--- title: "The Big Chill: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-big-chill/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-big-chill" critics_score: 60 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Big Chill (1983): what the critics said Critics' score 60 from 11 reviews: 7 positive, 1 mixed, 3 negative. Most of the reviews come down in favour, and the praise gathers around the cast. Critics agree the ensemble is well acted, that Kasdan’s dialogue catches how old university friends in their thirties actually talk, and that the reunion banter and shared rituals feel true. Several find it sharp and melancholy at once, poignant without turning sticky. The Motown soundtrack is mentioned by nearly everyone, more often as a pleasure than a fault. The disagreement is about depth, and it is wide. Even admirers say the film has all the right moves and no real payoff, preferring cosy nostalgia to a hard look at what these former activists once believed. The dissenters go further. The New Yorker calls it slick, over-controlled and shallow; Slant Magazine objects to pandering nostalgia and a fetishised soundtrack; The Hollywood Reporter finds the screenplay losing focus among the romantic liaisons. That same soundtrack, warmly received elsewhere, is for these critics the film’s most intrusive habit. ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 May 2023. The critic finds the 1983 ensemble comedy-drama poignant without being cloying and praises its authentic depiction of friends reconnecting through shared rituals and banter after a loss. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/may/24/the-big-chill-at-40-rewatching-the-defining-ensemble-film-of-the-1980s) ## The Independent — Geoffrey Macnab Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 March 2022. The critic calls it one of the greatest films about friendship, highlighting its influential ensemble drama about university friends reuniting after a suicide and its mix of irony, comedy, and nostalgia for lost ideals. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium/culture/the-big-chill-kevin-costner-william-hurt-lawrence-kasdan-b2037144.html) ## The AV Club — Mike D'Angelo Rating B. 30 July 2014. The review highlights the film's iconic musical nostalgia sequence as a standout but notes its glib complications and reliance on a cozy Motown soundtrack over deeper exploration of the characters' past ideals. It praises the ensemble cast while comparing it unfavorably in depth to John Sayles' similar film. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-reunion-drama-the-big-chill-uses-golden-oldies-to-p-1798181014) ## Empire — William Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic notes its similarity to earlier indie efforts but praises Kasdan's hit version for its strong ensemble, witty Motown soundtrack, and skillful balance of social satire and sentiment in depicting 60s activists turned 80s yuppies. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/big-chill-review/) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 30 September 1983. The film is a good, well-acted ensemble piece that observes how 1960s college friends have matured into their 30s with accurate dialogue and body language. It is a splendid technical exercise with all the right moves but lacks a real payoff or resolution. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-big-chill-1983) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 23 September 1983. Festival review. Kasdan's sweet, sharp, melancholy comedy about 1960s activists reuniting at a funeral is unusually good mainstream filmmaking that works effectively on an intimate scale. It is a fancy variation on similar reunion stories with sharper dramatic tension around lost ideals. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1983/09/23/movies/screen-the-big-chill-reunion-of-60-s-activists.html) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 7 September 1983. Kasdan's second film is an amusing, splendidly acted but rather shallow look at the 1960s generation, a high-gloss version of similar reunion films with a classy cast that should appeal to upscale viewers in their 30s. It lacks tough-minded exploration of youth ideals versus adult realities and feels mild and lightweight. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/the-big-chill-3-1200456059/) ## The New Yorker — Pauline Kael Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 17 October 1983. Festival review. The film is an amiable but slick, over-controlled and shallow comedy with skillful performances and well-directed repartee; anyone who was a committed radical in the 1960s is likely to find it despicable. Its pleasures are synthetic and craftsmanlike tricks rather than substantive. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1983/10/17/the-sevens) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Arthur Knight Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 30 September 2018. The critic finds the film a keen disappointment compared to Kasdan's Body Heat, with a screenplay that loses focus amid romantic liaisons and fails to clearly define its characters. Intrusive Motown music and cartoonish portrayals prevent any meaningful exploration of generational change. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/big-chill-review-1983-movie-1147771/) ## Slant Magazine — Clayton Dillard Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 27 July 2014. The critic faults the film's pandering nostalgia, fetishized soundtrack, and self-obsessed characters who lack irony or genuine engagement with their past. It singles out the cultural appropriations and male fantasies for particular complaint in this re-release review. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-big-chill/) ## Collider — Samuel Williamson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 9 November 2022. The critic finds the film a funny, awkward, beautiful, and sad hangout movie about old friends reuniting that captures real-life tonal shifts in conversations and emotions. They single out the stellar ensemble performances, character interactions, and nostalgic soundtrack for praise while noting the protagonists' self-centered boomer flaws and one particularly bizarre plot choice. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-big-chill-still-relatable/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-big-chill.md