Review of Same Time, Next Year

Robert Mulligan (Summer of '42, To Kill a Mockingbird) has directed some great movies. I love Summer of ‘42, and have watched it several times. The movie at hand has the same bitter sweet and melancholic mood to it. I just love the writing of Bernard Slade because it is witty and ironic. The same moment the audience feels what George, played by Alan Alda (Jake's Women, Everyone Says I Love You) and Doris, Ellen Burstyn (The Exorcist, How to Make an American Quilt) are doing is wrong, the audience loves the characters because they are so cute, funny, and saying those great lines. It is ironic how as George keeps saying how wrong it is and keeps lying to Doris about how many kids he has, the more entangled he gets with his big sin. She is a Catholic girl who is dealing with her guiltiness in a very secretive way. Much like Forest Gump this movie takes us through a journey in history and it made me think about the years that I lived through and learned more about the years before I was born. All those images with the background of original music by Marvin Hamlisch with lyrics by Oscar winners Alan and Marilyn Bergman (Summer of ‘42, Yentl). For some reason I always thought that the writer was Neil Simon (The Goodbye Girl, Jake's Women). My guess is because stylistically this movie has a Neil Simon feel. Another reason is because all those New York veterans like Alda and Burstyn are leading characters. The acting is superb. The music is great. Everything about this movie touched my soul, regardless of the adulterous relationship. Both characters adored their families and became confidants throughout the years. I was moved by the scene where George's son died he found Doris arms to cry in when he did not even cry at the son's funeral. This is both sad, sweet and ironic. This movie has so many great lines that I could not pick all the ones I liked, but I am going to just quote one small dialogue that I liked. George: "Why do you have to look so luminous?" Doris: " God just figured that chubby tights were enough." Favorite Scenes: When George cries because his favorite son dies in Vietnam; their last meeting in their movie after Helen died. This is a very touching movie.