Movies

THE FOUR SEASONS (1981) *** Alan Alda, Carol Burnett, Rita Moreno, Jack Weston, Len Cariou, Sandy Dennis, Bess Armstrong. Alda, who wrote and directed, assembles a veteran cast of colorful couples spending their quarterly vacations together during one memorable year of change and confrontations of middle age craziness with deft and frequently funny aplomb. The choice to use Vivaldi's `Four Seasons' and the beautiful scenery only underscores the theme perfectly. Trivial note: the college-aged girls the group visit for parents' day are actually Alda's real-life daughters.

Alan Alda the actor has come up with a few worthwhile projects over the years as a writer and director. This movie, his feature directorial debut, is quite enjoyable.Three upper-middle class couples are seen during the four vacations they take annually. They enjoy each others' company, but a fissure in the friendships begins to grows when one man tires of life with his wife and introduces his new, younger girlfriend into the group, and things go from there. Alda manages very successfully the balance between comedy and drama, aided by the excellent cast of veterans. All the principals here (the first seven listed in the credits) do fine work.

When I first saw this film in the 1980s with a bunch of girlfriends, we all practically fell out of our seats with laughter. Alan Alda did a fantastic job of demonstrating mid-life crises and poignancy. There are wonderfully funny scenes with terrific characters. How many of us wonder about our marriages, how would you act if a couple you know and love broke up and he brings home a blonde bimbo/trophy wife? Would you cease the friendship, try to help the former wife, how would you handle such a tricky situation and what impact would it have on your own marriage? Alan Alda addresses it all with classy humor, nailing the reactions perfectly, writing crisp, clean copy and directing beautifully. The film is still fresh today with its humor and pathos.