Just perfect...

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Back in the day when you could go to the movies and not have your ears blown out with over-the-top sound and special effects created by some computer (although this was just the year after "Star Wars"), movies with themes usually found today on Lifetime were theatrically released and were classy, not sappy. Broadway plays were transfered to the screen, maybe not entirely faithfully, and the results were usually above average. In the case of this hit mid 1970's two character play (which originated with Ellen Burstyn and Charles Grodin in the leading roles), Burstyn gets to repeat her role, and Alan Alda, then one of the biggest stars on TV and in an occasional movie, took over the male role. They play two married people who meet by chance on the California coast, fall into an affair which neither of them planned, and end up seeing each other once a year because they just can't live without each other, yet they can't get rid of their unseen spouses, either.The film starts in 1951 after the audience is swept away by the beautiful "The Last Time I Felt Like This", sung by Johnny Mathis and Jane Olivor. The song is heard over the film, reflecting the passages in time, the political and social ramifications often taking over the character's lives when they meet up without even having spoken to each other since the last time they bid adieu. At first, Burstyn is a rather insecure young married woman, admittedly a high school dropout and with no more ambitions than continuing to be a housewife and mother. Alda is an accountant, and both are fairly young and innocent as they deal totally differently with the guilt they face of cheating on their partners. But as they think they'll never see each other again, they totally let go of their inner insecurities, and before parting, it is obvious that this will be a regular anniversary get-together for them.Five years, ten years, fifteen years, twenty-one years, and finally twenty seven years pass by, and we see not only the passage of time but how each of their lives have changed. The two get to know each other's spouses and children without ever even meeting them, and as the world changes, you begin to see deep changes within them. At one point, Burstyn is a Berkeley hippie (abliet the oldest one on campus) and Alda is a stuffy accountant seemingly embarrassed by her wardrobe and actions. But there's always more to these characters than what they perceive themselves to be on the surface, and like each visit before (including one where Alda helps a very pregnant Burstyn have her baby!), they find their way back to each other.There are moments of heartbreak and many humorous incidents. Both actors play extremely well off each other, and you can't judge them for their infidelities. In fact, the more you listen to their reasoning, the more you understand that it is their love for each other which has actually been responsible for saving their perspective marriages. There are moments where you will find yourself reaching for a handkerchief and laughing at the same time, and the ending, while potentially bittersweet, is downright hysterical if predictable. But that's O.K. By the time the story is done, you'll feel that you've known these characters for 27 years as well (even if your only 25!) just like each of them felt they knew the others spouse.

This is a film that has stuck with me for many years. If your interested in a film that celebrates the nuances and broad absurdities of human behavior, than this one is for you. The fact that it's based from a play and performed conspicuously in mostly one set, makes us focus on their every word and detail as their lives are revealed to us; along with their own unfolding self-discoveries. It's most surely not a nail-biting super adventure flick such as the Transformers Franchise. For starters, what wonderful performances by Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn! What is most interesting for me, is that I first saw it when I was 15 yrs old. And by myself. The tittle song that meanders through the film is lovely, and has helped to attach the memory for me all these years as well.The premise is so simple. It's about personal growth, life experiences; and the sharing of those experiences. The fact that Doris and George are both married to other people is a philosophical one, and a personal challenge for the viewer. The truth is, we all age, enter new stages in our lives; and the possibility that an additional love can be apportioned to all of us is put up for consideration. It's in this perspective that George and Doris share intimate chapters of their lives with each other while not able to do so with their respective spouses. A poignant example of this in the film describes George finally revealing to Doris that his son Michael was killed by a sniper during the Vietnam war, but though he loved him, had admittedly been unable to cry about the event until it was Doris's unique understanding and physical touch that finally broke George's angry facade; unleashing a watershed of built-up despair. I think at it's core, the film is able to offer all of us through a unique perspective, the importance of compassion, understanding, communication, and unconditional love. Even through unconventional ways.

"Same Time, Next Year" was way before the romantic comedies got cheaper, overvalued and vulgar as they tend to be now. This is such a classy and charming movie and regardless that it was made more than 30 years ago it still has an bright and valuable appeal to all kinds of audiences, specially those who enjoy filmed plays with positive presentations, great cast and a deep and thoughtful movie.We join Doris and George (Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda) on several romantic meetings at the same hotel located on a beautiful countryside, on the same date each year goes by from the 1940's up until the 1970's (the segments go at each five years). The funny thing is that they're not married with each other, they have their own spouses and kids, they're happy with the people they live with but they have this special bond between them that is quite unbreakable. They truly love one another but they don't see ways to end their existent relationships. On and on, they have discussions about life, love, sex, families, values and even a little bit of politics. Bernard Slade's play and script is more than just a romantic comedy with lovable moments. It's also a fascinating historical chronicle of the popular culture of the U.S. constructed through black and white pictures of famous moments and famous people from each decade, showing what was going on in the nation (the movies, the arts, the presidents, etc.) and there's the characterizations from both main characters (they change of political parties, or Doris becoming a hippie engaged in protests against the Vietnam war). Wish I couldn't make comparisons but I must to since I've seen plenty of similarities with another great films that deal with great love affairs. One cannot deny that Alda and Burstyn do have the same fun chemistry as Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy in Richard Linklater's "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" (third part coming next year. YAY!); or Aimee and Trintignant in "A Man and a Woman" and its sequel; and I dare say the extremes of a Brokeback Mountain, after all both deal with the distance, the agony of being apart from someone you love even though you're already committed to someone else. Rich and well-elaborated dialogs mixed with hilarious and graceful sequences, "Same Time, Next Year" is a happy collaboration between director Richard Mulligan and actors Ellen Burstyn (Oscar nominated for her role) and Alan Alda. It's real and powerful performances, you really believe in those characters existing somewhere and even going through some unimaginable and funny situations (when she's about to have a baby during their evening together). They're excellent and the movie as well. Don't miss it. 10/10

An adulterous couple meet at the same cabin every year for a weekend tryst (we see them every five years), while the world's fashions, morals and mores change around them. Ellen Burstyn repeats her Broadway triumph on the screen, and garnered an Oscar nod for Best Actress; though she's a terrific actress, this role doesn't allow Burstyn any real personality: it's all processed, from the costume and wig changes down to the mannerisms, from youthful girlishness to flip, knowing womanhood. Opposite her, Alan Alda is serviceable though rather uncomfortable, flailing away at little sitcom routines like a fish caught in a net. The sex talk between the two is queasy (despite being played for big laughs), halting the movie in its tracks. There's a love ballad that plays prior to every new chapter, and black-and-white stills representing the passing years, and this is all fine until we get back to that damn cabin. Playwright/screenwriter Bernard Slade doesn't write for the ages, he's too impatient and wants to wring laughter out of every set-up. Therefore, the film is sniggering instead of intuitive, and artificially sentimental instead of human. ** from ****