MovieChat Forums > The Four Seasons (1981) Discussion > Real people, no plastic surgery

Real people, no plastic surgery

posted 13 years ago by EnglishDoc
13 replies | jump to latest

I stumbled upon this movie on cable after not having seen it since it first came out. I remember loving it in my teenage years, mostly because I loved Alan Alda from MASH. It was very cool to watch it again now that I'm the characters' age and at that stage of my life, with kids off to college. Weirdly, one of the first things I noticed is that all of the characters looked "real," unlike actors of today. Everyone had imperfect teeth and wrinkles, and they were actually able to act through facial expressions. It made me long for the days when appearance and youth weren't so ridiculously revered and people were allowed to look middle-aged. It also made me appreciative of REAL comedy, not people barfing on eachother's heads, dropping the F-bomb every other word, and generally going for the lowest common denominator. How nice was the slower pacing, the time to develop the characters so we actually cared about them, the lack of special effects and instead the focus on characters who actually act like real people? I'm not sure if young people of today would appreciate it or could even sit through it, but man, do I miss movies like this.

[–] JessePomeroy 13 years ago

I agree on all counts, and am also now in the age bracket of the characters and enjoy the film even more than I did when I was young(and back then I loved it too).

I wish there were many films that felt as good as this does. True there a some, especially from that era, but quiet little gems like this are far too rare. Every single character and their relationships to each other was rock solid. The concept is only slightly far fetched, but just because the vignettes are too perfect.

I became a fan of Vivaldi as a very young man because of this film, and subsequently a lifelong fan of classical music, so I ought to thank Alan Alda for that. Well, really I should thank Vivaldi because his Winter score is the single most beautiful composition I have ever heard,

[–] Blueghost 12 years ago

It's a terrific film. It's about real people with real issues, humor and love.

[–] Kroyall1962 12 years ago

They are real looking, Sandy Dennis' dental work was a tragedy.

[–] Linda1973 12 years ago

I agree with the OP 100%.

I remember being dragged to see this when it came out, and I HATED it. HATED.

Now that I'm older, I absolutely adore it. The actors are TRUE actors, not like today's generation of cookie cutter pretty people. These were REAL people, who showed emotion, depth, range...very gifted ensemble.

And wow...how handsome was Alan Alda back in the day? :)

[–] artistathome 12 years ago

Yes, it is difficult to watch these old movies and see the bad dental work.

Most of the people in the movie are still around and making movies and I am pretty sure they have had their teeth fixed.

It is so strange to see actors like Sly Stallone and Sandy Bullock and others from the 80s whose teeth simply look awful.

And yet, no one seemed to notice back then.

[–] horsenbuggy 8 years ago

Yes. I hate to be shallow, but her teeth were a bit distracting, especially since one of the characters was a dentist to the rest of them.

[–] lousvr 10 years ago

I watch this flick every Thanksgiving.. I'm from NYC and understand were they're coming from... I miss Manhattan but it's way to expensive for me to live in....

Now.. Com'on.. they're normal?... They're over the top.. Rita with 'I'm Italian'.. Jack Weston as the obnosious 'dentist'... Carol Burnett with her constant laughing, her laugh is unique.. equivalent to 10 normal people.. bulll dinky... Sandy Dennis .. well. she's just being Sandy Dennis square power.... Alan Alda.. HE IS being himself.. From a distance I can handle that.. in a waiting room... Who has the 38.??>

I love every location they're in .. I LOVE IT>.. the woods, the snow, the sailing... miss it so much..
Sorry but the Alan Alda real daughter, the downer... jez.. she's ready to hang herself.. Didn't he see that.. ..

I sleep now..

[–] joshua_carpino 10 years ago

"They are real looking, Sandy Dennis' dental work was a tragedy."
*beep* you,she wouldn't be sandy dennis without the teeth.

[–] artistathome 9 years ago

No one except perhaps Ginny had ok teeth. Amazing, but it is what you get used to. Nowadays I can't think of one actor who would go to an audition without fixing whatever was wrong.

in some cases, actors have great teeth, they are just yellowed so all they do is lighten. But too much in some cases. they have Chiclet teeth.

I watched FSeasons when it came out and liked it a lot then as I was about 10 years younger than most of the characters but loved it anyway.

Now at age 65 to see it again and again every few years, I realize how really true and on the mark it was. You can tell a person Alda, wrote it from experience.

Anyone who says people don't say and think these things or act this way, is just Whistling Dixie!! Marriages, especially long marriages are like this, full of love and sometimes hate! And funniness too.

And the young bride with the older guy, I am sure that what she felt was right on the mark.
Watch this movie for the fun of it, and realize that these characters were not old, being in their 40s and 50s.
And yet when it came out, I thought they were nearly ancient!

[–] lm-85621 9 years ago

Couldn't have said it better!

[–] mmitsos-1 8 years ago

All the teeth comments.

I must disagree on one note....I STILL see some actors today who don't bother fixing their teeth, and it amazes me that they don't. Back then, it wasn't SOP for actors to do so, though I would have, if I needed to. But today, for those who don't fix their teeth....anf there are still some who don't, I can't imagine why they wouldn't.

[–] IcySpoon 8 years ago

In the past few years, its become one more thing I enjoy about movies from the 1930's through 80's - although there were people who had plastic surgery, most people had unique faces ( Gloria Swanson, "We had faces We didn't need dialogue!")
I enjoy the, "imperfections", the uneven teeth that are not blindingly white - woman that had their own unique style and didn't look almost interchangeable. Imagine Humphrey Bogart with perfect teeth and a nose job or even more contemporary examples: Barbra Streisand, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman with a nose jobs-I like the individuality of their respective faces.

The actors faces moved, had more expression - they had wrinkles! Quelle horror!

The pressure actors have to maintain this pretense of perfection - starving off the ravages of time, is unrealistic and unhealthy. The fact that the audience has come to expect and demand it is sad.

An actor should be a chameleon not a lemming.

"Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it." Norman Maclean

[–] jgroub 7 years ago

Y'know, it's interesting, I would peg all of the characters as approaching fifty, with the possible exception of the dentist, who was definitely in his mid-fifties.

And you know what? Half of them are not.

Alan Alda 45
Carol Burnett 48
Jack Weston 57
Rita Moreno 50
Len Cariou 41
Sandy Dennis 44

In fact, I would have pegged the last couple to be at least ten years older than they were. The guy, Len, has got wrinkles around his eyes that are as deep as the Grand Canyon (at 41!) and Sandy Dennis, well, she was born old.

Part of it is the fact that these characters were my parents' ages at that time, and that my parents were good friends with two other couples and used to go on vacations, long weekends with them, etc.

Watching this now, 35 years later, when I am the same age as these characters, really changes my perspective on this movie.

But even so, yeah, the younger characters (Alda, Cariou, Dennis) do look to be at least 5 years older than they actually are.

I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.