Jeff M
More than any other movie, this is the one that made me realize, at a rather young age, that I was one weird human being. I started watching this movie on HBO when I was probably 9 or 10. While others my age were involved in Star Wars and Indiana Jones culture, I was repeatedly re-watching a movie about middle aged couples going through mid-life crises over the course of a year. It was all downhill from here. But I am who I am, for better or worse, and I treasure this movie as one of my all-time favorites. I recently shared my top 25 of the decade and failed to include this. That was negligence on my part. This is a hugely entertaining and occasionally moving motion picture that received largely positive critical and audience reaction upon its release, but I still don't think it quite gets the credit it deserves. As I get older, I realize how impactful and profound much of the dialogue is here, and this for me is the crowning achievement of writer/director/actor Alan Alda's career, possibly barring his memorable supporting performance later this decade in Woody Allen's CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS. The cast here is crazy brilliant, with possibly Burnett's finest movie performance, and this is one of those films I revisit rather regularly. Every once in awhile it dips into sitcom humor but not as often as one would expect. This is a movie I treasure, and it brings back great memories.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/06/24
Full Review
Kristine C
It's a GREAT movie. I've watched it over and over.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
05/22/23
Full Review
william k
Mildly amusing romantic comedy is centered on the vagaries of mid-life marriage; good cast and interesting premise, but otherwise not very exciting.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
s r
It started with some promise of good people enjoying life and how they had friendship and happiness. However, things change and that is life. It had its moments, but ultimately was a let down. The Mercedes gag was good. It was on Netflix.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
A group of unlikable and annoying married middle age upper class people yelling at each other for two hours and you wonder why don't all these people just get divorced.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/21/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I really disliked the characters in this movie. It is about three, upper middle class, middle-aged New York City couples, friends with each other for decades, who take four holidays together -- spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Jake (Alan Alda) is a late 40ish, smug, judgemental, overly-analytical lawyer married for +20 years to Kate (Carol Burnett). He's prone to pontificating on what's good and bad about his wife and friends. He is annoying beyond belief. If this were a reality show, he'd be the first voted off the island. Kate, sort of the adult in the room as we'd say today, has little to do save for reacting to his kvetching about their relationship and their friends.
Jake is best friends -- or thinks he is -- with Nick (Len Cariou), a caddish, serial philanderer, liar, and life insurance salesman (he calls himself an "estate planner"), who is married to the insufferably OCD'ish and nebbish Anne (Sandy Dennis) whose hobby / career is photographing vegetables.
Then there's Danny (Jack Weston), a know-it-all, phobia-filled dentist who comes across as a Borscht Belt comedian. He's married to Claudia (Rita Moreno) whose only attribute seems to be that she's somewhat loud and says whatever she thinks because, well, as she once scresms out a window, "I'm Italian!"
And Ginny, a ditzy, though eventually mildly sympathetic, flight attendant and Nick's love interest.
Put these characters into a four act play, mix in some Woody Allen-like psycho-drama and totally unrealistic situations, and season with light comedy and proto-Sorkinesque dialogue (it's 1981) and you get this mess.
This may well have been a 5-star movie back in the day, but wow, it has not aged well. The actors do a yeoman's job with the lame material, but still, dull and anoying.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/12/23
Full Review
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