The Big Chill – 1983
This was an OK movie, though I have to agree with film critic Roger Ebert who said. “The Big Chill is a splendid technical exercise. It has all the right moves. It knows all the right words. Its characters have all the right clothes, expressions, fears, lusts, and ambitions. But there’s no payoff and it doesn’t lead anywhere.” And he was right. There was no story arc that led to any catharsis or climax. So really, what was the point?
The film was a portrait of a very specific nature. It showed a group of people who were once friends in college in the 60s. After that magical and special time in their lives, they each went their separate ways and followed their own paths. But when one of them commits suicide, the rest are gathered together for his funeral. They decide to stay together in the same house for a weekend to commiserate with each other over his death. Old wounds, old friendships, and old loves are revived and revisited.
The film had an ensemble cast with some names that are pretty easily recognizable, even today. Kevin Klein and Glen Close play Harold and Sarah Cooper, the hosts of the gathering that seem to serve as the mom and dad of the family of friends. Jeff Goldblum played Michael, the annoyingly lecherous nerd. Tom Berenger was Sam, the famous Hollywood actor. William Hurt played the part of Nick, the black sheep who was a drug user and dealer. Jo Beth Williams played Karen, a woman who says she is emotionally done with her marriage to a man she does not love, but proves that she has no intentions of leaving him. Mary Kay Place played Meg, a single woman who wants one of her friends to get her pregnant so she can have a baby. And finally, there is Chloe, played by Meg Tilly. She was not part of the core group, but was the deceased Alex’s young girlfriend who offers a different perspective on the situation. It is interesting to note that Kevin Costner was actually cast as Alex, but all his screen time was cut and his face was never shown.
And that’s the main cast. Over the course of the film, all the characters, each with their own distinct personalities and agendas, interact with each other. They all share the bonds of friendship, some of which are stronger and some weaker than others. But here is where the film’s biggest flaw comes out. We see them talk. We see them argue. We see them make love. We see them hug. But we don’t see them change. We don’t see them grow or progress as characters.
So then we have to ask, what did we get out of all the talking? What was the message of the film? I think we are told that youth is a magical time during which, if we are lucky, strong bonds of friendship can be formed. As we mature and the reality of adulthood settles in, those bonds can be tested, and if they are strong enough, they can offer us support in difficult times. So treasure your friends because you never know when you may need them. Also, youth equals carefree innocence and adult equals uncertainty and struggle.
I would like to mention a few interesting subplots, but have to acknowledge that, for the most part, that’s all the movie really was: a collection of subplots. The solution to Meg’s difficulty, her desire to get pregnant, is solved when Sarah, who loves and trusts her husband Harold very much, asks him to give her what she wants. Harold and Meg make love, making Sarah extremely happy that she was able to help her friend in such a way. Karen, who had always carried a torch for Sam, says that she is going to leave her husband so that she can seduce him into an affair. After he finally gives in and they have sex in the front yard, she can’t wait to get back to her husband and her kids. And finally, Nick and Chloe, who seem to have developed a close friendship decide to stay together and live in a shack on Harold and Sarah’s property. It is implied that they have become lovers, of sorts, despite the fact that Nick, who had been injured in Vietnam, can no longer get an erection. It is also mildly implied that Nick is trying to turn over a new leaf and kick his drug addictions.
And as a closing thought, the movie, as I read about it, is constantly being referred to as a comedy. But though some of the things the characters did or said were mildly amusing, I can only think of the film as a drama. A few jokes amid tears and hugs does not a comedy make.