Review of The Big Chill (1983) by Todd H — 13 Jan 2008

One of two great films from 1983 (the other was "The Right Stuff"), writer-director Lawrence Kasdan continued his hot hand of witty scripts (including "Empire Strikes Back", "Body Heat", and "Raiders of the Lost Ark") with this thoroughly entertaining ensemble piece.

A fantastic cast at the top of their game (William Hurt, Tom Berenger, Jeff Goldblum, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, JoBeth Williams, and Glenn Close) plays a group of college friends who gather years later after the suicide of a friend, reminiscing about what went wrong with his, and ultimately their, lives.

Fresh, funny, and engaging, "Big Chill" opens up its characters in ways few films are able to do in less than two hours: some are seemingly doing well after college, others seem unhappy. However, they all have undercurrents of discontent.

This is probably the most pertinent of the film's themes: life is what it is, even if things seemed so full of hope and promise when you were young, so deal with it, enjoy good times with friends, and move on.

The story seems to conclude with a lot of loose ends and without a typically weepy Hollywood "bon voyage" (which almost always happens at the airport). Instead, the leads wake up from one last night of partying and eat breakfast-- life simply goes on.

One last note-- this film uses its musical soundtrack better than any non-musical film except "American Graffiti".