LGM Film Club, Part 431: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

OK……..well, I had never seen Paul Mazursky’s 1969 film Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice. In fact, I really knew nothing about it except for the classic image from it of all four of them naked in bed together and the understanding that it was one of those movies from the late 60s you had to see at some point.

So let’s just say that while I was expecting it to be pretty 1969, I didn’t expect it to be this painfully over the top rich California hippie turning New Age version of 1969. OMG, this was a lot for me to get through. I assume many of you have seen this, so it’s not a spoiler alert for a movie released a mere 57 years ago. So I wasn’t exactly expecting the film to start as an advertisement for an Esalen retreat and the rest to be about “honesty” which means I can fuck whoever I want and it’s all good. And then it goes from there. Honestly, I just wanted to call in the air strike. Like, I would vastly rather watch Peter Fonda’s version of hippie in Easy Rider than this claptrap. It’s not a bad movie for what it is. And I can most certainly see why it was important. At least I was able to laugh at it. But…..wow that was a lot of the type of person I really, really do not like. So it was kind of fun!

Also, a pretty brave career choice for Natalie Wood given she wasn’t exactly a new actor at that point and, you know, that role is really embracing the New Hollywood.