Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

While its particulars remain rooted in the sexual revolution of the late 1960s, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice is remarkably timeless as a classic comedy of manners. Making an impressive, high-profile directorial debut after achieving success as a screenwriter, Paul Mazursky felt the pulse of California society better than anyone, especially in this well-cast, sharply observant comedy that begins when sophisticated couple Bob and Carol (Robert Culp, Natalie Wood) attend a weekend retreat and discover the potential "benefits" of open marriage and mutual acceptance of extramarital affairs. Once they reveal their newfound liberties to straight-laced couple Ted and Alice (Elliott Gould, Dyan Cannon), the subtle, behavioral richness of the largely improvisational screenplay (by Mazursky and Larry Tucker) comes to life, delivered with the natural rhythms and pauses dramatically in-vogue in the fast-changing Hollywood of 1969. Perhaps because American sexual politics have returned to the conservatism that existed before the release of this signature comedy of the swinging '60s, the film has lost little of its punch. DVD extras include a commentary track reuniting Mazursky, Culp, Gould, and Cannon (the late Wood is sorely missed) in a casual atmosphere of humorous reminiscence, as well as a 1983 interview featurette with Mazursky. Recommended. (J. Shannon)