Synopsis
After her husband dies, Alice and her son, Tommy, leave their small New Mexico town for California, where Alice hopes to make a new life for herself as a singer. Money problems force them to settle in Arizona instead, where Alice takes a job as waitress in a small diner.
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Cast
- Ellen BurstynAlice Hyatt
- Kris KristoffersonDavid
- Alfred LutterTommy
- Harvey KeitelBen Eberhardt
- Diane LaddFlo
- Lelia GoldoniBea
- Billy Green BushDonald Hyatt
- Jodie FosterAudrey
- Valerie CurtinVera
- Vic TaybackMel
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
The movie has been both attacked and defended on feminist grounds, but I think it belongs somewhere outside ideology, maybe in the area of contemporary myth and romance. - 91
The A.V. Club
Since women are usually such foreign creatures in Scorsese's work, he seemed an unlikely choice to direct Burstyn's feminist vehicle, but his aggressive style suits her uncompromising character. - 90
The New York Times
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore is an American comedy of the sort of vitality that dazzles European film critics and we take for granted. It's full of attachments and associations to very particular times and places, even in the various regional accents of its characters. It's beautifully written (by Robert Getchell) and acted, but it's not especially neatly tailored. [29 Jan 1975] - 80
Empire
Alternating gritty realism and red‑hued fantasy, this is one of those '70s films that wears well, universal in its heart while picking out specifics which are exactly of their time. - 80
Time Out
Bitter-sweet and very charming. - 80
The New Yorker
One of the rare films that genuinely deserve to be called controversial. I think people will really fight about it. It's the story of a woman who has a second chance thrust on her; she knows enough not to make the same mistake again, but she isn't sure of much else. Neither is the movie. Alice is thoroughly enjoyable: funny, absorbing, intelligent even when you don't believe in what's going on--when the issues it raises get all fouled up. [13 Jan 1975, p.74] - 70
Chicago Reader
Not always successful, but packed with energy and a lively Oscar-winning performance by Burstyn. - 60
TV Guide Magazine
[An] effective but uneven work, which chronicles a woman's search for self.
