The Four Seasons (1981)
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Three close friends and their spouses navigate the complexities of marriage and friendship through a series of annual vacations across the four seasons.
The story
Three middle-class married couples—Jack and Kate, Nick and Anne, and Danny and Claudia—are close friends living in New York City. To maintain their bond, they embark on a series of quarterly vacations, each planned by Kate, occurring in every season of the year. However, the stability of their group is tested as personal secrets and changing dynamics begin to surface. During their travels, the friends must navigate the complexities of their individual relationships, including a sudden divorce and the introduction of a new, younger woman into their established social circle, challenging the harmony of their long-standing friendship.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Three married couples—the Burroughses, the Callans, and the Zimmers—are close friends in New York City who vacation together every season. In the spring, Nick reveals his unhappiness to Jack and plans to divorce Anne. By summer, Nick is dating a younger woman, Ginny, and the group travels to the Caribbean, where the presence of Ginny causes tension. In the autumn, the group travels to Connecticut; Anne is depressed following the separation, and Danny becomes frustrated with Claudia's attitude. During this time, Nick's history of infidelity is revealed to Jack. In the winter, the group stays at a ski resort. After a series of physical mishaps and a confrontation regarding Ginny's place in the group, Ginny eventually leaves the lodge. However, after a harrowing incident where Danny and Ginny are stranded in the snow after their car sinks into the ice, the group reconciles and decides to continue their tradition.
- First release year
- 1981
- Runtime (minutes)
- 107
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Alan Alda
- Writers
- Alan Alda · writer
- Cast and characters
- Alan Alda · Jack Burroughs; Carol Burnett · Kate Burroughs; Len Cariou · Nick Callan; Sandy Dennis · Anne Callan; Rita Moreno · Claudia Zimmer; Jack Weston · Danny Zimmer; Bess Armstrong · Ginny Newley
- Genres
- romantic comedy-drama
- Themes
- friendship; marriage; midlife crisis
- Tone and mood
- romantic; dramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- ensemble cast; road movie; romance
- Reception
- The Four Seasons was a critical and box office success. It was the ninth highest-grossing film of 1981 and renewed interest in the Vivaldi concerti.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 68% · scale: percentage · review count: 19
- Production trivia
- The title is derived from Vivaldi's concerti.; The film spawned a CBS series in 1984.; The film was adapted into a Netflix TV series.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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