The Big Chill (1983)

A group of seven former college friends gather for a weekend reunion at a posh South Carolina winter house after the funeral of one of their friends.

Director:

Lawrence Kasdan

Writers:

Lawrence Kasdan, Barbara Benedek

Stars:

Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Berenger	...	Sam Weber
Glenn Close	...	Sarah Cooper
Jeff Goldblum	...	Michael Gold
William Hurt	...	Nick Carlton
Kevin Kline	...	Harold Cooper
Mary Kay Place	...	Meg Jones
Meg Tilly	...	Chloe
JoBeth Williams	...	Karen Bowens
Don Galloway	...	Richard Bowens
James Gillis	...	Minister
Ken Place	...	Peter the Cop
Jon Kasdan	...	Harold and Sarah's Son
Ira Stiltner	...	Running Dog Driver
Jake Kasdan	...	Autograph Seeker (as Jacob Kasdan)
Muriel Moore	...	Alex's Mother

Storyline

A seminal Thirty-Something movie in which a group of old college friends who are now all grown up and hardened by the big wide world come together for the funeral of Alex, a barely glimpsed corpse, who was at one time the brightest and the best of them, and yet who never managed to achieve half as much as any of the others. The friends use the occasion to reacquaint themselves with each other and to speculate as to what happened to their idealism which had been abundant when they were younger.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | funeral | suicide | group of friends | 1960s | 

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Taglines:

How much love, sex, fun and friendship can a person take?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 September 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Reencuentro

Filming Locations:

USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$56,968 (USA) (6 November 1998)

Gross:

$56,968 (USA) (6 November 1998)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation, Carson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lawrence Kasdan wrote the parts of Karen and Sarah specifically for JoBeth Williams and Glenn Close respectively, however both actresses initially wanted to play the role of Meg as both felt that they better related to that character over the ones chosen by Kasdan.

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Goofs

In the opening sequence, when the guests arrive at the funeral, an elderly couple obviously receives the sign to start walking (which seems to be their only role) just a second or so too late, so you see them standing still for a split second before taking off.

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Quotes

Michael: I don't know anyone who could get through the day without two or three juicy rationalizations. They're more important than sex.
Sam Weber: Ah, come on. Nothing's more important than sex.
Michael: Oh yeah? Ever gone a week without a rationalization?

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood's Top Ten: Super Soundtracks (2011)

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Soundtracks

"WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN"
Written by Calvin Lewis (as Calvin H. Lewis) and Andrew Wright
Performed by Percy Sledge
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corporation

User Reviews

Great movie!!

After reading several of the user comments on this movie, it is clear that many people missed quite a bit. Those "funny one-liners" (and there are plenty!) are much more than that: they tell us volumes about the characters. This movie certainly does not spell anything out to the viewer (except, perhaps, the obvious), so you must be able to find the meaning behind the words. If you listen to what the characters are saying, then you can understand their past relationships, their present feelings, which friends have stayed close, etc. Remember, these are old friends: the script is very realistic so the characters are not going to explain every line to one another. I believe to truly enjoy this movie you need to pay close attention to all of the details and understand a bit about the attitudes and ideals of the two eras the movie depicts.

Wonderful, intelligent movie!