...Maybe This Time

Judy Morris is good as Fran, a woman looking for one reliable man in her life. The film shows how the 70s sexual revolution not only allowed women to gain greater sexual experience before finding a partner, but also made many potential male partners less willing to commit to one woman.

Bob Ellis' touch is evident in the witty dialogue, but the witticisms often do not drive the narrative, and the whole adds up to less than the sum of the parts.

In other words, although this film has many important observations about sexual politics and sexual relations in the 1970s, the overall experience is somewhat lacking. Too many situations fade out leaving the heroine even more convinced that she will never find her true love. By the end, the audience feels as hopeless as Fran, even though Fran is willing to head overseas in the hope of something better.

The film is worth seeing for Morris' performance, and Bill Hunter, Mike Preston, Ken Shorter, Leonard Teale, and Chris Haywood are all acceptable as various types of unreliable males. The film was nominated for six AFI awards, but it looks like it was just making up the numbers in a quiet year.