Marriage Movie Marathon 1
Uncanny but I admit that although this movie’s subject is infidelity, “Same Time Next Year” (1978) still remains to be one of my all-time favorite films simply because of its theme song (Johnny Mathis’s “The Last Time I Felt Like This”) and the way that the story was written. That’s crediting the fact that it was originally a successful 2-character Broadway Play by Bernard Slade. The film doesn’t deviate much from the play’s structure. Everything is still seen and felt through the points of view of the two main characters – George and Doris, two cheating spouses played by Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn.In gist, the story begins in 1951 when the two of them accidentally meet each other in a quaint little inn out of town (think Sonya’s Garden in Tagaytay). And by some unexplainable magic (blame the ambiance), they hit it off and one thing lead to another and soon we find them carrying on an adulterous affair for 26 years. But unlike most affairs, they agreed to consummate this alternate reality only once a year, hence the title. And then the movie takes us through the years, in a 5-year interval, as we see them age and evolve physically and emotionally ironically like any typical married couple. The only difference is that THEY’RE NOT MARRIED to each other.
I have to warn people before viewing this film. Watch it with care. It would be quite easy to romanticize and glorify “adultery” after falling in love with the charming characters of George and Doris. Hopefully, none of you would get any bad idea. I wanted my husband to see this film because I wanted to remind him (okay, myself too) that the temptation to cheat can indeed happen even in the absence of unhappiness in the marriage. It was good timing actually because he confided in me recently that some girl in his office actually professed a "crush" on him.
It is important to note in the movie that throughout the quarter of a century that George and Doris were together, they each had satisfying and relatively “happy” marriages with their respective spouses. Most studies reveal that the most popular reason why spouses cheat is discontent, and mostly it’s the need for sexual satiety. We realize that even though George and Doris were happily married, their perfect suburban lifestyles lacked the adventure of romance. Their annual rendezvous provided exactly that.
People say that romance leaves the marriage as soon as kids come in and even as early as a year after... three max. As much as comfort in marriage is a welcomed feeling after having volatile emotions during the dating years, it can also be the culprit for cheating. That’s why, even though it’s a good answer, I get worried when my husband (lovingly) answers me with the phrase “I’m content” when I ask him if he’s happy. He tells me that happiness is overrated. Contentment is more his thing. And so with this movie, I pointed out that cheating can still worm its way inside a very content heart. That’s why I told him, we should not stop being crazy over each other. Let’s be comfortable and curious at the same time. We may be married but we can be George and Doris to each other too.
1 comment:
Hi. Was browsing through sites looking for this film, and I fumbled into this. Do you know where I can get a copy of this film?
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