Not Your Everyday Movie: The Big Chill (1983)

At some point in time I heard someone say they loved watching The Big Chill. I'm not sure where I heard it, but I wrote it down as a movie I should see. I had absolutely no idea what it was going to be about, other than what IMDB had to say about it, and even that doesn't say much. It lists it as a comedy, so I figured some lighthearted fun times in line with most 80's comedies. Probably some needlessly flashed skin. What I didn't expect to find was a thoughtful, touching film about friendship, life, and love. That is in fact what this film is about. But was it entertaining? More after the jump.


Alex Marshal has just died. That doesn't mean anything to you or me, but it means a lot to his friends. After having lost touch years ago after collage, seven of his closest friends reunite to mourn and remember. They weren't just friends to Alex though, they were all the closest of friends to each other as well. The one odd one out is Alex's girlfriend who is left behind. Like her, we don't know these people, and we only learn about them through the stories they tell about Alex and their memories of those times. They spend the weekend together at a huge country home and reconnect and bond all over again.

At first I was a little surprised. For a movie listed as a comedy, it was surprisingly somber and serious. This is not a movie like Death at a Funeral, instead it takes the matter very seriously. This group of people have lost a treasured friend, and it shows.

The news first hits, and it hits heavy.

It was a long time into the film before I realized what it was really about. I was expecting a plot or a story to arise. I was expecting the tone to take a sharp turn for the happier side of things. But this film isn't about that. Not that it doesn't have a story, or that it doesn't get happier. What The Big Chill gives us is a story about friendship and trust and belonging.

At the start we don't know anyone. It never gives you a back story on each either. Instead all we learn about them is just in passing with natural feeling conversations. In this way we are like Chloe, Alex's girlfriend. At the same time though, we also know nothing about Chloe, and she really doesn't say much. She's often oddly happy and a little out of it, and it's clear Alex's death either hasn't hit home yet, or it's had a huge impact on her. Because the rest of the group feel so familiar with each other, and because Chloe is so distant, we now feel like a part of the group, now trying to learn about Chloe. At least that's how I felt, one moment isolated and on the outside, the next feeling like you're one of the gang and lost for words in an awkward moment.

Every character feels real and never forced. While I'd like to go over them all, there are just too many to name and go into each. All I want to say is that while you feel like a stranger at the start, by the end you know each and every one of these people. None of them feel stereotypical and all of them are different.

It would be hard to find a better, nicer group of people

Another thing I noticed while watching the movie was all the great music. Music plays a big part of the film, as each songs seem to fit with what's going on at the moment. Interestingly, almost all the music is upbeat and fairly happy. Songs you could sing along to, and there are a lot of them! Another nice touch was how the movie starts and ends with the same song. At the start, before they get the news of Alex's death, Harold (Kevin Kline) Cooper's very young son is singing Three Dog Night's "Joy to the World" as he plays in the bathtub. At the end of the film, the full proper song plays, as if it's grown over the course of the film.

Here's an odd side note. There's an unusual amount of drug use shown, and of nearly every type of drug imaginable. I guess that was more normal in the early 80's? I couldn't really say. Then again, there is nothing interesting in this movie for kids, so they wouldn't even want to watch it in the first place. Also, there is some nudity, but it's a very small amount and it's tastefully done showing one of the women in a moment of grief sitting on the floor of a shower.

While I felt a little bored for the first half or so before I figured out what the movie was really about, once I did I had a good time. This is a movie you could watch over and over and you'd just feel like you're getting to know these people even better. The pacing is consistent for the whole movie, and it all just flows naturally. At first I didn't think there was any way I'd recommend this movie, but I think now that I've finished it, I would. Just go into it knowing to expect real relationships, some topics concerning death, and things such as cheating and single parenthood to be touched on as well. I'm actually very tempted to turn it on again right now. Not just to see a group of characters, but to see a group of old friends.