Firstly, this is not classic stuff here. Far from it. That said there is a reason I give this film a five star review. "Sweet Liberty" is an example of the kind of personal filmmaking that Hollywood used to make many years ago before the advent of event movies, disposable commodities designed for one or two big weekends to make way for the next blockbuster. Consider that Woody Allen was not always an art house darling rather a mainstream filmmaker. Alan Alda's work is in a similar vein but this isn't to suggest that he is an Allen copycat. Alda was a singular cinematic voice whose films surprisingly appealed to a wide audience. An example of this would be the success of "The Seduction of Joe Tynan" and "The Four Seasons". Alda aimed for a thinking crowd populating his films with interesting characters and complex themes. Unpretentiously he attacked the viewer cerebrally but very cleverly tickled your funny bone. There is nothing snobbish about his films because he assumed the intelligence of his audience. Alda was Everyman. This is best exemplified by his popularity as Hawkeye Pierce in the TV version of "M*A*S*H*". Admittedly I wasn't a fan of the series because I was partial to Robert Altman's film rendering but I haven't seen it since it went off the air so that's subject to reevaluation. As far as the film it doesn't hit a false note. Great performances not only by Alda but co-stars Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins, Michelle Pfeiffer, Lillian Gish, et al. Thoughtful explorations of relationships and the human condition. When you think you're entering cliché territory Alda throws you a curveball. This is the best I can do without providing spoilers which I despise. Sit back and enjoy the show.