
A seminal Thirty-Something movie in which a group of old college friends who are now older and experienced come together for the funeral of Alex, who was at one time the brightest and the best of them at college and yet who never managed to find his way. The friends use the occasion to reacquaint themselves with each other, discuss where their lives have led and speculate on what happened to their idealism which had been abundant when they were younger.... (Full plot summary below)
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A seminal Thirty-Something movie in which a group of old college friends who are now older and experienced come together for the funeral of Alex, who was at one time the brightest and the best of them at college and yet who never managed to find his way. The friends use the occasion to reacquaint themselves with each other, discuss where their lives have led and speculate on what happened to their idealism which had been abundant when they were younger.
Leave your thoughts about The Big Chill.
| Spirituality and PracticeFrederic and Mary Ann BrussatA thoroughly entertaining, fluid and wonderfully relaxed movie that delivers some of the finest ensemble acting to be seen on the screen for years. |
| Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumAnd there's that perfect soundtrack, jammed with hit after timeless hit. So integral is the music to the heat of Chill that even a now-hackneyed scene like ensemble-dancing-while-cleaning-the-kitchen (to the Temptations' ''Ain't Too Proud to Beg'') takes on a glow far lovelier than the chore warrants -- as does this ingratiating, fake movie. |
| The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe Big Chill represents the best of mainstream American film making. It's a reminder that the same people who turn out our megabuck fantasies are often capable of working even more effectively on the small, intimate scale of The Big Chill. |
| Hollywood ReporterArthur KnightA picture that clearly aspires for more ends up with considerably less. |
| Common Sense MediaAndrea BeachCollege reunion film with mature themes won't interest teens. |
| Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenEach member of the well-chosen cast not only creates a distinct character with unique and memorable resonances but also meshes these separate personalities to form as satisfying an example of ensemble acting as we are likely to see for quite some time to come. |
| Chicago ReaderDave KehrThere is no place for depth or nuance in this slickly engineered complacency machine, which roars along at a single tone and pace, neatly dispelling every troubling intimation with a Mary Tyler Moore one-liner and solving all its conflicts with tricks of rhetoric. |
| VarietyVariety StaffCharacters are generally middle-of-the-roaders, and pic lacks a tough-minded spokesman who might bring them all up short for a moment. |
| Boston GlobeMichael BlowenAs generous as the film is to its characters, it also keeps finding ways to criticize their myopia. |
| eFilmCritic.comScott WeinbergGreat cast, phenomenal soundtrack, B+ screenplay. |