Loving Couples, released in theaters on October 24, 1980, is a glossy, sun-drenched romantic comedy that doubles as a sly satire of marital malaise in late–1970s America. Featuring Shirley MacLaine, James Coburn, Susan Sarandon, Stephen Collins, and Sally Kellerman, the film plays with the complicated dance of fidelity, ego, and longing among wealthy professionals who should have everything—except happiness.
The film opens with Dr. Evelyn Kirby (MacLaine), a successful Los Angeles physician, and her equally career-driven husband, Dr. Walter Kirby (Coburn), who appear to have the perfect marriage.
But their polished façade cracks when Evelyn begins a flirtatious entanglement with Greg Plunkett (Collins), a smooth-talking real estate agent with boyish charm.
When Greg’s neglected girlfriend, TV weatherwoman Stephanie Beck (Sarandon), discovers the affair, she retaliates by striking up her own with Walter.
Inevitably, these crossed lines lead the quartet to the same Acapulco resort for a “secret” getaway—setting the stage for a farcical collision of deceit and desire that neither couple is prepared to handle.
Director Jack Smight, best known for earlier character-driven works like Harper and The Illustrated Man, directs with a light touch that captures the restless spirit of its era.
Beneath the laughably tangled plot lies a sharp critique of upper-middle-class ennui at the dawn of the Reagan age. Wealth and freedom have not brought these characters fulfillment; instead, their pursuits mask emptiness and emotional confusion.
MacLaine plays Evelyn with her trademark intelligence and comic timing—an independent woman who mistakes rebellion for liberation.
Coburn’s Walter, on the other hand, uses his laid-back charm to conceal the insecurity of a man who’s losing control, both personally and professionally.
Sarandon, still early in her career, stands out with her wit and empathy, foreshadowing the emotional depth she would later bring to Thelma & Louise, Bull Durham, and Atlantic City.
James Coburn and Susan Sarandon in Loving Couples (Photo/20th Century Fox)
Reception for Loving Couples
Loving Couples grossed $1 million on its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office.
The film would gross $2.8 million in its theatrical run.
Roger Ebert gave the film one out of four stars in his review.
Legacy
While Loving Couples was lightly received on release and overshadowed by similar infidelity-themed comedies such as A Change of Seasons and The Last Married Couple in America, its performances and period flavor have aged into a kind of sociological artifact. Today, it serves as both a time capsule of the “California cool” relationship comedy and a revealing mirror of the decade before love became therapy and fidelity negotiable.
Loving Couples isn’t groundbreaking, but it remains an honest, charming study of how adults—striving for passion—often stumble into immaturity instead.
