Old college friends come together for the funeral of our of their own in the wake of his inexplicable suicide in The Big Chill, which may be the standard for "old friends getting together" movies, but I'd somehow never seen it. It's hard to divorce from the era it was made in, and for which it is nostalgic for, but your own nostalgia can certainly be transposed. It's just that the characters' present is so 80s - corporatization, making money, Magnum P.I., fear of v.d. - and the past they actively relive late 60s-early 70s - drug use, sex between friends, college talk, the movie's catchy soundtrack - really do speak to the death of a specific era, for which "Alex" is merely a stand-in. Beyond the subtext, we get a smart, realistic character study that doesn't feel the need to explain everything, merely infers what has gone before with the familiarity of old friends.
This shouldn't be irrelevant. Though I could be wrong. Who knows? Maybe it's the people and the setting? But if you have or ever had a close group of friends, it might give you a good case of nostalgia. There surely aren't enough films about friendships or memories of friendships or reuniting.
Damn that was good. A nice mixture between movies like "Indian Summer" and "August, Osage County". Nothing too flashy, just a group of people reconnecting without anything really developing. Makes it very real. Oh, and the soundtrack was kickass.
I can see why people love it. It's a well written story with an excellent soundtrack and a great cast. For me personally, however, it felt a little difficult to rate. I can see a huge amount of objective quality in it, but I'm not sure I'll be remembering this one. I realised at the end as the credits rolled, I forgot half the character's names. Maybe when I'm a bit older I might be able to relate better to this story, but for now it feels a little forgettable
Add your comment
Comments 1 - 8 of 8
Siskoid
Old college friends come together for the funeral of our of their own in the wake of his inexplicable suicide in The Big Chill, which may be the standard for "old friends getting together" movies, but I'd somehow never seen it. It's hard to divorce from the era it was made in, and for which it is nostalgic for, but your own nostalgia can certainly be transposed. It's just that the characters' present is so 80s - corporatization, making money, Magnum P.I., fear of v.d. - and the past they actively relive late 60s-early 70s - drug use, sex between friends, college talk, the movie's catchy soundtrack - really do speak to the death of a specific era, for which "Alex" is merely a stand-in. Beyond the subtext, we get a smart, realistic character study that doesn't feel the need to explain everything, merely infers what has gone before with the familiarity of old friends.criscoJovan
This shouldn't be irrelevant. Though I could be wrong. Who knows? Maybe it's the people and the setting? But if you have or ever had a close group of friends, it might give you a good case of nostalgia. There surely aren't enough films about friendships or memories of friendships or reuniting.Also, what a terrific soundtrack!
Forzelius
Damn that was good. A nice mixture between movies like "Indian Summer" and "August, Osage County". Nothing too flashy, just a group of people reconnecting without anything really developing. Makes it very real. Oh, and the soundtrack was kickass.Typically Thomas
I can see why people love it. It's a well written story with an excellent soundtrack and a great cast. For me personally, however, it felt a little difficult to rate. I can see a huge amount of objective quality in it, but I'm not sure I'll be remembering this one. I realised at the end as the credits rolled, I forgot half the character's names. Maybe when I'm a bit older I might be able to relate better to this story, but for now it feels a little forgettableandype
For me not boring, but also not a comedy at all. Not bad somehow and not very important.lauli
A bit irrelevant for my taste.Scream1008
Pretty boring, not a big fanRodney Dangerfield
Dull as dishwater.