A friend’s suicide reunites a group of 60s college friends who have gone separate ways in the 80s. The once rebellious group of friends find that they have settled into 80′s lifestyles; the political activist is now a Hollywood macho-man; the radical lawyer now works in commercial law; the left-wing reporter now works for People magazine. Lawrence Kasdan’s hit film nearly featured Kevin Costner, who played the dead friend in flashbacks which were cut out of the final version. The soundtrack is classic Motown.
Starring: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline
Directed by: Lawrence Kasdan
Runtime: 101 minutes
Studio: UCA
Amazon USAmazon UKIMDBReview: The Big Chill
Lawrence Kasdan’s Oscar-nominated drama boasts a fabulous cast who portray a group of college friends reunited in their thirties following a tragic death. Harold (Kevin Kline) and his wife Sarah (Glenn Close) receive the unwelcome news that their friend Alex has committed suicide in their guest house in South Carolina. At Alex’s funeral a group of college friends gather – Sam (Tom Berenger) who is a famous actor; Michael (Jeff Goldblum) who is a journalist; Nick (William Hurt), a Vietnam veteran and former radio presenter; Meg (Mary Kay Place), a real estate attorney; Karen (JoBeth Williams), an unhappy housewife; and then there is Chloe (Meg Tilly) who is the younger girlfriend of Alex and is somewhat out of place amongst the group. After Alex’s funeral, the friends spend a weekend together, facing up to their loss, assessing their lives and trying to focus on the future.
The cast in The Big Chill is a director’s dream with some memorable names from the eighties with some still thriving today. With so many characters there are a lot of personal issues to deal with. Sam is the big star on TV but from the start it seems he and Karen clearly have history, though rekindling any desires looks difficult with Karen arriving with her husband, Richard (Don Galloway). Harold and Sarah have a marriage that has survived a lot including Sarah having an affair with Alex but his death hits them both hard. Meg confides in Sarah that she wants a child and intends for one of her friends to help father a child. Michael is amusing, veering between the search for his next story and finding the next woman to seduce with Chloe top of his list. Nick is a troubled character, having sustained a delicate injury in Vietnam and struggled through life. Chloe is lost without Alex and although Michael is eager to comfort her, Chloe finds herself drawn to Nick and the two grow closer as the weekend progresses. There are a lot of ill-feelings for the characters to express and grieving for Alex proves to be something they each find hard to begin. There are good times too though, their first reunion since college though clearly some have fared better than others.
The Big Chill is a decent drama with a great cast of characters coming together through tragedy rather than through a planned reunion. It’s interesting that although they’ve had different degrees of success in their lives there is a collective feeling of disappointment amongst them. Though uniting eases many of the problems there are no quick fixes here, which is a more apt way to end the story.
Verdict: 4/5
(Film source: reviewer’s own copy)
Film Review: The Big Chill | Thank you for reading Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dave
