certainly a 9 out 10! Mazursky would never again be so in touch with the times and the ending is NOT a cop-out! Check this out. Great stuff! Even the encounter session scenes have the ring of truth for that sort of thing. This movie is great!
VERY 60s but not uninteresting
preppy-32 August 2004
Robert Culp and Natalie Wood play a VERY liberated couple who basically love each other...when they cheat on the other they discuss it and talk out their feelings and end up still madly in love. They share their views with another couple played by Dyan Cannon and Elliott Gould. They try to convert them to their way of thinking...but will it work or tear them all apart?
For starters this film would NOT be made today. With HIV and AIDS out there the casual sex shown here is a stupid idea. And can anyone seriously say they would honestly tell their partners that they had cheated on them and DISCUSS it???? That aside, I still sort of like the movie. The script was well-written with some sharp observations on sex and love and I found the discussions between Culp and Wood fascinating. Also Culp and Wood give out great performances (I especially liked Wood's little smiles). Cannon is good too but, surprisingly, looks HORRIBLE. Gould is just OK. But the script carries this one. If you can accept the ideas in this it works.
However it all ends in a laughably horrible ending that (almost) destroys everything that went before. Ending aside, I think this is a pretty interesting and a (I think) accurate picture of the late 1960s. Worth a look. I give it a 7.
For starters this film would NOT be made today. With HIV and AIDS out there the casual sex shown here is a stupid idea. And can anyone seriously say they would honestly tell their partners that they had cheated on them and DISCUSS it???? That aside, I still sort of like the movie. The script was well-written with some sharp observations on sex and love and I found the discussions between Culp and Wood fascinating. Also Culp and Wood give out great performances (I especially liked Wood's little smiles). Cannon is good too but, surprisingly, looks HORRIBLE. Gould is just OK. But the script carries this one. If you can accept the ideas in this it works.
However it all ends in a laughably horrible ending that (almost) destroys everything that went before. Ending aside, I think this is a pretty interesting and a (I think) accurate picture of the late 1960s. Worth a look. I give it a 7.
Pretentious and boring
tom-4561 February 2005
I had seen this movie on television sometime in the middle '70s, when I was in my twenties and had a special fondness for Natalie Wood. I was surprised to see this movie on DVD when I was in the store a few days ago, but I didn't see anything else that I really wanted to watch, and was naturally curious about it, so I rented it.
While far from being a bad movie, "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice" is certainly not what I would consider a good movie. It is a pretentious movie about self-centered, superficial people. The late sixties were a unique period in the twentieth century, when for a short period of a few years, throughout western culture, people were testing the limits of traditional sexual taboos. "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice" tells the story of a middle-aged couple who were caught up in the liberated attitudes of the time, for a brief period at least. When push came to shove, they realized that they preferred the traditional lifestyle.
So what? Does this really make an interesting subject for a feature-length film? In and of itself, it does not. Possibly, a different storyline, similar to this one but not exactly the same as this one, would have been interesting. But this one happens to be dead boring. I sat through the first ten minutes without once touching the fast-forward button. Then I said to myself, "I'll zip past just this part." Next thing I knew, I was fast-forwarding past another part that had just become tiresome, then another, then another, and I had to make myself stop.
I sat through another ten or fifteen minutes thinking that if I tried harder and paid attention, the dialog would become interesting. But I was forced to accept the truth, which is that the dialog in this movie is exceedingly pretentious and boring. All that a movie of this sort has going for it is the dialog. But the dialog in this movie is boring and pretentious.
Back at the time this movie was released, it was interesting because it dealt with social issues that were then current. But that was thirty-five years ago. Persons with a strong curiosity about that period might find this movie interesting, even though this is by no means one of the better movies dealing with that subject matter. Persons with a special interest in the careers of one of the four actors might also find it somewhat interesting, although this movie was a best a footnote on any of their careers.
