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.Written by
Mark Thompson <mrt@oasis.icl.co.uk>
How much love, sex, fun and friendship can a person take? The story of eight old friends searching for something they lost, and finding that all they needed was each other. See more »
In 1984, actress Glenn Close became the third actor to receive a Tony, Emmy, and Oscar (Academy Award) nomination all in the same calendar year for The Real Thing, Something About Amelia (1984), and The Big Chill (1983), respectively. See more »
Goofs
As the movie opens an older couple is walking up to the church, but both were clearly standing still arm in arm until they got their [late] cue to walk. See more »
Quotes
Richard:
[talking to Karen about her former friends]
I can't believe these are the same people you've been talking about all these years.
See more »
Alternate Versions
Other scenes cut/altered for the Network version:
Michael unpacking condoms was cut.
The shot of Sarah in the shower was an alternate angle, and it is also reframed.
The entire scene late at night on the first night with Sam, Nick, and Richard not being able to sleep was cut.
The scene with Sarah talking on the phone to her daughter, and remarking "I can't believe what I hear myself say!" was cut.
The scene with Sam and Karen in the grocery store was cut. Because of this, to save the continuity, the second scene of Meg and Sarah in the kitchen is shown in the place of the grocery store scene, instead of being between the outdoor scene with Harold and Michael and the scene with Chloe and Nick in the cabin.
Michael's line, "Outside is just one big toilet" is cut, as is him zipping up just before he says this.
Sam saying "Jesus" after everyone goes to the living room to watch JT Lancer is cut.
The last part of the sequence where everyone clears the table while dancing to "Aint to Proud to Beg", with Sam talking in the dining room, was cut.
Most of the jogging scene with Sam, Nick, and Harold is cut. It goes from the shot of the sunrise to the door closing on the van.
The Second half of the scene with Sam and Karen on the dock was cut-the scene ends with Karen saying "It's not like talking to you".
While arguing over the football play, Sam says "What the hell are you talking about!" rather than "What the fuck are you talking about!".
Harold tells the cop to "Beat the hell out of" Nick rather than "Beat the shit out of" him. Later in that same scene, Harold says "I don't need this, Nick" rather than "I don't need this shit".
At the dinner table, in the original, Sarah said "Jesus, even fortune cookies are getting cynical!". In the TV print, the word "Jesus" is muted.
Meg says "I feel stupid in ten different ways" rather than "I feel shitty in ten different ways".
The shot of Harold and Meg having sex on the bed was deleted, as was the shot of Sam and Karen making out on the ground outside.
While channel surfing, saw this movie again tonight, for about the 35th time. What makes this movie great is not the story - hell, there is no story really - but the making of the movie itself. It is the single best combination of acting, film editing, sound track, dialogue, and every other thing that goes into a movie, ever put together. No special effects, no car chases, no suspense, no anything that usaually passes for entertainment. Just excellent film making. Even tonight, I saw yet one more background detail I never noticed before. You have to watch this movie multiple times to appreciate it. Nearly everything that happens early in the movie relates to something that occurs later on. The transitions and foreshadowing, the character relationships, the very words themselves all fit together like no other film ever made. I truly believe that this is a film that should be studied as an example of pure movie making, no less than Citizen Kane. To rate this movie as a 10 is to underrate it. Of course, that is just my opinion.
55 of 71 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
While channel surfing, saw this movie again tonight, for about the 35th time. What makes this movie great is not the story - hell, there is no story really - but the making of the movie itself. It is the single best combination of acting, film editing, sound track, dialogue, and every other thing that goes into a movie, ever put together. No special effects, no car chases, no suspense, no anything that usaually passes for entertainment. Just excellent film making. Even tonight, I saw yet one more background detail I never noticed before. You have to watch this movie multiple times to appreciate it. Nearly everything that happens early in the movie relates to something that occurs later on. The transitions and foreshadowing, the character relationships, the very words themselves all fit together like no other film ever made. I truly believe that this is a film that should be studied as an example of pure movie making, no less than Citizen Kane. To rate this movie as a 10 is to underrate it. Of course, that is just my opinion.