Movie Catch-up

With the near end of a cut short TV regular season, it's time to get to other things. One thing I have set out to do this Summer is watch movies that are important, that I've never had the chance to see. I would throw the Princess Bride, Taxi Driver, the French Connection as examples of important films I just haven't seen.

That leads me to the 1983's the Big Chill. All I knew about the movie, was they were old friends reuniting for an old friends funeral, and Kevin Costner played the dead friend, though he was cut out of the movie.

The film was a who's who at the time. Tom Berenger was a big star.......not so much now. What happened to him? His work in Platoon was truly scary good. Meg Tilly was at the start of what seemed to be a big career......Oscar nomination and all for Agnes of God....but she disappeared to Canada to write, and raise her kids. Jobeth Williams still acts in TV shows periodically to this day. Mary Kay Place.....the most un-famous (is that a word?) actor in the bunch, will always be fondly remembered by me as one of the MASH tv show greatest writers, and star of the classic where Radar is attracted to her, and eventually gets 'SLAKED'. Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, Kevin Kline and William Hurt all continued with fairly consistant movie and TV careers.

Besides Place, each actor has been nominated for an oscar at one point or another, and two have won (Kline and Hurt). Oddly enough the only one to win an Emmy is Mary Kay Place.

So there's the set-up, what did I think of the movie. I thought it was OK, but quite dated. The one thing writer/director Lawrence Kasdan nails, is the interaction between the leads....you do get the sense they are old friends, a little uncomfortable discovering what they all have become. The film also is the master about letting you slowly get the full story behind the characters slowly. It actually is quite well done, but for me there was a fatal flaw. I really didn't care for the characters. They seemed quite self involved, and are pretty much rich whiners. Like I said, it does do a good job of showing their intertwining relationship....but I felt like an outsider looking into the cool kids.

The resolution for the movie also left me quite cold. I found some of it rang true, while some was just plain wish fulfillment. And one last thing.......I have no idea where Glenn Close's character comes from....and why she is such a freak in the film.

'nuff said.

This is part one or my Movie Catch-up this summer. Look for more soon. Enjoy your week.


Jason