A lot of fun.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

This film was quite revolutionary for the time period of 1969 about sexuality, marriage and fidelity. Two Los Angeles professional couples are Bob (Robert Culp) and Carol (Natalie Wood in a surprising role) and Ted (Elliott Gould) and Dyan Cannon (Alice) who spend the entire movie discussing sexuality and monogamy. The two couples are both attractive and successful and best friends with each other as well. The build-up scene for the foursome is quite developed and realistic. Both husbands have flings or one night stands while Alice is still a holdout for being faithful. The film begins with Bob and Carol at a new age institute common for the era. The film showed Los Angeles in the sixties as an up and coming city. They lead comfortable, successful lives but something seems missing . The surprise performance was Natalie Wood in her role.

How am I feeling about this 1960's boring comedy with the most unoriginal title I've ever heard? The only thing I liked about Bob and Carol... etc is the presence of the fabulous Natalie Wood.With the abolished Hayes code, Hollywood began experimenting with more risqué content, including: sex, drugs, violence and anything else previously considered taboo, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice wasn't immune from this new found freedom, as it is overly sexual and contains brief drug usage, in the form of marijuana being smoked from a pipe. But all things considered, how boring was this film? The acting was pretty decent, particularly from Natalie Wood who I consider an all time great actress, Dyan Cannon playing Alice also demonstrated her worth, but sadly the film lacked, maybe at the time of its release (1969) it could have been rated more highly, but sadly it hasn't aged very well at all..., it smacks of the sixties and the changing of society at the time. In the beginning, Bob and Carol attend a self help retreat, this changes Carol in a way and opens her eyes, so later on when Bob admits that he'd had an affair in San Francisco, she sees this treachery not as cheating, but as something rather positive..., however when she admits what Bob has done to her friends Ted and Alice, they are stunned, particularly Alice, she cannot believe what Bob has done, and cannot believe even more so how Carol is handling it!Eventually the couple come to terms with what their friends are doing and ease into a closer relationship with them, at the same time breaking every rule in the former Hayes Code. It's a "modern" tale of love that would've formerly been outlawed, the film smacks of freedom, and therefore the actual story and presentation of seriously lacks any real quality.A sheer step below Natalie Wood's standard, but another film to add to her brief library.

I called "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" a vague film because there are very few certainties in the film. If you want a movie with a clear message and ending, then this film is NOT for you. I really think what you think of the movie is entirely dependent on the viewer and how they interpret what they see. I see it's listed as a comedy, but I could easily see someone thinking it's a drama. I could also see it as an endorsement of sexual freedom--or a film about the importance of fidelity in a marriage! Bob and Carol go to an encounter weekend--the sort of pseudo-therapy type group that was gaining popularity in the late 1960s. During the opening credits as they arrive there, you see lots of nudity--though the rest of the film is amazingly skin-free. There, they learn to let go of their inhibitions and be completely honest with each other--or at least try to be. The result is that they become closer as a couple--which could lead to serious complications when Bob tells Carol about an affair he recently had. But, using the model of their encounter group, Carol isn't upset but happy that they can be this honest. Later, when their best friends Ted and Alice hear of this, it throws them for a spin--how can a couple be THIS honest and still remain a couple?! Later, this new-found freedom leads to a four-some--a four-some that is really much more tease than please. Following this, the film ends in a manner that is just plain bizarre.I just don't know what to think of this film. While the acting pretty good and the film quite arousing at times, it also will no doubt be frustrating because just when you think the fireworks are going to occur, the film ends! Sexy but unsatisfying.

I admit that I was a bit puzzled by the perspective of this movie. All the way through, it seemed to be building to the logical conclusion that the four main characters were going to end up swinging together, culminating in Alice's expected suggestion to the other three that they have an orgy. All the way through it seemed to be a celebration of the sexually free-wheeling 60's, with Bob and Carol essentially enjoying an open marriage - not only having affairs but telling each other about them and sometimes even meeting each other's lovers - and basically trying to convince Ted and Alice to join them in this lifestyle of freedom. Then, in the end, it didn't happen. That didn't upset me - I was pleased by the ending of the movie, but still surprised. The lasting message that I got from the movie was that, ultimately, sex without love is an empty thing, but love without sex is a wonderful thing. Thus, the concluding scenes of the four deciding that their friendship made it impossible to begin a sexual relationship and the eye contact they make with strangers while on their way to the Tony Bennett concert, while all the way the closing song ("What The World Needs Now Is Love") plays in the background. I loved the ending and thought it perfectly appropriate. I also loved the beginning of the movie with the encounter session which was absolutely hilarious.Robert Culp & Natalie Wood & Elliott Gould & Diane Cannon as the respective title characters were fantastic all the way through, and their performances made an interesting story even better. The only thing I never really figured out was the decision to open the movie with the "Hallelujah Chorus"? What was the relevance? I wasn't sure. Small point, though, in an overall great movie.