FILMS: truth, laughter
By RICHARD GEARY
Assistant Arts & Reviews Editor "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" is a rarity among recent movies: a slick, very manufactured Hollywood comedy that treats its subject (modern attitudes toward sex) with freshness, honesty and originality. At first glance, it looks somewhat artificial, but it digs into some of the myths about the new morality (which is getting pretty old) with wit and liveliness and may make more than a few people see—and laugh at—themself in the four title characters.
Bob and Carol are a young, upper-middle-class, self-consciously "with-it" couple, who become turned on to a free, open sexual life during a weekend sensitivity session at a mountain spa, and return to convert their more conventional friends, Ted and Alice, who have all the blocks, repressions and neuroses about sex common to almost everyone. Ted and Alice come around slowly, and, finally, all four are in bed together in a Las Vegas hotel, where they realize that they've been working ridiculously hard for something they don't really want or need. This final
scene may seem a cop-out to some, but it is the only honest way the film could end—with everyone coming nicely down to earth.
The movie's excellence lies in its script, by Larry Tucker and Paul Mazursky, constructed in a way that lets every scene really reach us, with dialogue that rings true. No frenetic cutting or slap-dash continuity here; the story is built of long, smoothly-played sequences that probe deeply into the characters and their interrelationships.
Delightful performances also
make this movie a treat. Elliot Gould and Dyan Cannon, as the last two title characters, are brilliantly natural, especially Miss Cannon in a scene with a psychiatrist that is staggering in its perception and insight. Robert Culp, acting in his familiar "I Spy" style, is excellent as Bob, though sometimes he seems too casual and too improvisatory to be believed. Only Natalia Wood as Carol fails to register. As a star, she is very manufactured herself and can't help look and perform as if she's made from tough, shiny plastic.
Apr. 8
1970 KANSAN 5
I NEVER CRY AT WEDDINGS OR FUNERALS . . .
I DON'T SEND CHRISTMAS CARDS .
I DON'T SEND CHRISTMAS CARDS . . .
& I D'CHEAT ON MY WIFE . . . IF I HAD
THE TIME
I'VE ONLY ONE SOFT SPOT: A MAN IS INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY!
PARAMOUNT PICTURES presents
BARRY NEWMAN
HAROLD GOULD
EVE. 7:00 & 9:15
MAT. SAT. & SUN. 2:00
ADULTS $1.50
CHILDREN 75c
MORE THAN JUST A MOVIE IT'S A SPECIAL EVENT!!
STARRING ORSON WELLES · JEANNE MOREAU · MARGARET RUTHERFORD · JOHN GIELGUD · MARINA VLADY KEITH BAXTER DIRECTED BY ORSON WELLES · RELEASED BY PEPPERCORN-WORMSER, INC. FILM ENTERPRISES
Hillcrest3
HILLCREST SHOPPING CENTER * 9TH AND IOWA
EVE. 7:15 & 9:25 MAT.SAT.& SUN.2:15 Special Limited Engagement Adults 1.50,Child 75c
Technically, the moviemakers seem to be very cautious, and occasionally, the film's high spirits droop slightly due to Mazursky's heavy-handed direction. But
imagination, wit and sensitivity,
not "technique," are what keep
"Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice"
well above water and firmly
down-to-earth.
Adults 1.50, Child .75
"Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is about four
people who love each other. What's wrong with that?
COLUMBIA PICTURES presents A FRANKOVICH PRODUCTION
NATALIE WOOD ROBERT CULP
ELLIOTT GOULD DYAN CANNON
Executive Producer M. J. FRANCHARD + Technochaus
baked by LARRY TICKER - Dedicated by PAUL MAURIZAN
2nd WEEK
Matinee 2:30 Daily
Eve. 7:15 - 9:40