The Big Chill (1983)

A group of seven former college friends gather for a week-end reunion at a South Carolina vacation home after the funeral of another of their college friends.

Director:

Lawrence Kasdan

Writers:

Lawrence Kasdan, Barbara Benedek

Stars:

Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Berenger	...	Sam
Glenn Close	...	Sarah
Jeff Goldblum	...	Michael
William Hurt	...	Nick
Kevin Kline	...	Harold
Mary Kay Place	...	Meg
Meg Tilly	...	Chloe
JoBeth Williams	...	Karen
Don Galloway	...	Richard
James Gillis	...	Minister
Ken Place	...	Peter the Cop
Jonathan Kasdan	...	Harold and Sarah's Son (as Jon Kasdan)
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 older and experienced come together for the funeral of Alex, who was at one time the brightest and the best of them at college and yet who never managed to find his way. The friends use the occasion to reacquaint themselves with each other, discuss where their lives have led and speculate on what happened to their idealism which had been abundant when they were younger.

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Plot Keywords:

funeral | group of friends | reunited friends | original story | woman in a shower | 

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Taglines:

In a cold world, you need your friends to keep you warm.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The Ladd Company, producers of [writer-director Lawrence Kasdan's earlier] Body Heat (1981), passed on the project as did top executives at Paramount, Universal, MGM, 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros [and Columbia Pictures]. It was Marcia Nasatir, then president of Carson Films, who finally persuaded Columbia chairman Frank Price and president Guy McElwaine to back the project" according to Torene Svitil's essay with the Criterion Collection's DVD. On the 15th Anniversary DVD documentary, Lawrence Kasdan says how every major studio had turned down the project, including Columbia who ended it making it, they just couldn't see it. It was the belief of Nasatir that catalyzed the film to get made at Columbia, though, according to Kasdan, with much resistance, and toing and froing, until they reluctantly agreed to make it.

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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.

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Quotes

Harold: By telling you this, I've violated about 16 regulations of the Securities Exchange Commission. So, please don't repeat it.
Nick: Repeat what?

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Alternate Versions

In the original, in the nighttime scene under the dock with Karen and Sam, after Sam explains why their relationship wouldnt work, Karen says "don't give me that shit!". For the network version, its changed to "Don't Give me that Junk!".

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Connections

Referenced in High Fidelity (2000)

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Soundtracks

My Girl
Written by Smokey Robinson (as William Robinson, Jr.) and Ronald White
Performed by The Temptations
Courtesy of Motown Records and Jobete Music

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!

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1983 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Les copains d'abord

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$8,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,662,152, 2 October 1983

Gross USA:

$56,399,659

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$56,399,659

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Carson Productions, Delphi Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1