The Big Chill

The Big Chill is a 1983 American comedy-drama film directed by Lawrence Kasdan, starring an ensemble cast consisting of Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly, and JoBeth Williams. The plot focuses on a group of baby boomers who attended the University of Michigan, reuniting after 15 years when their friend Alex dies by suicide. Kevin Costner was cast as Alex, but his performance was entirely cut from the film. Only nondescript parts of him appear during the opening titles as Alex's corpse, which is being dressed in a casket for his funeral service. It was filmed in Beaufort, South Carolina. The soundtrack features soul, R&B, and pop-rock music from the 1960s and 1970s, including tracks by Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, the Rolling Stones, and Three Dog Night. The Big Chill was adapted for television as the short-lived series Hometown. Later, it influenced the TV series thirtysomething and A Million Little Things.