The Four Seasons (1981)

A surprising commercial success when originally released, The Four Seasons was also given considerable critical acclaim. Years later, it's hard to understand why. Not that Seasons isn't a good film; it simply isn't an outstanding one. One of the truest examples of an ensemble film, its cast is uniformly strong and is the movie's biggest asset. Never as effective when starring on the big screen as they were when starring on television, Alan Alda and Carol Burnett turn in solid performances here, and there's a simple chemistry between them that is appealing. Rita Moreno and Jack Weston perform well in showier, audience-friendly parts, and Len Cariou's work is so good that one wonders why he has done so little in films. As usual, Sandy Dennis provokes differing reactions in people, but it's one of her least mannered performances. The main problem with the film lies with the script and direction, both of which are a bit too earnest and synthetic. The script doesn't dig deeply enough, settling too often for facile observations rather than real insights. As a director, Alda just isn't inventive enough; there's nothing really wrong with what he does, but nothing that impressive either. Still, the cast makes Seasons well worth catching. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide