I was one of the few who never liked it.

I found it creepy.

I have one of their refrigerators. The stove looks interesting, but you could get a tiny Agga for that price.

I loathed JoBeth Williams' character.

I liked it when it was called "Return of the Secaucus Seven."

I loved it for the soundtrack and for Meg Tilly.

I disagree. It has aged fine. It was a time capsule WHEN IT WAS RELEASED. These were boomers out of college about fifteen years. That put it at about 1983, when the film was released. What hasn't "aged" well? The movie is SET in that time period.

Even worse was that fucking movie "Grand Canyon".

It was fun. And Kevin Costner managed to have a career despite being almost completely cut from the movie.

It was released in 1983 and the clothing, etc. makes it look a little dated now but the story and message are timeless, IMO.

R10- wasn't he completely cut?

I think the corpse we saw was Costner.

Eh, why would it? Its about a very specific generation set at their crossroads, which probably only connects fully with that group.

What exactly WAS the message? That people grow up and apart and its OK for your dead friend's piece to hook up with his friend who is still living while you allow your husband to fuck your friend in an attempt to get her knocked up?

I watched it for the first time last year and it didn't strike me as incredibly dated.

There are lots of movies that could be said not to age well. Movies that show black people as shuffling, lazy, sho'nuff characters, for example. The Big Chill was a "contemporary" movie -- meaning it addressed concerns and relationships of the time period when it was released.

I watched Casablanca, expecting some wowser of a movie, but didn't find it much better or worse than lots of movies of the same time period. But other people revere it. They find something in it that I don't, and good for them. I'm glad they love it. I prefer The Third Man, but I can see how some people may not relate to it -- especially people who did not live through the Cold War. Same with the miniseries "Tinker Tailor, Soldier, Spy." It was far more realistic than the later movie -- because it was filmed during the Cold War, which it depicted. But people who have no memory of the Cold War might find it dated and a real snore.

R15, the message is that times change and the world moves on. Alex couldn't live in the moved-on world, so he killed himself and life went on without him. His friends will fondly remember him, but they will get on with their lives, whatever life has in store for them.

The director did nothing but silly shitty leftwing movies. TBC is awful, hated it then, hate it now.

[quote]shitty leftwing movies

Huh?

Have you seen them? They are droning affairs. I like good leftwing movies, his are shit.

You could see the Big Chill as an evolutionary film. Alex the rigid physicist can't adapt to the new environment, so he doesn't survive. All the other characters adapt to the changing world. They "sell out." They cannot remain their old college selves. The Vietnam War is over. The Civil Rights movement was over.

The lawyer wanted to represent poor oppressed individuals, but all she got was criminals. The journalist could only thrive and make s decent living at People magazine. The sneaker maker could support his family in a great home by exploiting the new fitness craze. The housewife was bored with her dull life and wanted some action.

The 60s became the 80s in The Big Chill. The 80s was all about shucking off the past, selling out and moving on into the world of insider trading, celebrity gossip, real estate and fooling around. It was a presicient movie about where America was heading. The William Hurt character might not make it. He's dropping out with the hot dopey chick, biding time having sex and seeing what happens. He's still depressed and not sure about the future. He might end up like Alex, whose hot gf couldn't save him from hating the new world.

I assumed OP meant the film hadn't "aged well" in the sense that it no longer seems well directed or acted. Lots of acclaimed films from the 1980s are almost unwatchable now (and music unlistenable) owing to dated production and performance techniques.

[quote]dated production and performance techniques.

Are there well known examples of this?

r7's right, the movie is specifically about baby boomers in 1983. So r11 complaining about the clothes being out of fashion is just ridiculous. It's fine not to like the movie, I liked it when it was new but haven't seen it in decades and have no intention of seeing it again. And I do think baby-boomers tend to be pushy and narcissistic, they're used to being catered to. All my baby-boomer older siblings are assholes. It's just the complaint about the movie being "dated" that is misplaced.

It was an overrated cliche-ridden bore when it first came out.

It's held up as well as my breasts in the shower scene.

I love this movie and watch it often. The music, the friendships from college, U of M (my school), the drugs, the dialogue.

It's way better than Return of the Secaucus Seven, which has an obvious influence.

It's a very 80s movie, like The Breakfast Club for adults.

[quote]And I do think baby-boomers tend to be pushy and narcissistic

Not just "tend," hon.

[quote]It was an overrated cliche-ridden bore when it first came out.

Sooo true.

It was the 60s music that fooled people into thinking it had some weight.

Otherwise, it stank.

Secaucus 7 > Big Chill > Peter's Friends >>> Grand Canyon

R28, The Breakfast Club was The Big Chill for teenagers.

People who go on about The Return of The Seacaucus Seven have obviously never seen it. It's so low budget and poorly acted as to be unwatchable. But you go ahead and enjoy it.

