The Big Chill (film)
"The Big Chill" is a 1983 film directed by Lawrence Kasdan that explores the complexities of adult life through the reunion of a group of college friends in their thirties. The narrative centers around their gathering for the funeral of a friend who has died by suicide, prompting reflections on their past and present lives. The film's opening sequence features a corpse being prepared for the funeral, accompanied by the Rolling Stones' classic "You Can't Always Get What You Want," setting a tone of introspection and nostalgia.
As the friends reconnect, each character grapples with their own unfulfilled dreams and the realities of adulthood. For instance, one character confronts the challenges of motherhood while another seeks to overcome the traumas of the Vietnam War. The ensemble cast includes notable actors like JoBeth Williams, William Hurt, and Glenn Close, many of whom would later receive Academy Award nominations for their work. The film's soundtrack became iconic, influencing the trend of marketing soundtracks as a significant aspect of the film industry.
"The Big Chill" was met with critical acclaim, earning three Academy Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination. It resonated deeply with audiences, particularly those who had attended college in the late 1960s and early 1970s, as it addressed themes of idealism, love, aging, and the desire for legacy. Overall, the film remains a significant cultural touchstone that reflects the struggles and aspirations of a generation.
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The Big Chill (film)
Identification Nostalgic bittersweet comedy film
Director Lawrence Kasdan
Date Released September, 1983
Lawrence Kasdan’s The Big Chill charted the course of post-World War II baby boomers as they confronted adulthood and their own mortality.
Key Figures
Lawrence Kasdan (1949- ), film director
Few film critics or movie pundits could have predicted the impact that Lawrence Kasdan’s 1983 film The Big Chill would have on the generation that came of age during the 1960’s. Kasdan and Barbara Benedek wrote the movie, which tells the story of a group of thirty-something former University of Michigan college friends who gather together to attend the funeral of one of their own, dead from suicide.
The opening title sequence features a corpse (famously played by Kevin Costner) being dressed for a funeral while the Rolling Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” plays in the background. Indeed, the words to this song prepare viewers for the rest of the movie: None of the members of this group of friends has found exactly what he or she wants in life; coming together again after twenty years, however, gives many of them what they need. For Karen (JoBeth Williams), this means coming to terms with her life as a homemaker and mother rather than as the writer she thought she would be. Nick (William Hurt) must quiet the ghosts of the Vietnam War and find love with a young Chloe (Meg Tilley). Meg (Mary Kay Place), who has spent her life since college pursuing a high-powered career as a lawyer, needs one of her male friends to impregnate her before her “biological clock” stops ticking. In all, the group who gather at the home of Sarah (Glenn Close) and Harold (Kevin Kline) need one another to reaffirm who they were when they were young, so they can at last become fully realized adults.
The large ensemble cast featured actors destined to be among the most important in their generation. Nearly every member later received Academy Award nominations for other endeavors (including Costner, whose scenes in The Big Chill wound up on the cutting-room floor). In addition, the soundtrack of the movie became an immediate best seller, and it strongly influenced the trend toward creating highly marketable, evocative soundtracks for motion pictures that was to continue throughout the decade and beyond. The Big Chill was nominated for three Academy Awards, as well as for a Golden Globe award and a host of other honors.
Impact
It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this film to an audience composed of those who attended college from roughly 1963 through 1974 and who were in their early thirties at the time of the film’s release. Many members of this group struggled with issues of meaning and mortality during the early years of the 1980’s, as they attempted to make the transition from their college years to adulthood. Kasdan’s film poignantly and incisively targeted many of their greatest fears and desires, including the loss of idealism, the need for love, the fear of growing old and dying, and the desire to leave something lasting for the next generation.
Bibliography
Carey, Melissa, and Michael Hannan. “Case Study 2: The Big Chill.” In Popular Music and Film, edited by Ian Inglis. New York: Wallflower, 2003.
McGilligan, Patrick. Backstory 4: Interviews with Screenwriters of the 1970’s and 1980’s. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006.
Troy, Gil. Morning in America: How Ronald Reagan Invented the 1980’s. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2005.