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!

head. I dance around the kitchen, using a plate as a tambourine, and I'm lost in the past for a few minutes.I love this film.

From a businessman having less than ethical practices, to an alcoholic actor, to control freak doctor, a miserable/loose housewife, to a lonely attorney who's abandoned her values, a former psychologist who's turned to fast cars and drugs, a womanizing professionally frustrated writer, to a clueless 20 year old. This is one you can watch over and over again.

movie a second time. My views of the 60s are not so gilded as they were then either. "The Big Chill" is still a very good movie; you have to love it for the ensemble acting. So many of the actors in the movie went on to have respected careers in the 80s and 90s. It's one of those rare movies like "American Graffiti" and "Diner" that served as a launch pad for acting careers. And the soundtrack is perfect, capturing the breadth of late '60s pop music. I really wish Kasdan had done with these characters, what Updike did with his "Rabbit" novels, that is, show the characters at ten year intervals through their lives. This is one of the better movies of this type and is highly recommended even for the gen-x'ers.

classic is a classic, and the soundtrack is LOADED with them. Music can make or break a movie, and in The Big Chill, the music is an integral part of the film, as important as the cast, the writing and the directing. Its hard to imagine different music, just as it's hard to imagine a different cast. The songs weave in and out of the movie as easily and naturally as the subplots weave in and out of the story.22 years after being dragged to this movie by my parents who LOVED it , I remain pleasantly surprised at what a good movie it is as a whole, and how much more I liked it as an adult. The acting is brilliant. The writing is excellent. The directing is fantastic. Everything snaps into place in ways that keep you from getting bored, irritated, or otherwise turned off. Sometimes melodramatic, sometimes hilarious, the characters are well-constructed by the writer s and beautifully brought to life by the cast. Two hours fly by without dragging, down time, misfires or backfires. The story unfolds in 1983 with a crew of Baby Boomers, college friends brought back together by tragedy, taking stock in their lives as they get reacquainted with each other after many years have passed. The story may be dated, but anyone, no matter their "generation," can find something to relate to in this film. The interpersonal relationships, the individual journeys, and the self-reckoning that comes with the death of a friend... all of us can grasp these concepts and drink them in, get lost in them, feel the pain, and feel the joy. We can relate to it because its themes are timeless... love, loss, sadness, joy, growing up and getting older. This happens to us all.My only real criticism of this picture would be that once in a while the film was a little too poignant and too depressing for my tastes, but only for brief moments. It could be that no one else who sees this film will agree with me, or even notice. That's fine. Opinions...we all have them. For me, it went a little overboard, just a smidgen. This is the only reason I did not give this movie a 10. It is still a wonderful movie. Some might suggest that this "going overboard" was what made the movie effective. It was effective, very much so, but for me it was a bit too much from time to time. Once in a while, my heart strings need a rest.However, the music remains the most memorable part of the film. I had to look The Big Chill up on the internet to be reminded of the general story line, but the music has stayed with me all these years, and will remain with me, from the first notes of Joy to the World through the rest of the soundtrack and back. I would watch this movie again, and recommend it to anyone, no matter how cynical they are or what generation they belong to. Its that good.

to fit the mood perfectly. I had high expectations for this film, and although it wasn't quite what I had expected, this film did not disappoint.

intelligent, witty, ironical, sensitive and deep. Each protagonist will have to take off his/her mask, and show himself/herself for what he/she is now: the easy and devouring enthusiasm of those, not so distant, at least chronologically, but mentally and emotionally buried times cannot be acted for long. The only form of consolation, a very significant one, actually, is the possibility to share this sense of disillusionment, and the understanding that the only way out of personal dramas is communing with others. Evidently, the actors, nowadays known as talented performers, but not so famous in 1983, are more than good. Not to mention the soundtrack, which contributes strongly to the emotional impact of the movie and makes one feel like rediscovering the great and out of time hits of the 60's, 70's. A cult and must see movie.

doubt that the concept of modern western life runs through the looking glass of adulthood and friendship. These two ethical constructions define not only the individual, but also his surrounding environment, the juxtaposition of self and society, of creation or destruction within the normal boundaries of a capitalistic State. It is within these constructions that family is born. Nevertheless, the binding force of the entire human web is based on the only natural error that Man has never come to terms with: death.The circle of friends portrayed in The Big Chill is long broken; a smell of forgotten innocence only remains to remind the group that once they were one. Not pieces of a puzzle, but the puzzle itself. Back in college they've learned to act as a fist, with strong bonds with one another; back in the American 60s, they learned that the dream of piece, love and understanding was not utopic, not unreachable, but just moments away… All of this now already faded away.In the prosperous America of the 80s lies another reality for them, the ultimate capitalistic dream, the life of the modern man encloses words such as family, money, kids, school, house, company, but not friendship. The ultimate hope of the once strongly connected group rests in the hands of the misfit, the one that never grew up, the one that probably stayed glued onto daydreams of the past and not conformities of the present, the boy that flew out of the window. And it is in this point exactly where Lawrence Kasdan begins his story, he heard a sound, probably we all did, and it was from the grapevine.The circle comes into closure, when one dies. After the funeral, a weekend is all that there is left for the eight friends to try and comprehend what went wrong. But in this very last stand of their own, they realize that what was missing was not something out there, but rather something within each and every one of them; old friends after all miss each other. With a light, romantic and earthly touch, Kasdan achieves his filmic purpose. You want to be a part of this, you want to reach out and feel the warmth, you don't want this to end…and it doesn't. At the end, we'll all leave in that house forever, alongside with Sam, Sarah, Michael, Nick, Harold, Meg, sipping coffee, hot chocolate and wine under the sounds of Marvin Gaye and the Temptations, knowing that all this is our personal, unique hideaway, our world outside the world, our very own Neverland.

Chill is a great film to watch when you are looking for happiness in a sad place. One of my friends died recently and I stumbled upon this movie soon afterward. It is a movie that never should be remade because along with defining a generation it speaks across generations. I have a feeling that this movie will find you when you need it. Just don't pass it by.