Same Time, Next Year (1978)

Too much of everything

The Age of Commercialism

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

I remember not being so fund of 70's movies until one day my mother told me about this film that was about to be broad casted and I decided to join her. I couldn't stop laughing!, Alan Alda is so funny that makes it look real, and what to say about Ellen Burstyn? she's a fantastic artist and a great entertainer. They both did a fantastic job on this film, whoever did the cast, made a terrific decision. The plot is so sweet, I love the story and how is only based on two characters and only one set. The script is so catchy that it makes you wanna listen to more fun stories of them both. The stories that they tell about their husband and wife are hilarious, you can't avoid to laugh, they make it sound so natural that you think those stories were real. The music is fantastic, that main song is so cute as well as the photos being displayed every time a new year is about to come, such a great idea to be added on a film. This is a definitely must-watch movie, specially if you're looking to have a good laugh and a great time with both Alda and Burstyn.

Same Time, Next Year is directed by Robert Mulligan, has a screenplay by Bernard Slade based on his play and stars Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn.The film begins in the early 1950's with George(Alan Alda)and Doris(Ellen Burstyn)both staying at the same inn. They meet and quickly develop feelings for one another, this leads to them spending the night together. They discover that they are both married and decide to meet up at the inn every year.The film shows the couple ageing and always meeting back up in the inn and staying in the same room. They share stories about their lives and families and as the years pass share sadness and tragedy as well as happiness.The film certainly sticks close to it's theatre roots with the use of just two locations the room at the inn and the outside shots of the inn by the sea. Alda and Burstyn have a lovely chemistry and although Burstyn appears a little older than her character perhaps should be she is still very good in the role. Both Doris and George also seem to genuinely care about their spouses and they do struggle with the fact that they are having an affair. The affair continues though because they relate to each other so much and they satisfy something in each other that their spouses can't.Poignant, funny and romantic Same Time, Next Year is well worth a watch.

SAME TIME NEXT YEAR is the 1978 film version of the long running Broadway play by Bernard Slade that follows the relationship between Doris and George, two people, married to others, who meet annually for a romantic weekend tryst at a New England Inn once a year for twenty-five years, even though this story only chronicles their meetings every five years, starting in the 1950's and ending in the 1970's. Ellen Burstyn recreates her Tony-Award winning role in the Broadway play as Doris, a sweet and gentle soul who we see grow from painfully shy romantic to free-spirited hippie to smart and confident businesswoman over the course of the story. Alan Alda replaces Charles Grodin in the role of George, a lovable stuffed shirt who turns into a completely different person when he's with Doris. Each vignette has its own special charm...my favorite is the year they meet and they can't have sex because Doris is pregnant. Burstyn's rich performance earned her an Oscar nomination and Alda matches her note for note. Mention should also be made of the beautiful love theme for the film sung by Johnny Mathis and Jane Olivor, "The Last Time I Felt Like This". A film for the romantic in all of us.

I've loved this movie since I first saw it. I'm not a big fan of Alan Alda. He seems to over-act quite often. However, Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn are great in this movie. They both grow and change so much as the years go by. Doris goes from being a naive good Catholic girl, to a self confident woman. George goes from being a supposedly adult accountant to being a supposed adult accountant. As a movie fan, I've always wondered what happens after the movies end. I find myself wondering if Doris and George would do very well as a full-time couple. George is manipulative and pretty self centered. I don't think that Doris would live with that very well. Of course, he might not be that way with Doris. Something to think about.