Review of A New Life (1988) by Timothy S — 19 Jun 2014

Alan Alda was such an iconic television star that the jump to movies was inevitable, and for the most part his films as writer, director and star were quite good. With "A New Life", however, he stumbles a bit trying to enter Woody Allen territory and while the end result is certainly watchable enough it feels more like a TV movie than a theatrical effort.

Alda's character would seem better suited to Allen himself or maybe Billy Crystal, and the first half of the picture suffers from wild mood swings. The comedy doesn't work, especially some peculiar moments of broad comedy such as Alda being mugged by a transvestite. He fares better with the drama, which is why the film's second half improves some. There are some nice bittersweet moments here, and if it had been written bolder and not like a movie-of-the-week, there might have been enough to save the picture.

I appreciated the way that the couple's new relationships had their share of problems, it makes the movie feel authentic. Alda is a fine actor, even if it does take a bit here to accept his overly pompous character, and Ann-Margret is as luminous as ever. You can't fault how Alda cast his film, but you can find fault with him as a screenwriter. By the time the film finds its footing and I became involved in it as a drama, everything is once again undone by the trite, abrupt ending wraps things up way too quickly and conveniently.

"A New Life" isn't necessarily a horrible film, but its full potential is never fully realized. This never should have been a comedic film, and while it does recover from its rocky start, the ending disappoints as well.