The Big Chill

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The Big Chill ★★★½ 1983 (R)

Seven former '60s radicals, now coming upon middle age and middleclass affluence, reunite following an eighth friend's suicide and use the occasion to reexamine their past relationships and commitments. A beautifully acted, immensely enjoyable ballad to both the counterculture and its Yuppie descendants. Great period music. Kevin Costner is the dead man whose scenes never made it to the big screen. 108m/C VHS, DVD . Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, JoBeth Williams; D: Lawrence Kasdan; W: Lawrence Kasdan, Barbara Benedek; C: John Bailey. Writers Guild '83: Orig. Screenplay.