If you are looking for a movie that conveys a realistic sense of what suburban life was like in that period, there are lots of better choices. The movie, "The Ice Storm", made in 1997 and set in 1973, has similar themes, and it is infinitely more intelligent. Anyone who looks at these two movies side-by-side will surely agree that "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice", while moderately amusing when it was current, has no lasting value.
While far from being a bad movie, "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice" is certainly not what I would consider a good movie. It is a pretentious movie about self-centered, superficial people. The late sixties were a unique period in the twentieth century, when for a short period of a few years, throughout western culture, people were testing the limits of traditional sexual taboos. "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice" tells the story of a middle-aged couple who were caught up in the liberated attitudes of the time, for a brief period at least. When push came to shove, they realized that they preferred the traditional lifestyle.
So what? Does this really make an interesting subject for a feature-length film? In and of itself, it does not. Possibly, a different storyline, similar to this one but not exactly the same as this one, would have been interesting. But this one happens to be dead boring. I sat through the first ten minutes without once touching the fast-forward button. Then I said to myself, "I'll zip past just this part." Next thing I knew, I was fast-forwarding past another part that had just become tiresome, then another, then another, and I had to make myself stop.
I sat through another ten or fifteen minutes thinking that if I tried harder and paid attention, the dialog would become interesting. But I was forced to accept the truth, which is that the dialog in this movie is exceedingly pretentious and boring. All that a movie of this sort has going for it is the dialog. But the dialog in this movie is boring and pretentious.
Back at the time this movie was released, it was interesting because it dealt with social issues that were then current. But that was thirty-five years ago. Persons with a strong curiosity about that period might find this movie interesting, even though this is by no means one of the better movies dealing with that subject matter. Persons with a special interest in the careers of one of the four actors might also find it somewhat interesting, although this movie was a best a footnote on any of their careers.
If you are looking for a movie that conveys a realistic sense of what suburban life was like in that period, there are lots of better choices. The movie, "The Ice Storm", made in 1997 and set in 1973, has similar themes, and it is infinitely more intelligent. Anyone who looks at these two movies side-by-side will surely agree that "Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice", while moderately amusing when it was current, has no lasting value.
Does It Celebrate The 60's or Condemn The 60's?
sddavis6312 March 2009
Warning: Spoilers
I admit that I was a bit puzzled by the perspective of this movie. All the way through, it seemed to be building to the logical conclusion that the four main characters were going to end up swinging together, culminating in Alice's expected suggestion to the other three that they have an orgy. All the way through it seemed to be a celebration of the sexually free-wheeling 60's, with Bob and Carol essentially enjoying an open marriage - not only having affairs but telling each other about them and sometimes even meeting each other's lovers - and basically trying to convince Ted and Alice to join them in this lifestyle of freedom. Then, in the end, it didn't happen. That didn't upset me - I was pleased by the ending of the movie, but still surprised. The lasting message that I got from the movie was that, ultimately, sex without love is an empty thing, but love without sex is a wonderful thing. Thus, the concluding scenes of the four deciding that their friendship made it impossible to begin a sexual relationship and the eye contact they make with strangers while on their way to the Tony Bennett concert, while all the way the closing song ("What The World Needs Now Is Love") plays in the background. I loved the ending and thought it perfectly appropriate. I also loved the beginning of the movie with the encounter session which was absolutely hilarious.
Robert Culp & Natalie Wood & Elliott Gould & Diane Cannon as the respective title characters were fantastic all the way through, and their performances made an interesting story even better. The only thing I never really figured out was the decision to open the movie with the "Hallelujah Chorus"? What was the relevance? I wasn't sure. Small point, though, in an overall great movie.
Robert Culp & Natalie Wood & Elliott Gould & Diane Cannon as the respective title characters were fantastic all the way through, and their performances made an interesting story even better. The only thing I never really figured out was the decision to open the movie with the "Hallelujah Chorus"? What was the relevance? I wasn't sure. Small point, though, in an overall great movie.
