Same Time, Next Year (1978)

40% of critics liked it
(5 reviews)
79% of users liked it
(4,177 ratings)

Based on Bernard Slade's Broadway play of the same name, this film is about George, a married New Jersey accountant (Alan Alda), and Doris, a housewife (Ellen Burstyn). The two accidentally meet in a Californian country inn in 1951. They have an affair, which they continue for the next 25 years,… More Based on Bernard Slade's Broadway play of the same name, this film is about George, a married New Jersey accountant (Alan Alda), and Doris, a housewife (Ellen Burstyn). The two accidentally meet in a Californian country inn in 1951. They have an affair, which they continue for the next 25 years, meeting only once a year for a weekend getaway at the same hotel. Through their long-running love affair, the audience witnesses the changes within America and its lifestyles over the course of a quarter of a century. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 59 min.
Directed By: Robert Mulligan
Written By: Bernard Slade
Genres: Drama, Romance, Comedy

In Theaters: Nov 22, 1978 Wide
On DVD: Apr 6, 2004
Studio: Universal Pictures

Critic Reviews

Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television
Well done filmed play absorbs us in the characters' lives.
Urban Cinefile Critics, Urban Cinefile
It's funny, sad, unexpected and moving. Just like life and its relationships
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
An overlong, tiresome, excessively theatrical comedy, based on Bernard Slade's play, about a 25 year tryst of a married man and married woman (Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda.
Nick Davis, Nick's Flick Picks
Satisfied neither to be honestly frivolous or sincerely ambitious, Same Time, Next Year winds up giving a bad name both to comedy and to drama.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
What worked on the stage doesn't on film.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Daniel P

I saw 20 minutes from the middle of this on TV probably five years ago and thought "looks pretty good." I think they were the best 20 minutes of the movie. Overall, this one comes off like your average community theatre play, and it appears to have a lot of lines that would… More
I saw 20 minutes from the middle of this on TV probably five years ago and thought "looks pretty good." I think they were the best 20 minutes of the movie. Overall, this one comes off like your average community theatre play, and it appears to have a lot of lines that would have worked better on stage. The problem (well, a problem, there are a quite a few) is that this was shot as though it were on stage, in a lot of long shots in front of cheap scenery. The acting is so-so, but the dialogue is brutal - fast-forward the first 15 minutes or more, you won't miss anything - and the plot clunks along. And yet, strangely, the story does gets its hooks in you. You can't stop watching. You need to know how it ends. Unfortunately, this is just mediocre or worse on so many levels that the interesting premise can't save it.
jay n

ellen burstyn is an actress of almost limitless ability as she shows here.
James K

In a weird way it's kinda like the Godfather. The protagonists are doing a wrong thing, but you root for them to make it work.
Leo L

Great!
Anthony V

Great offbeat love story.