Review of The Four Seasons (1981) by Vuk O — 29 Jul 2013

I watched The Four Seasons as an avid movie buff kid, and decided to watch it again only recently, as I remembered enjoying it. The first fifteen minutes are overstuffed with middle age couples laughing hysterically and Alan Alda chewing with his mouth open, which is annoying as hell, as if the characters are forced upon the viewer as lovable, but it actually continues as a engaging story about a year in the life of three couples, one of which is going through a divorce, one is a bit older and features a hypochondriac, while Alda and Burnett play the moral authority of the group.

Sandy starts as the weirdo of the group, and when she's replaced by Len with a much younger Bess, the rest of the group have to accept the new girl, which isn't easy. That's the whole premise.

It's a slice of life, with real people going through real issues, and they're portrayed by real actors. That's how this movie's aged: the characters look their age, without Botox or porcelain veneers (despite the movie's most recent cover design), they don't look perfect, they just look real.

And that's why this was easy to watch. Although, it would be best to watch it while working on something, or on a weekend morning or afternoon, otherwise you might stop it after the first twenty minutes or so.

It's in the same category as The Big Chill. Hollywood doesn't make movies like this anymore, whatever is similar is labeled as 'indie' and doesn't get decent theatrical distribution.