Movie · 1969 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 45m · R · English
Curator score: 6.4/10 (23.4K ratings)
Consider the Possibilities
Overview
After returning to Los Angeles from a group therapy session, documentary filmmaker Bob Sanders and his wife, Carol, find themselves becoming vigilante couples counselors, offering unsolicited advice to their best friends, Ted and Alice Henderson. Not wanting to be rude, the Hendersons play along, but some latent sexual tension among the four soon comes bubbling to the surface, and long-buried desires don't stay buried for long.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.4/10
IMDb: 6.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.70/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 82%
Metacritic: 72
TMDB: 6.3/10
Director
Paul Mazursky
Production
Frankovich Productions, Columbia Pictures
Cast
Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, Elliott Gould, Dyan Cannon, Horst Ebersberg, Lee Bergere, Donald F. Muhich, Noble Lee Holderread Jr., K.T. Stevens, Celeste Yarnall, Lynn Borden, Linda Burton, Greg Mullavey, Andre Philippe, Diane Berghoff, John Halloran, Susan Merin, Jeffrey Walker, Vicki Thal, Joyce Easton
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, time-capsule sex comedy that turns late-60s permissiveness into something funny, anxious, and surprisingly humane. It’s especially rewarding if you like relationship comedies with social bite, ensemble chemistry, and a distinctly New Hollywood sensibility.
Best for
viewers interested in late-1960s cultural shifts
fans of witty relationship comedies
people who enjoy ensemble-driven character studies
audiences curious about early New Hollywood
viewers open to frank but lighthearted sexual politics
Skip if
you want fast pacing or broad slapstick
you dislike talky, stagey chamber-comedy setups
you prefer modern sexual comedy with a more explicit tone
you’re looking for a purely cynical or purely romantic story
Overview
Paul Mazursky’s film is a sly snapshot of a very specific American moment: affluent, self-conscious, and newly eager to talk about sex without quite knowing what to do with that freedom. What makes it endure is that it doesn’t reduce the couples to types; it lets vanity, insecurity, affection, and curiosity coexist in the same conversation.
Worth noting
The movie plays like a social experiment that keeps turning into a joke, then into a confession, then into something more tender and awkward. The performances are key, especially the way the cast makes the dialogue feel both polished and improvised, as if everyone is discovering their own boundaries in real time.
Bottom line
It’s funny, a little brittle, and very much of its era, but not trapped by it. Beneath the free-love premise is a smart comedy about marriage, performance, and the gap between what people say they believe and what they actually want.
Top Letterboxd reviews
mia lee vicino (4★) · 926 likes
stoned dancing elliot gould is my FRIEND! we hang OUT! we smoke WEED! we repress our longing for each other’s WIVES! we have an ORGY with said wives before going to the TONY BENNETT CONCERT! it’s NORMAL and COOL to do this ... because we are FRIENDS! 😁
demi adejuyigbe (4★) · 565 likes
Terrific! I love (almost) any movie that feels like it should just be a stage play. I've seen this type of sex comedy done so many times where they just have the loveless couple and the freaky "funny" couple without any other personality, so it was refreshing to see them treat them like two distinct couples with stories that needed to be told! And it's earnestly funny in a way a lot of modern sex comedies aren't, because it isn't… more Terrific! I love (almost) any movie that feels like it should just be a stage play. I've seen this type of sex comedy done so many times where they just have the loveless couple and the freaky "funny" couple without any other personality, so it was refreshing to see them treat them like two distinct couples with stories that needed to be told! And it's earnestly funny in a way a lot of modern sex comedies aren't, because it isn't… more
SilentDawn (4.5★) · 488 likes
83
Might as well be the definitive film of 1969. It embodies so much of the apprehension and cultural shifts of the time, in addition to the sweet and almost gentle innocence of being open about sex. It's absurd how honest and progressive this is about our desires and their limitations - something that films rarely explore these days without the necessity of a moral lens. The four main players are excellent, especially Elliot Gould, who is just so silly… more
Sean Fennessey (4.5★) · 428 likes
The Not-So-Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. It occurred to me as I was watching again for the first time in a while that I’m now the same age as Robert Culp’s character, a privileged self-serious sophisticate living comfortably in Los Angeles with his urbane wife and high-toned friends as they acclimate to their Esalen-learned emotional elevation/hoodoo. The New Hollywood classics hit different the older you get. I adore Dyan Cannon in this, it’s amazing to think this is her first… more The Not-So-Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. It occurred to me as I was watching again for the first time in a while that I’m now the same age as Robert Culp’s character, a privileged self-serious sophisticate living comfortably in Los Angeles with his urbane wife and high-toned friends as they acclimate to their Esalen-learned emotional elevation/hoodoo. The New Hollywood classics hit different the older you get. I adore Dyan Cannon in this, it’s amazing to think this is her first… more
Kyle Amato (4.5★) · 339 likes
OFFICIAL POWER RANKINGS
1. Carol
2. Alice
3. Ted
4. “What the World Needs Now is Love”
5. Horst
6. Bob