The Big Chill

The Big Chill Information

The Big Chill is a 1983 American comedy-drama film directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams. It is about a group of baby boomer college friends who reunite briefly after 15 years due to the suicide of a friend. Kevin Costner was cast as the dead character Alex, but all scenes showing his face were cut.

The Big Chill was filmed entirely on location in Beaufort, South Carolina and was shot at the same antebellum house used as a location for The Great Santini. The soundtrack features ten late '60s/early '70s pop/rock songs, including "The Weight", "Good Lovin', "In the Midnight Hour" (the Young Rascals version), "You Can't Always Get What You Want", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine (the Marvin Gaye version)", "A Whiter Shade of Pale", "My Girl" (the Temptations version), "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" and "Joy to the World" (the Three Dog Night version).

The television show thirtysomething was influenced by The Big Chill. Earlier, however, the movie was directly adapted to television in CBS' short-lived 1985 comedy-drama Hometown.

Plot

Harold Cooper (Kevin Kline) is bathing his young son when his doctor/wife, Sarah (Glenn Close), receives a phone call at their Richmond home telling her that their friend, Alex, has committed suicide by slashing his wrists in the bathtub of their vacation house in South Carolina, where he has been staying.

At the funeral Harold and Sarah are reunited with college friends from the University of Michigan in the 1960s. They include Sam (Tom Berenger), a famous television actor now living in Los Angeles; Meg (Mary Kay Place), an unhappy chain smoking former public defender who is now a real estate attorney in Atlanta, who wants a child; Michael (Jeff Goldblum), a sex-obsessed People journalist; Nick (William Hurt), a Vietnam veteran and former radio host who suffers from impotence; Karen (JoBeth Williams), a housewife from suburban Detroit who's unhappy in her marriage to her advertising executive husband, Richard (Don Galloway), an outsider. Also present is Chloe (Meg Tilly), Alex's much-younger girlfriend at the time of his suicide.

After the burial, everyone goes from the cemetery to Harold and Sarah's vacation house, where they are invited to stay for the weekend. During the first night there, a bat flies into the attic while Meg and Nick are getting reacquainted. Sam later finds Nick watching television and they briefly talk about Karen. The two then go into the kitchen and find Richard, her husband, making a sandwich, and the three make small talk which turns into a discussion about responsibility and adulthood.

The next morning Harold and Nick go jogging; Harold tells Nick that his running shoe company is about to be bought out by a large corporation, and that he's about to become rich. Harold confides with Nick that Sarah and Alex had an affair five years earlier. Nick comforts Harold by saying, "She didn't marry Alex."

Richard returns home to look after his and Karen's kids, but she decides to stay for the weekend. Nick, Harold, Michael and Chloe go for a drive while Sam and Karen go shopping. Meg reveals to Sarah that she wants to have a child, and that she is going to ask Sam to be the father, knowing now that Nick can't. Out in the countryside, Harold listens to Michael's plans to buy a nightclub. Chloe takes Nick to the abandoned house that she and Alex were going to renovate; she tells him that he reminds her of Alex, to which Nick replies, "I ain't him."

During dinner Sarah starts tearing up over Alex as the group talks about him. Harold puts "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" by The Temptations on the stereo and everyone dances while cleaning up the dishes. While the others sit around and get high, Meg asks Sam to father her baby, but he declines.

The next morning Nick, Sam, and Harold go jogging, and the subject of Alex's suicide comes up again. Harold's surprise arrives - sneakers for everyone to wear during the upcoming Michigan football game. The group, minus Nick, watches the game on TV while Sarah tells Karen about her brief affair with Alex and how it affected their friendship negatively. She is subtly warning Karen to rethink her plans to have an affair with Sam.

During the game Michael offers to father Meg's child, alluding to the fact that they had sex many years ago during college. At halftime nearly everyone goes outside to play touch football. Nick returns with a cop following him. He said that Nick ran a red light and was belligerent, but decides that he will drop the charges if Sam would hop into Nick's Porsche like his TV character, J.T. Lancer, always does. Sam is unsuccessful and hurts himself, but the officer drops the charges anyway and apologizes to Harold.