Like Gen X and Y and the Millenials aren't narcissistic, too, at least the boomers had creativity and used their brains instead of the internet. I think this is a great film, a character study, not very many films today have any character development, it's all "don't bore us, get to the chorus" or explosion or next shock effect.

This film was supposed to be a big deal when it was released. I never saw it. I've seen a few clips of it. I remember one scene where I think they're in a kitchen and an oldies song starts playing and they start dancing like idiots. At least that's how I remember it. That scene alone made me NOT want to see it.

The making of documentary is interesting because it points out that Lawrence Kasdan made it in a way that the music was coordinated with the punchlines.

Loved Big Chill when it came out. Saw it several times in the theatre.

Having all those oldies songs incorporated into the soundtrack was new at the time. Prior to that, a movie might have an old song or two, but not the entire soundtrack. Big Chill is often credited with proving there was a market for older songs and the explosion of oldies stations in the mid 80s.

Yes, the plot is the same as Secaucus Seven. But as has been said, Secaucus is not very well acted or directed.

You can't always get what you want

[quote]an oldies song starts playing and they start dancing

Is that where this started?

Oldies songs, especially Motown songs, in a movie where the dorky white people dance around to them started with the Big Chill. It's such a cliche now, but at the time it was fresh and innovative.

I'm in my 30's and it's hard to believe there was a generation SO entitled that a few years after graduation from a state school they could ALL have such big jobs or lucrative careers (even the drug dealer). But actually there really was!

This was one that started the awful screenwriting trend of everyone defined by their jobs (and they're ALLLL successful!): Glenn's a doctor, Place is a lawyer, Kevin a shoe exec, Tom not just an actor but a TV STAR, Goldblum not a reporter but a writer for PEOPLE MAGAZINE, on and on, puke.

People who say they prefer Secaucus 7 have obviously never seen it or at least not more than once. It is so poorly acted - OTT, completely unbelievable performances - and so poorly filmed with terrible audio. It's not the classic some people would like to believe it is.

If nothing else, The Big Chill features an incredible ensemble - as strong in their individual moments as they are as a group - that is incomparable. It asked questions that were pertinent at the time and projected real warmth that resonated strongly with audiences at the time. I like to watch it in the fall.

R40 is jealous that WASPs made a movie that Hollywood slavered over and copied 6000 times.

Hollywood is filled with useless emulators.

Lens Dunham has a lot to say about it.

A worthy homage to S7 is "Peter's Friends."

Peter's Friends was very boring. Or was it?

Not aged well, hmmm.... it was a piece of shit a quarter century ago!

r45 LOVED "Peter's Friends," one of my all-time faves.

If it wasn't for the terrific music, this movie wouldn't be as fondly remembered.

I loved it but haven't seen it recently.

The '70s was all about fooling around...the '80s was about aids.

There were a few people from that age who found causes...Iran-Contra? El Salvadore. Watching unions being stopped on by Reagan and his corporate buddies...we certainly lost that war and our middle class is dying.

R39 - They are not all successful.

It's a world of extreme privilege. I mean these goofballs went to the University of Michigan and one writes for People, one's a tv star, one's a doctor, one's a lawyer, one's a rich drug dealer, one's a rich housewife, one has an entire chain of stores....The funny part was that it didn't strike people at the time how privileged they were....because it was the last time in American history when an average college education could actually create such a group. Actually it was five years too late to create such a group. But yes, there was a time in America when there was that much opportunity.

I'm 34. I watched this a few years ago with some friends from college and none of us liked it. I'm sure if you came of age at the same time as these characters you can relate to it, but it left us cold. I love Reality Bites, but I imagine people 20-30 years younger than me will hate it for the same reason.

The movie ended like a bad '80s sitcom.

[quote]KLINE: Is there any way to coordinate this airport transport?

[quote]HURT: I'd be glad to drive somebody.

[quote]PLACE: Great, if we can take Harold's car. Get Harold to drive it.

[quote]GOLDBLUM: That won't be necessary. You see, Sarah, Harold, we took a secret vote. We're not leaving. We're never leaving.

Cue laughter, "Joy to the World," and the end credits rolling. All it was missing was the freeze frame.

I didn't like how the songs were shoehorned into the movie. As soon as one ended, another began almost immediately. It was off-putting.

Sadly, I myself was in the St. Elmo's Fire and About Last Night... generation...

I did love the movie and soundtrack at the time, but it wasn't a favorite in repeats and I have no interest in seeing it again.

I liked the television series "30 Something," which was obviously inspired by this film.

I agree about Secaucus Seven. Had heard about it as being the original Big Chill and a classic, yadda yadda. Checked it out when it was on Netflix instant streaming and oh my God. It was unwatchable. Just because John Sayles went on to be a respected filmmaker does not mean his first effort was a classic or even competent.

