697. The Big Chill (1983)

Running Time: 105 minutes
Directed By: Lawrence Kasdan
Written By: Barbara Benedek, Lawrence Kasdan
Main Cast: Kevin Kline, Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, William Hurt, Jeff Goldblum, Mary Kay Place, JoBeth Williams

GREAT MOVIE, GREAT SOUNDTRACK

As I write this review I'm being serenaded via headphones by The Band and their song "The Weight". My wife needed to watch "The Big Chill" tonight for her movie project and I opted to join her and get it knocked off of my list in the process. This is one that I have seen a few times before and remembered having mixed feelings about it. This time the feelings pretty clearly pointed to a great film, with great actors and realistic situations.

The movie opens with a ringing phone at the home of Harold (Kline) and Sarah (Close) Cooper, followed by the news that their longtime friend, Alex, has just committed suicide. We're prepared for the funeral by Marvin Gaye and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". The funeral, burying and reception follow that and we meet the rest of "the gang" or the rest of Alex's friends' from college. There's Sam Weber (Berenger), star of television's "TJ Lancer", Michael (Goldblum), a journalist who writes for People magazine, Meg (Place), a tomboyish lawyer, Karen (Williams), a now married housewife with two kids and Nick (Hurt), a drug addict who still manages to provide stability during difficult times. The rest of the movie is pretty straight forward, as we spend a few days getting to know these characters, what they're all about, the remembering of Alex, the rehashing of old wounds and relationships and basically just some good (and a few bad) times all around.

When I saw this movie many years ago, I remember loving it. I remember re-watching it a few years ago and not liking it as much, chalking it up to a movie that doesn't really hold up on second viewing, but I have to say that the third time has apparently been the charm, because this time around I had a blast hanging out with these characters one more time. This movie really gives you a sense of togetherness and friendship and the cast really gels well together as everybody seems to be having a great time making this movie and the chemistry is there in full force. We've all been in a situation like this and maybe it wasn't during a funeral, but we've all had those weekends or few days where we get together with old friends or family members and talk about the old days and just soak in the presence of someone you love, that you may not have seen in a really long time. Bottom line, it's a very relateable movie and in my opinion, it's hard not to think about your own life and your own friends while watching it.

The cast does a great job and I'm especially fond of William Hurt and Jeff Goldblum and what about Glenn Close, who seems to be impressing me more and more with each and every movie I see starring her and climbing to the top of my favorite actresses list film by film. As I said above the cast does a great job gelling together and they all have their distinct personalities and places in the film. In my experience with "The Big Chill", you don't ever pick a favorite character, but rather enjoy the interactions of everyone as a group. After looking over the star actors of the film and realizing that they all still work today or have worked recently, this is one movie that I'd be all for a sequel to. I think it would be great to round up all these actors and actresses and let them reunite on the screen once again. It would be kind of like a Before Sunset/Before Sunrise kind of thing and I think it would work and I'd be super excited for it, even though I'm usually not one for sequels. Anyway, I guess I'll wrap this up by saying that "The Big Chill" really makes you feel comfortable and it's a really fun watch, with great actors portraying interesting characters and even though there's not a lot of action, there's a great deal of good dialogue and interaction between the characters and if that doesn't get you then just watch it for all the great music, because damn, what a soundtrack on this movie!

RATING: 9/10 Didn't quite feel like a full blown '10', but a '9' is nothing to sneeze at. Definitely a recommendation from yours truly and it currently happens to be streaming on Netflix.

MOVIES WATCHED: 159
MOVIES LEFT TO WATCH: 842

October 9, 2010 3:25am