RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Big Chill
The Big Chill

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

The Big Chill (1983)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
68 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:31

Fresh:21

Rotten:10

Average Rating:6.1/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 50 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Seven members of a close-knit college group of friends are reunited fifteen years later after the eighth commits suicide. The funeral and reception lead to an extended weekend for all as they... Seven members of a close-knit college group of friends are reunited fifteen years later after the eighth commits suicide. The funeral and reception lead to an extended weekend for all as they decide to spend time together pondering the recent events. Amidst a barrage of Motown classics, the members each offer little tidbits about their current lives while reminiscing about the past. In college, the absent and recently deceased Alex was the biggest and brightest star of the bunch but never seemed to get anywhere after being set loose in the real world. The slow acknowledgement that their champion never materialized leads the group in ever widening circles of thought. Discussions of their past lives and current bring about the realization that each has changed so much while remaining remarkably similar. Despite the tragic circumstances, the group disperses with renewed friendships and a newfound appreciation for life. [More]

Starring: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt

Starring: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, JoBeth Williams

Director: Lawrence Kasdan

Director: Lawrence Kasdan
Composer: John Williams
Screenwriter: Lawrence Kasdan, Barbara Benedek
Producer: Michael Shamberg

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

May 1, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Big Chill

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Characters are generally middle-of-the-roaders, and pic lacks a tough-minded spokesman who might bring them all up short for a moment.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
05/05/08
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An always entertaining and perceptive film that hardly ever lapses into sentimentality.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/05/08
Channel 4 Film

An entertaining look at the 80s embourgeoisement of 60s student activists steers skillfully between social satire and sentiment.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
05/05/08
Empire Magazine

An irresistibly satisfying cultural artifact.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
05/05/08
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Strong acting and a string of classic rock and soul tunes make up for a superficial script.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
05/05/08
Michael Scheinfeld
Michael Scheinfeld
TV Guide's Movie Guide

There is no place for depth or nuance in this slickly engineered complacency machine.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
05/05/08
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Funny and ferociously smart.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
05/05/08
Richard Corliss
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

More significant sociologically than artistically, Kasdan's portrait of the Baby Boom generation--the Yuppie--is a zeitgeist film that despite a shallow script is enjoyable due to strong ensemble acting and popular rock and soul tunes.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
02/02/08
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Shallow nostalgia-trip flick.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
02/14/07
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
08/08/06
Susan Granger
Susan Granger
www.susangranger.com

No review available.

comment Comment
03/07/06
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

It's perceptive, affectionate and often very funny.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out

No review available.

comment Comment
08/04/05
Chuck O'Leary
Chuck O'Leary
Fantastica Daily

No review available.

comment Comment
07/17/05
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

A truly unforgettable motion picture, with a killer soundtrack

comment Comment
03/24/05
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
10/08/04
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

A thoroughly entertaining, fluid and wonderfully relaxed movie that delivers some of the finest ensemble acting to be seen on the screen for years.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
08/18/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

No review available.

comment Comment
07/16/03
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Three words: 'yadda, yadda, yadda.'

comment Comment
06/11/03
Alex Sandell
Alex Sandell
Juicy Cerebellum
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Big Chill

April 18, 2007: "Clash" Remake Lands a Titan of a Screenwriter
Even if you know next to nothing about screenwriters, I bet you're a fan of Lawrence Kasdan ... even if you don't know it. The guy's biggest successes include "The Empire... More...

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
78% 78% The Hangover
88% 88% Inglourious Basterds
66% 66% Public Enemies
24% 24% G-Force
44% 44% Night at the Museum: B…

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
90% 90% District 9
86% 86% 500 Days of Summer
63% 63% Extract
06% 06% All About Steve
78% 78% It Might Get Loud

More New Releases…

See All

RT On Current TV

The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

Learn how you can be part of the show

More...

What’s Hot On RT

Best of the Decade

Best of the Decade

Find out what movies made our list!

Iron Man 2

Iron Man 2

Watch the brand new trailer now!

Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans

Prepare to Clash with Titans in this trailer!

Total Recall

Total Recall

RT looks back on Jude Law's best movies!

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • New Toy Story 3 Clip, Photos Posted Source: Slashfilm
2
  • Danny Trejo Talks Machete, Possible Sequels Source: Collider.com
14
  • It's Official: Jackass 3-D Coming in 2010 Source: Collider.com
16
  • Bryan Singer Returning to X-Men for First Class Source: Superhero Hype
102
  • Mark Strong Talks Kick-Ass, John Carter, and Robin Hood Source: Collider.com
1
  • How Avatar Happened: The Path to Innovation Source: CinemaBlend.com
19
  • Rob Marshall Says Pirates 4 Is Still a Maybe Source: ComingSoon.net
32
  • ET Teases Iron Man 2 Teaser Source: Collider.com
28
  • Tobey Maguire Refutes Hobbit Rumors Source: Hollywood Reporter
9
  • Prince of Persia Featurette Posted Source: Yahoo! Movies
4
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Critics Consensus: Avatar Is Certified Fresh
313
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Avatar Soars to #1 Spot
261
  • Brittany Murphy: 1977-2009
115
  • RT's Best of the Decade!
85
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
62
  • Weekly Ketchup: Bryan Singer Teaches X-Men: First Class
44
  • Total Recall: Jude Law's Best Movies
44
  • Awards Tour 2009: SAG Nominations Are In!
43
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: District 9 and (500) Days of Summer
32
  • Critics Consensus: Sherlock Holmes Is Worth Investigating
18
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • Five Favorite Films With Peter Jackson
62
  • Robert Downey Jr. talks Sherlock Holmes & Iron Man 2 - RT Interview
21
  • Director Ruben Fleischer Talks Zombieland
2
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
17
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
12
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
24
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
8
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
16
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
24
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
9
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Big Chill at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Big Chill at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Best Dozen of the Decade
Best Dozen of the Decade External Link

Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!

Top 50 of 2009
Top 50 of 2009 External Link

Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.

Santa's Naughty List
Santa's Naughty List External Link

Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.

Top 10 Movies of 2009
Top 10 Movies of 2009 External Link

TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.

Top 20 of the Decade
Top 20 of the Decade External Link

Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!

Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Follow RT on Twitter External Link

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo
About Us | Advertise | Contact Us | Press | Careers
IGN | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | Direct2Drive | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Game Sites | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GIGA.DE | What They Play | Battlefield Heroes
By continuing past this page, and by your continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. | Support | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! RSS Feeds
IGN’s enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA.
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.