Other Titles • Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice • Bob & Caroline & Ted & Alice (1969)
Synopses for Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969)
1.
While its particulars remain rooted in the sexual revolution of the late 1960s, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is remarkably timeless as a classic comedy of manners. Making an impressive, high-profile directorial debut after success as a screenwriter, Paul Mazursky took the pulse of California society better than anyone, especially with this well-cast, sharply observant comedy that begins when sophisticated couple Bob and Carol (Robert Culp, Natalie Wood) attend a weekend retreat that opens their eyes to the possibilities of open marriage and mutual acceptance of extramarital affairs. When they reveal their newfound liberties to straightlaced couple Ted and Alice (Elliott Gould, Dyan Cannon), the subtle, behavioral richness of the largely improvisational screenplay (by Mazursky and Larry Tucker) rises to the surface, conveyed through the kind of natural rhythms and pauses that were dramatically in vogue in the fast-changing Hollywood of 1969. The film hasn't lost any of its punch, perhaps because American sexual politics have returned to the conservatism that existed before Bob and Carol emerged as the signature comedy of the swinging sixties. The absence of the late Natalie Wood is the only drawback to the DVD's excellent commentary, which reunites Mazursky, Culp, Gould, and Cannon in a casual atmosphere of humorous reminiscence. --Jeff Shannon
2.
Paul Mazursky's directorial debut effectively and comically deals with many of the frailties of the sexually enlightened 1960s. Bob (Robert Culp) is a successful documentary filmmaker who takes his wife, Carol (Natalie Wood), to a remote California retreat for group therapy, intending on observing only in the hopes of making a new documentary. However, the hipster couple immediately become involved in the therapy, embracing the groovy ideals of swinging couples, tai chi, emoting, and primal screams. They arrive home full of new feelings and radical ideas about their marriage and successfully amuse their best friends, Ted (Elliott Gould) and Alice (Dyan Cannon), a much straighter version of themselves. However, after Bob and Carol admit, accept, and practically celebrate their extramarital affairs, Ted and Alice are so shocked by their liberal standpoint that Alice must seek psychiatric treatment. In therapy, however, Alice realizes her own illicit desires. After articulating them to her husband, the foursome head to Las Vegas in an attempt to become more than just friends in a far-out finale, famous for its menage à quatre theme. This stylish satire is a simultaneously poignant and amusing account of radical sexual experimentation, rampant with Nehru jackets, Pucci bikinis, love beads, and psychedelic parties.
3.
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