Movie Review: The Big Chill

I recently was told by multiple friends how great the movie “The Big Chill” was, and I had to see it. It was such a delightful movie because it's all about how great friends come together and mourn the loss of their friend who committed suicide. They also mourn how chilly the big bad world is, and how only with their tight family-like group can they really emotionally rest. Or so the story goes. But it's not. The Big Chill is a horrible movie with horrible messages, all couched in the sentimental good feeling of friends who love each other. The Big Chill is like a warm dish of lasagna with a rotting fish in the center.

How does this rotting fish smell? The not-well-hidden messages like: Single motherhood is great, especially with women who are great mothers. It's fun and generous to loan your husband out for stud service to make said single mother. You can be a drug addict and dealer and still be just fine. You can be an actor in shows with overt extramarital sexuality, but as long as you try to put in a virtue signal here and there, you're a great person. You can betray your husband with a sexual affair with an old friend, and it's not a big deal. If a close friend commits suicide, it's not your fault if he didn't reach out to you first. And all this rot can still be in a great movie as long as it's really sentimental and the characters really say love each other a lot.