Review of The Big Chill (1983) by Stuart K — 05 Aug 2013
Directed by Lawrence Kasdan, who had just found big success with his directorial debut Body Heat (1981), a dark noirish thriller. Here, Kasdan wanted to make a small, personal film, nearly autobiographical.
Partially based on Kasdan's friends from the University of Michigan, the film is a thirtysomething answer to the Brat Pack films that were being made at the time. It has some lovely performances, a very good script and one hell of a brilliant soundtrack.
It follows a group of friends who studied at the University of Michigan, getting back together for the first time in 15 years after they hear about the tragic death of their friend Alex, who committed suicide.
Alex's college friends include Harold Cooper (Kevin Kline) and his wife Sarah (Glenn Close), television actor Sam (Tom Berenger), real estate agent Meg (Mary Kay Place), journalist Michael (Jeff Goldblum), Vietnam Veteran Nick (William Hurt) and housewife Karen (JoBeth Williams).
After the funeral, they decide to spend the weekend together, just to reconnect and catch up on old times. They're also joined by Alex's much younger girlfriend Chloe (Meg Tilly). It's a warm, moving, gently funny and engaging character piece, it's compelling to watch and see all these great actors bounce dialogue off one another.
Plus, you never saw who Alex was, but Kevin Costner originally played him in flashback, but they were cut. That adds a sense of mystery.
This review of The Big Chill (1983) was written by Stuart K on 05 Aug 2013.
The Big Chill has generally received positive reviews.
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