Loved The Big Chill when it came out, but especially considering Kasdan's later output, seems a bit slick and soulless in retrospect. And even when I was a kid (which I was when I first saw it), I knew there was something off about Glenn Close intentionally setting up her husband to have sex with their friend as a sort of combination karma-payoff (for her having had an affair with Alex years ago) and help so her friend could be a mom. It was one of those "awwwwww, so sweet and selfless" things that is great theoretically but won't remotely work in real life. It's not bad enough that they're doing it IN GLENN'S BED while Glenn is there in the house, but the intent is for Mary Kay Place to get pregnant, which probably won't happen immediately, so there will be more hook-ups (she's in her 30s so it could take several tries every month for six months or more), then when she actually gets pregnant and has the kid...Glenn thinks Kevin Kline won't want to be involved in its upbringing? Of course he will. Her "selfless act" means her husband will be having sex with her friend for months then intimately involved in bringing up their kid for at least 18 years. Absolute insanity.

And yes, I always found JoBeth Williams's character a whiny pain in the ass.

Jeff Goldblum was kind of hot in an uber-nerdy Jewish way, though.

Over-rated! The only interesting scene was Kevin Kline jogging in his short shorts.

Also, Meg Tilly seemed to be in a wasted role. Though, I did have a horrendous crush on William Hurt at the time.

Meg Tilly was there to show the next generation.

I don't understand why The Big Chill is considered a classic, and one of the best 80s film ever made. I found it boring and insipid.

Lawrence Kasden's best was Body Heat, I still love it.

I liked Meg Tilly in Masquerade, but not in this film. As if she was there for no reason.

That director was always awful. Always. And this was always a bland POS, even when it opened. I had to walk out. You're just NOW seeing what an awful movie it is. It always WAS an awful movie by a schlocky schmaltzy director.

awful movie - it existed to make hippies feel good about becoming yuppies.

You really are a brain dead idiot, R65. Nothing more than a fool.

Bill Hurt is the best thing in the movie. I don't think he was really acting--my impression from interviews is that he likes mindfucking with people.

Otherwise the film would have sunk like a stone w/o the soundtrack. Terrible direction and no apparent chemistry among the cast. Kasdan has lied about the influence of Secaucus 7--it ran forever in many places and had real buzz. The production values of Secaucus 7 were terrible, but it tapped into the same themes w/o the tedious self-consciousness.

R68 - I think he was the best in the movie as well.

Did anyone mentions G's tiny little titties?

[quote]Kasdan has lied about the influence of Secaucus 7--it ran forever in many places and had real buzz.

Does he deny seeing it? What's the story r68?

Meg Tilly is now a writer. Actually, she has always written. She first published a poem in "Seventeen" magazine before she became famous.

Tilly is back to acting. She won some Canadian Emmy type thing a few years ago.

None of them, especially G, could dance. That scene in the kitchen was embarrassing.

Does anyone care about Canadian entertainment awards? You never hear about the Junos (their Grammys), the Geminis (their Emmys), or the Genies (their Oscars).

[quote]That director was always awful. Always.

The Accidental Tourist was a delight and Body Heat was very enjoyable. Good film of its kind.

I watch the film now and think "I'm ten years older than these actors were then and they are so much more adult and mature than me." People in their 30s seemed so much older then. (I find Thirtysomething the same.)

I agree that the film had many flaws but don't assume everyone of that era and age group lived or aspired to that professional fantasy as depicted. It mirrored a lot of tv backstory invention which set the tone for the story - not intended as the focal point, but might be pointed social commentary about privilege or whatever

. Many of us were scraping by in low wage jobs, driving beater type cars, living with multiple roommates or living alone in a less than fine rental. There wasn't a consensus acceptance that the characters depicted real life - how realistically do current films depict lifestyle of the majority of 20-30 somethings? Films often present a skewed picture of an era. It sounds like some posters here don't see that about TBC - that's not a criticism, it's merely an observation of very understandable presumptions about a past era based on films.

Kasdan used to claim he'd never heard of "Secaucus 7". Then he claimed he'd heard of it but never saw it. Both equally unlikely. His one innovation was that he'd attended U Michigan (like the characters in the film).

Secaucus 7 is much truer to life--no one is a celeb. The one person with show business dreams has failed. People work pretty regular jobs. The one person who's political is a Congressional staffer, not a big shot, and rather pragmatic about things. There is a cock plotline (Kasdan has one in Big Chill, although it's about having a cock shot off rather than having a big one which was what Sayles used in Secaucus 7).

Body Heat seems dated and predictable now, but seemed very good and showcased relatively new actors. Otherwise, Kasdan's films tended to fall flat like Big Chill.

I have not seen this movie. Actually, I don't think I have ever even noticed it on TV.

They should do a remake with the Jersey shore cast. More laughs than a bunch of pretentious white baby boomers guaranteed.

I thought the soundtrack was really clichéd.