Rather Tedious
fatcat-7345026 February 2024
Perhaps it was because this film was steeped waist deep into the 1960's, I found it trite. It starts off with a documentary film maker and his wife going off to some new-age psychological treatment camp. Throughout the film you'll also be exposed to psychoanalysis (the prevalent psychotherapeutic modality at the time and beginning to gain traction among the middle classes), an argument over some sort of birth control, home-exercise regimens, and talk about the acceptability of hair that goes past one's ears in men. This movie is a time capsule. If you tried to make a movie parodying the 60s you'd find it hard to get more 60s.
And the whole movie revolves around the concept of general hippyism, specifically free love, but non-violence is also mentioned at some point. All we need now is some scenes of the Vietnam war.
Or perhaps it's not the dated quality of the setting, concerns, and situations of the characters so much as the fact that the characters are boring and most of their story arcs don't amount to anything. One guy's a bit shy, one woman's a bit rigid, the main male protagonist is a bit hippie. They're all bland and rather lifeless.
Now, I can't say the movie offers nothing. It offers an alternative perspective to the rigid sexuality of the 50s and how new-age ideas on sexuality can (or perhaps were beginning to?) seep into the prudish middle classes. There's also an exploration of the meaning of love, but it doesn't really feel sincere. Everyone just accepts things sooner or later. Perhaps that was the point - it was much more unnatural to put up the rigid structures in the first place than to break them down.
As for the treatment of sexuality itself, it now seems distant, dated, even jejune. Now the positioning of the very predictable climax of the film seems laughable. Too little, too late. These days it would come in the middle or the beginning or outright just be mentioned offhand as something normal in a film, whereas here it seems to have been the impressive finishing blow in 1969.
Honourable Mentions: Office Space (1999). In this movie the main female protagonist has her outlook on life changed by an odd psychotherapeutic retreat her. It's the same basic situation in Office Space, where the high-strung neurotic engineer changes his outlook on life and in turn experiences a very significant improvement in quality of life.
And the whole movie revolves around the concept of general hippyism, specifically free love, but non-violence is also mentioned at some point. All we need now is some scenes of the Vietnam war.
Or perhaps it's not the dated quality of the setting, concerns, and situations of the characters so much as the fact that the characters are boring and most of their story arcs don't amount to anything. One guy's a bit shy, one woman's a bit rigid, the main male protagonist is a bit hippie. They're all bland and rather lifeless.
Now, I can't say the movie offers nothing. It offers an alternative perspective to the rigid sexuality of the 50s and how new-age ideas on sexuality can (or perhaps were beginning to?) seep into the prudish middle classes. There's also an exploration of the meaning of love, but it doesn't really feel sincere. Everyone just accepts things sooner or later. Perhaps that was the point - it was much more unnatural to put up the rigid structures in the first place than to break them down.
As for the treatment of sexuality itself, it now seems distant, dated, even jejune. Now the positioning of the very predictable climax of the film seems laughable. Too little, too late. These days it would come in the middle or the beginning or outright just be mentioned offhand as something normal in a film, whereas here it seems to have been the impressive finishing blow in 1969.
Honourable Mentions: Office Space (1999). In this movie the main female protagonist has her outlook on life changed by an odd psychotherapeutic retreat her. It's the same basic situation in Office Space, where the high-strung neurotic engineer changes his outlook on life and in turn experiences a very significant improvement in quality of life.
No, no, no, no, NO
holdfast-4005722 June 2019
One star each for Natalie Wood and Dyan Cannon. This is a weird, uncomfortable movie. Just saw this movie for the first time. Since it was billed as a "comedy", I kept waiting for the funny to arrive but it never did. The movie is soooooo self-serious. Slow pacing and unnecessary scenes (like the scene where Robert Culp is interacting with his kid). Did anything at all end up on the cutting room floor.
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