Rating: 
Summary: Still One of the Best Buddy Movies of all Time
Review: A great, charming film about adults who knew each other in previous lifetimes, "The Big Chill" is a tour-de-force, with tremendous performances from each of its top-notch cast members. Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Tom Berenger, JoBeth Williams, William Hurt, Jeff Goldblum, an impossibly young Meg Tilly, Mary Kay Place - they are all fantastic. The music percolates along, so much so that the film inspired two chart topping soundtracks, and gave rise to the renewed popularity of the classic track "Ain't too Proud to Beg." Plenty of pathos, laughter and even emotional whimsy make this a classic for the ages.
Rating: 
Summary: Return of the Motown 7
Review: After Alex takes his own life, the preacher asks the question "When did he lose hope?" All of his best college friends from a more free-spirited 60s are there to hear it. Each one wondering, when did I lose hope?That theme runs rampant in this enjoyable ensemble piece from writer/director Lawrence Kasdan. He compiled an infectious collection of friends that viewers can relate with and admire. Each having grown into what they hated in college with different levels of disappointment. The stunning cast includes Kevin Kline, Glenn Close, Tom Berenger, Jobeth Williams, William Hurt, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly and Jeff Goldblum. Kevin Costner's role as Alex was left to the editing room floor, but that is him being prepared during the opening. The onscreen party atmosphere entrances viewers while several storylines are intravenously fed to the sound of Motown. But those storylines are secondary to the experience itself. A couple of those elements are better conceived than executed. The group finds refuge in each other's arms, the sound of classic music, and in drug usage. But mostly, they just talk. And they open up more and more. John Hughes adapted this type of film for Gen-Xers a few years later with THE BREAKFAST CLUB. The 15th Anniversary DVD has a great audio transfer bringing the sounds of Motown to the front. And this film does exactly that. The video transfer is nice and the DVD also features a recent documentary featuring the performers as they reminisce. Enjoy the BIG CHILL. And if anyone asks, tell them you heard it through the grapevine.
Rating:
Summary: great ensemble cast
Review: the big chill was perhaps the biggest surprise film of the early eighties & today people look back on this milestone achievement with great respect. having not seen the film in ages, i decided to purchase the dvd & revisit some old friends whom weren't really that well known when this film first made it's appearance on the big screen. overall, i felt really great when the film was over but i felt they could've played with this theme a bit more & big chill would've been fantastic. no BIG complaints overall but i don't feel i really got an idea of who alex was & what kind of a life he lived. the other characters were rather well-developed so i guess it would have been nice to see a flashblack or two showing us alex's interraction with the college buddies. having said that, i love all the characters here and can see why this film remains popular to this very day. i enjoyed the deleted scenes on the dvd but they don't really make or break the film either way. what i found more fascinating is the documentary on the bonus material which shows many interviews with the cast members, screenwriters, and director. very insightful and well-done !!! if you are going to add the big chill to your collection, DVD is the obviouS choice.
Rating:
Summary: Strange DVD Package
Review: This is a truly great movie, every college grad should see. The retrospective documentary is wonderful. But the movie trailor is of another movie - Silverado. Why??? And the legendary "Flashback scene" with Kevin Costner is NOT included with the Deleted Scenes feature. An unbelievable and disappointing omission.
Rating:
Summary: Breathtaking
Review: I just saw it again on tv and was moved to write a review. This has got to be one of the top ten films for me. It's touching, the scenery is breathtaking, and the actors are simply excellent. They are all so good that I can't even point to one, except that I did think Kevin Kline's accent absolutely [stunk] and as a Southern belle born and bred, I am qualified to comment on that!! Yes, they may not be the most admirable of characters but they remind me of my friend's older brothers and sisters who did come of age in the 60s and acted just like this.
Rating: 
Summary: My boyfriend and I walked out when it was on at the Theatre
Review: So many years later, I decided to give it another try. It was worse than I remembered. If you enjoy watching a bunch of boring losers sit around and whine, you will love it.
Rating:
Summary: Great film about friendship!
Review: This movie depicts eight best friends who have just suffered the loss of one of their close friends. They all get together at his funeral, and then spend the weekend together in a huge house. They recollect their memoirs about times spent together over the years, and get to help each other out in various ways as the weekend progresses. The performances are great, the soundtrack is perfect, and the direction by Lawrence Kasdan is out of this world, making this a must-see film! A true classic!
*The R rating here is a very tame one. It was given this rating for profanity (there were about 8 F-words), a scene of breif nudity, and two very mild sexual scenes.*
Rating:
Summary: This film left me cold
Review: This is director Lawrence Kasdan's rip-off of John Sayles' far superior, "The Return of the Secaucus Seven." The plot of "The Big Chill" concerns a bunch of college friends who meet many years later to attend the funeral of a friend who committed suicide. Kevin Costner, the dead friend, had virtually all of his scenes cut. Lucky Kevin!
Most of the film is spent having these shallow yuppies complain how unhappy and disappointed they were with how their lives turned out. I guess the screenwriters thought that showing them videotaping one another revealing their inner thoughts was a cool and innovative idea. I found it banal and self-indulgent. One of the female friends desperately wants a child. She not only comes upon a "brilliant" way to solve her problem, but also manages to find a way "to keep it all in the family." Woody Allen and Mia Farrow have a similar dilemma in "Hannah And Her Sisters," but attempt to solve it in that film in a far more poignant and humorous way.
If you must rent "The Big Chill," see it for Glenn Close's subtle performance and for the great 1960's sound track. Even Marvin Gaye's great rendition of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" cannot be ruined by this film.
Rating:
Summary: feeling good in a room full of "evolving" friends
Review: I think most of us have experienced this kind of feeling: running into old friends whom you haven't heard for years, sensing that your values and points of view have changed a lot in time (some of what they say or do might even shock you) and yet feeling good in their presence...I think this movie is simply about this: it's not an ode to the hippies, yuppies, the sixties, getting stoned or whatever.
Rating:
Summary: Chilling moments when idealism freezes over
Review: Idealist and radicals who not only seem to think humankind is God's (ha ha) special project but that these self-absorbed, affluent career graduates should be insulated from the ills and bumps of the real world. They can't understand why things haven't turned out as they were suppose to, after all, they were all so committed to solving the ills of "humanity". These educated, beautiful spirits are joined at the hips in friendship and comeraderie, consoling one another in their grief and broken dreams. They gather for a friend who has died, one of them is filthy rich and they all conveniently stay there, to cry and laugh and fight and be supportive of each other. The scary thing here is that I saw parts of me strolling across this widescreen. I knew it already but it really struck home, again, when I saw this for the first time on DVD. At first you think this story is sympathetic to the plight of these characters, then you realize the real point is the sappy, sentimental silliness of these characters who can't get past their "high ideals". They're filled with guilt and unfulfilled fantasies. They walk through this weekend in the worst kind of denial, constantly needing sex and support from one another. I hadn't seen "The Big Chill" for a couple of years. For me, it only gets better and more relevant with age. The acting and the actors are terrific. What a powerful cast of then unknowns who would go on to be superstars. If you're looking for an entertaining and thought-provoking movie, this fits the bill. I highly recommend it as your next DVD purchase.
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