A New Life

PG-13

Released Mar 5, 1988

1 hr. 44 min.

Comedy

List

33%

9 Reviews

Tomatometer

26%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Affluent New Yorkers (Alan Alda, Ann-Margret) divorce after many years, then meet new and younger mates on the singles scene.

Read More

Read Less

Prime Video

Apple TV

Rent A New Life on Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Prime Video, Apple TV.

Steve D

I never cared about any of them.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Divorced couple starts new separate lives apart. Film progresses rapidly (but perhaps by necessity) from divorce, dating, new relationship, marriage and then parenthood in short order. Alda wrote and directed this film which may be best received by members of the MASH and BARNEY MILLER generation.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Alan Alan wrote, directed, and starred in this film about a recently divorced stock broker adjusting to single life and missing married life. Not terrible but can't say it's particularly good. Often predicatable fare about the troubles of reentering the dating scene after years away from it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Passes the test of time with flying colors, starting over is hard.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Alan Alda was such an iconic television star that the jump to movies was inevitable, and for the most part his films as writer, director and star were quite good. With "A New Life", however, he stumbles a bit trying to enter Woody Allen territory and while the end result is certainly watchable enough it feels more like a TV movie than a theatrical effort. Alda's character would seem better suited to Allen himself or maybe Billy Crystal, and the first half of the picture suffers from wild mood swings. The comedy doesn't work, especially some peculiar moments of broad comedy such as Alda being mugged by a transvestite. He fares better with the drama, which is why the film's second half improves some. There are some nice bittersweet moments here, and if it had been written bolder and not like a movie-of-the-week, there might have been enough to save the picture. I appreciated the way that the couple's new relationships had their share of problems, it makes the movie feel authentic. Alda is a fine actor, even if it does take a bit here to accept his overly pompous character, and Ann-Margret is as luminous as ever. You can't fault how Alda cast his film, but you can find fault with him as a screenwriter. By the time the film finds its footing and I became involved in it as a drama, everything is once again undone by the trite, abrupt ending wraps things up way too quickly and conveniently. "A New Life" isn't necessarily a horrible film, but its full potential is never fully realized. This never should have been a comedic film, and while it does recover from its rocky start, the ending disappoints as well.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's a terrible movie with characters and a plot you ultimately don't give a crap about. It's not funny nor is it really worth watching.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/12/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Alan Alda

Director

Alan Alda

Steve

Ann-Margret

Jackie Jardino

Hal Linden

Mel Arons

Veronica Hamel

Kay Hutton

John Shea

Doc

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

57%

58%

Summer School

33%

46%

Gung Ho

48%

41%

We're No Angels

89%

59%

Crocodile Dundee

TRAILER

for Crocodile Dundee

14%

43%

Ladybugs

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Alda's purpose is to show us fairly typical people going through fairly typical things. They live, we watch. On that voyeuristic level, the movie works.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a familiar premise that’s employed to erratic yet mostly engaging effect...

Rated: 2.5/4

Feb 20, 2023

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Nothing new, otherwise a predictable preamble to Steve and Jackie declaring themselves defeated and returning to their plucked conjugal nest. [Full review in Spanish]

Jul 1, 2022

Full Review

Chuck O'Leary

FulvueDrive-in.com

Rated: 3/5

May 7, 2007

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Jul 7, 2005

Full Review

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

Has little of importance to say about marriage, divorce, or the dating game. And the four lead characters are thoroughly uninteresting.

Rated: 1/5

Aug 27, 2004

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Affluent New Yorkers (Alan Alda, Ann-Margret) divorce after many years, then meet new and younger mates on the singles scene.

Director: Alan Alda
Executive Producer: Louis A. Stroller
Production Co: Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 5, 1988, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 27, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $7.4M

Most Popular at Home Now