Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)

“My DARLING, you did NOT cheat, you TOLD me about it. If you HADN’T told me about it, THAT would have been cheating! ” – Carol

Number of Times Seen – 1 (14 Jun 2017)

Brief Synopsis – After a documentary film maker and his wife attend a self awareness retreat, their lives are changed forever.

My Take on it – This is another film that I watched in order to expand my knowledge of Natalie Wood’s resume and once again I was so impressed by the way she gives herself over to her characters.

She plays characters that are very emotional and learn so much more about themselves as things move along.

This film’s plot deals with the ideas of romantic and physical love and how different people view each of those ideas.

The idea to give us four diverse characters who are all great friends works extremely well here because they can all openly discuss their opinions on these subjects while they each try to find some kind of solution or conclusion to the best way to view these ideas.

Wood is joined by Robert Culp, Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon and they are all superbly cast here because they are all so different even physically.

When one looks at the poster of this film, one can mistakenly believe that this is a film about swingers but it is something far different; this is an adult drama which tries to dissect what people at that time thought about the ideas of love.

I was blown away by the fact that many of the scenes still feel relevant today almost 50 years after this was made.

Bottom Line – Great plot that delves into the ideas of romantic love and physical love and what are potentially the differences between the two. Culp, Wood, Gould and Cannon are all great here because we get to see four differing opinions on the subject who debate it all for us to also try and come to some sort of conclusion.  This film’s poster and premise make it seem like it is a drama about swingers but it really isn’t because it tries to dissect what people of that time and place thought about love.  many scenes are still relevant today. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Natalie Wood decided to gamble her standard fee on a percentage of the gross, earning $3 million. She had earlier declined a similar offer with West Side Story (1961). (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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