DailyView: Day 85, Movie 146

Next up on DailyView is the ultimate 1980s film, The Big Chill, directed by Lawrence Kasdan.

A group of 8 tight college friends reunited for a weekend after another one of their friends of their group had committed suicide. The friends spent the weekend reconnecting, talking with each other, and discovering what the group dynamic was now.

There is not much of a plot here, but the film depends on the strength of the cast. The cast is filled with a bunch of the actors of the 80s such as Kevin Kline, Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, William Hurt, Jeff Goldblum, JoBeth Williams, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly and Don Galloway. The ensemble works well together and carries the movie. The interplay between characters was a fascinating aspect of the film.

The dialogue was well constructed and helped us learn more about the characters. It also had a definite feel of improv here as well. The group dynamic is delivered through the words they said and it felt natural.

The soundtrack to the film was outstanding with a variety of great songs such as “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Wouldn’t it Be Nice.” One of my favorite scenes was when the whole ensemble was dancing in the kitchen to “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.”