Karen later tells Sam that she loves him, wants to leave Richard and live with Sam and her two sons. When they kiss, Sam pulls away and tells Karen not to leave Richard, as she will regret it in the long run. He confesses that it was "boredom" that caused his own marriage to fail, and he doesn't want her to make the same mistake. Karen feels misled and angrily storms into the house.

Harold is on the phone with his daughter, Molly, and lets Meg talk to her. Observing their interaction on the phone, Sarah decides to let Harold impregnate Meg, but does not tell him yet.

The group once again discusses Alex. Nick says, "Alex died for most of us a long time ago," but Sam disagrees and leaves. Karen follows him and the two have sex outside. Sarah tells Harold about Meg's situation while Chloe and Nick go to bed together, even though he warns her of his condition. Meg and Harold then have sex " she says "I feel like I got a great break on a used car" " while Michael and Sarah joke around and interview each other with a video camera.

In the morning while Karen is packing her clothes, she subtly tells Sam that she has decided to stay with Richard. At the breakfast table Harold reveals that Nick and Chloe will be staying in the guest house for a while, then Michael sarcastically states, "Sarah, Harold. We took a secret vote. We're not leaving. We're never leaving." They all laugh and "Joy to the World" plays as the credits roll.

Cast

Tom Berenger as Sam Weber
Glenn Close as Sarah Cooper
Jeff Goldblum as Michael Gold
William Hurt as Nick Carlton
Kevin Kline as Harold Cooper
Mary Kay Place as Meg Jones
Meg Tilly as Chloe
JoBeth Williams as Karen Bowens
Don Galloway as Richard Bowens
James Gillis as Minister
Ken Place as Peter the Cop
Jacob Kasdan as Autograph Seeker
Patricia Gaul as Annie
Kevin Costner as Alex Marshall (scenes deleted)
Muriel Moore as Alex's mother

Production

Fans have long clamored to see Costner's footage for several sequences showing Alex's life prior to his suicide, but in documentaries and interviews since, Kasdan has never shown anything more than still photographs from the location shoot. He has also refused to do any sort of "director's cut," saying that the version of the film as it has stood since 1983 is his director's cut and will not be augmented.

Reception

Critical response

Richard Corliss of Time described The Big Chill as a "funny and ferociously smart movie," stating:

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Vincent Canby of The New York Times argued that the film is a "very accomplished, serious comedy" and an "unusually good choice to open this year's festival in that it represents the best of mainstream American film making."

Roger Ebert stated, "The Big Chill is a splendid technical exercise. It has all the right moves. It knows all the right words. Its characters have all the right clothes, expressions, fears, lusts and ambitions. But there's no payoff and it doesn't lead anywhere. I thought at first that was a weakness of the movie. There also is the possibility that it's the movie's message."

The DVD of the film received a 69% rating from Rotten Tomatoes (21 fresh and 10 rotten reviews).

Accolades

The Big Chill won two major awards:

Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award
Writers Guild of America Award Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen

It was nominated for three Oscars:

Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Glenn Close)
Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Best Picture

Other nominations include:

Directors Guild of America Award
BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture " Musical or Comedy
Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay

In popular culture

The film was parodied by T. Coraghessan Boyle in his short story "The Little Chill." The story begins, "Hal had known Rob and Irene, Jill, Harvey, Tottle, and Pesky since elementary school, and they were all 40 going on 60."

In High Fidelity, Dick and Barry are talking about the Rolling Stones' song, "You Can't Always Get What You Want" when Dick immediately disqualifies it for inclusion in their Top 10 Songs About Death because of its use in The Big Chill soundtrack, a guilty by association exclusion.

Soundtrack

The first ten from Original Motion Picture Soundtrack are heard in the film, and the remainder of the film's songs (aside from the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want") were released in 1984 on More Songs from the Original Soundtrack.

In 1998, both albums were re-mastered, the first without the four additional songs, which had also appeared on More Songs and were left there. In 2004, Hip-O Records released a Deluxe edition, containing not only sixteen of the eighteen songs from the film ("Quicksilver Girl," by The Steve Miller Band, was curiously unavailable), but three additional film instrumentals. A second "music of a generation" disc of nineteen additional tracks was included as well, some of which had appeared both on the original soundtrack and the More Songs release.

