After almost 40 years, ‘The Big Chill’ still spreads warmth
If you’ve ever had a friendship, or even just heard of friendship, “The Big Chill” is a movie for you.
As it comes up on (hard to believe) its 40th anniversary, director and co-writer Lawrence Kasdan’s 1983 comedydrama – currently streaming on Hulu – is as fresh and engaging as ever, owing to the universality of its themes and an ensemble cast that simply couldn’t be better. A great soundtrack principally drawn from the Motown catalog of classics underscores the picture’s warm feel, making it even more nostalgic nearly four decades later. (Fun fact: It was one of only two movies made by “Tonight Show” legend Johnny Carson’s production company.)
The story’s central character is barely seen ... somewhat ironic since the role went to Kevin Costner, whose scenes were cut. He (almost) plays Alex, whose suicide draws several of his college friends back together for the funeral and a post-service reception that turns into a full-blown weekend reunion. Lingering hopes and old issues come to the fore as the regathered acquaintances share fairly close quarters.
Included in the group: athletic-shoe magnate Harold (Kevin Kline) and his doctor wife Sarah (Glenn Close); feature-story reporter Michael (Jeff Goldblum); disillusioned attorney Meg (Mary Kay Place); actor Sam (Tom Berenger), alias television detective “J.T. Lancer”; restless wife and mother Karen (JoBeth Williams); and eternal rebel Nick (William Hurt, reunited here with Kasdan after “Body Heat”), whose “line of work” (as Harold puts it) is drug dealer. Lending touches of outside perspective is Chloe (Meg Tilly), who was Alex’s girlfriend at the time of his death.
One only can wonder how much footage was left on the floor overall, but what “The Big Chill” showcases are wonderful combinations of its then-rising stars. The scenes range from the comical to the introspective to the downright soulful, the latter crystallized by a kitchen scene in which the group packs up dinner leftovers while simultaneously dancing to The Temptations’ “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.”
Other movies in the vein of “The Big Chill” have followed over the years, but there’s a special magic to the original, making it – if you’ve already seen it – the sort of film that prompts you to feel something the moment you hear the title. Likely more often than not, that feeling is warmth, and it makes you wish the film didn’t end where it does. The Goldblum character sums up that hope with the final line: “We’re not leaving. We’re never leaving.”
With that said, it’s fortunate that the inkling to make a sequel (which surely arose, given the movie’s success) never has been acted upon. “The Big Chill” is pretty much perfect standing alone, just as it is.