Same Time, Next Year (1978)

i must have seen a different film!!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

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 acting in this movie is really good.

I found this movie very appealing and human. Sure, it brings out guilt feelings if you are married, but critical reviewers need to note it is really based on a fantasy, so may not be realistic. Ellen Burstyn is the better actor of the two. The song sung by Johnny Mathis suits the story admirably. I've seen this movie several times now and never get bored with it.

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

This two-person play is transferred to the screen without being able to escape its stage origins, but it offers a great opportunity to see two fine actors give two fine performances.Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda play lovers who meet once a year at the same time and place for a weekend together. In between, they live their separate lives with their respective families, and they spend as much time catching each other up about the goings on in their individual worlds as they do fooling around during their yearly trysts.Burstyn and Alda are a joy to watch, and they handle the evolution of their characters well. The movie itself gets better as the two principals age -- the early scenes don't come off as well (the worst segment is one in which Burstyn's simple housewife experiments with hippie-dom while Alda's uptight Republican struggles with the death of a son in Vietnam), but the later scenes are simply wonderful, full of a poignancy that resists sentimentality.And I love the theme song to this movie. My wife and I had it played at our wedding.Grade: B+