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

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Side One

Marvin Gaye (1968): "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (extended version) (Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong) " 5:03
The Temptations (1965): "My Girl" (Smokey Robinson, Ronald White) " 2:55
The Young Rascals (1966): "Good Lovin'" (Rudy Clark, Arthur Resnick) " 2:28
The Miracles (1965): "The Tracks of My Tears" (Robinson, Warren Moore, Marvin Tarplin) " 2:53
Three Dog Night (1970): "Joy to the World" (Hoyt Axton) " 3:24

Side Two

The Temptations (1966): "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (Whitfield, Edward Holland Jr.) " 2:31
Aretha Franklin (1968): "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" (Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Jerry Wexler) " 2:41
Smokey Robinson and The Miracles (1967): "I Second That Emotion" (Robinson, Al Clevland) " 2:46
Procol Harum (1967): "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (Keith Reid, Gary Brooker, Matthew Fisher) " 4:03
The Exciters (1963): "Tell Him" (Bert Berns) " 2:29

Extra CD tracks

The Four Tops (1965): "It's the Same Old Song" (E. Holland, Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland) " 2:45
Martha and The Vandellas (1964): "Dancing in the Street" (Marvin Gaye, William "Mickey" Stevenson) " 2:38
Marvin Gaye (1971): "What's Going On" (Gaye, Clevland, Renaldo "Obie" Benson) " 3:52
The Marvelettes (1964): "Too Many Fish in the Sea" (Whitfield, E. Holland) " 2:26

Year	Chart	Position
1983	Billboard Black Albums	40
1983	The Billboard 200	17

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA " USA	Gold	December 12, 1983
RIAA " USA	Platinum	March 29, 1984
RIAA " USA	Double Platinum	September 27, 1985
RIAA " USA	4X Platinum	July 20, 1998
RIAA " USA	6X Platinum	October 15, 1998

More Songs From The Original Soundtrack

Side One

Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Bad Moon Rising"
The Beach Boys - "Wouldn't It Be Nice"
Four Tops - "It's The Same Old Song"
Percy Sledge - "When A Man Loves A Woman"
Martha and the Vandellas - "Dancing in the Street"
Marvin Gaye - "What's Going On"

Side Two

The Young Rascals - "In the Midnight Hour"
Steve Miller Band - "Quicksilver Girl"
The Spencer Davis Group - "Gimme Some Lovin'"
The Marvelettes - "Too Many Fish in the Sea"
The Band - "The Weight"

Deluxe Edition

Disc 1

Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through The Grapevine (extended version)
The Temptations - My Girl
The Young Rascals - Good Lovin'
The Miracles - The Tracks Of My Tears
Three Dog Night - Joy To The World
The Temptations - Ain't Too Proud To Beg
Aretha Franklin - (You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - I Second That Emotion
Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade Of Pale
The Exciters - Tell Him
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising
Percy Sledge - When A Man Loves A Woman
The Young Rascals - In The Midnight Hour
The Spencer Davis Group - Gimme Some Lovin'
The Band - The Weight
The Beach Boys - Wouldn't It Be Nice
Bert Kaempfert - Strangers In The Night
The Rolling Stones - You Can't Always Get What You Want (church version)
J.T. Lancer Theme

Disc 2

Four Tops - It's The Same Old Song
Martha & The Vandellas - Dancing In The Street
Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
The Marvelettes - Too Many Fish In The Sea
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell - Ain't Nothing Like The Real Thing
Jimmy Ruffin - What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted
Jr. Walker & The All Stars - Shotgun
Doobie Brothers - Take Me In Your Arms (Rock Me A Little While)
The Supremes - Ask Any Girl
Lesley Gore - You Don't Own Me
Spanky & Our Gang - Like To Get To Know You
The Mamas And The Papas - Monday, Monday
Moody Blues - Nights In White Satin (The Night)
Joe Cocker - Feeling Alright
Wayne Fontana & The Mindbenders - Game Of Love
James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good)
Blues Magoos - (We Ain't Got) Nothing Yet
The Zombies - Time Of The Season
Howard Tate - Get It While You Can