Natalie Wood, Elliott Gould, Dyan Cannon, Robert Culp

Documentary film-maker Bob Saunders and his wife Carol attend a group therapy session that serves as the backdrop for the opening scenes of the film. Returning to their Los Angeles home, the newly "en...( read more  read more... )lightened" couple chastise their closest friends, Ted and Alice, for not coming to grips with their true feelings. Bob insists that everyone "feel" rather than intellectualize their emotions, and Carol pronounces "that's beautiful" after anyone says anything even remotely personal. Ted and Alice humor their friends, but it is obvious that there is a good-natured sexual tension at work within the foursome.

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64% liked it

852 ratings

Critics

89% liked it

9 critics

R, 1 hr. 44 min.

Directed by: Paul Mazursky

Release Date: September 17, 1969

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DVD Release Date: November 16, 2004

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Stats: 90 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (90)


  • May 24, 2008
    Pretty impressive. A lot of good performances.
  • November 19, 2009
    "What the World Needs Now Is Love" is a 1965 popular song with lyrics by Hal David and music composed by Burt Bacharach. It was first recorded, and made popular by Jackie DeShannon. It was released on April 15, 1965. "What the World Needs Now is Love" has been used in many film s...( read more)oundtracks, notably Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice and For the Love of Fred (used as the film's closing theme song in both), Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, My Best Friend's Wedding, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Hot Shots! and Forrest Gump.
  • October 21, 2009
    What surprised me most about this film is its ambiguous approach to the subject matter. I figured it would just be a typical horny 60s sex farce, but it turned out to be a whole lot more dramatic and thought-provoking. Natalie Wood and Dyan Cannon are both miraculously, scandal...( read more)ously hot, Gould and Culp, not so much. The acting is great and the story gets more involving as the film progresses.
  • August 15, 2009
    Very 60s movie that is amazing.
  • May 11, 2008
    This is a good movie
  • September 23, 2007
    so bizarre, i could not appreciate this at all. half the time, i was just bored. and what i don't understand is how ANYONE could cheat on natalie wood. i mean come on!
  • September 5, 2007
    It's really interesting how fate always works out when I put stuff on my "must see" list. In the same sitting, I rented Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice and Shortbus in the same sitting. Clearly, there is a theme. Again, I'm faced with a movie that has to deal wit...( read more)h the premise of sex. However, I think Bob and Carol is more successful simply because the topic of sex has to do with the issue of monogamy and how straying from monogamy affects those around you.

    My biggest issue with this film is the pacing. While not being a long movie, the big "wifeswap" doesn't happen until the last five minutes of the movie. Knowing it is going to happen (it's on the cover!), you simply watch the film, seeing how these rational and irrational people settle their differences to get to the premise of the movie.

    I did like the ending. Unlike Shortbus, Bob and Carol gives the vibe that people are more important than their sexual organs and while it is important to address sexual satisfaction, people are not completely wiped out of the picture. I'm not really sure how to classify this movie. All the information on this movie places this as a comedy, but the comic situations are somewhat thin and the main interest in the movie is how people react to one another. Perhaps the idea that is funny is the openly sexual relationship between Bob and Carol and how normally enfuriating situations are scoffed at, but really, I saw this simply as character study.

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Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice Trivia


  • Eliot Gould won an Oscar for his role in Bob, & Carol. & Ted & Alice ?  Answer »
  • Who directed and also cowrote Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice ?   Answer »
  • Elliot Gould won an Oscar for his role in Bob& Carol & Ted & Alice ?  Answer »
  • What film had this cast : Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, Dejan Cannon, Lee Bergere, ?  Answer »

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