The Big Chill Page #2

Synopsis: A seminal Thirty-Something movie in which a group of old college friends who are now all grown up and hardened by the big wide world come together for the funeral of Alex, a barely glimpsed corpse, who was at one time the brightest and the best of them, and yet who never managed to achieve half as much as any of the others. The friends use the occasion to reacquaint themselves with each other and to speculate as to what happened to their idealism which had been abundant when they were younger.
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Lawrence Kasdan
Production: Columbia Pictures
  Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 5 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.2
Metacritic:
62
Rotten Tomatoes:
68%
R
Year:
1983
105 min
5,226 Views


You think everything's boring.

You wouldn't say that

if it was the "Lost Hope Diet."

Michael's office called.

He doesn't have to be

in Dallas till Monday.

He asked to stay the weekend.

Harold, you didn't.

What could I say?

He knows that Sam is staying...

...and Karen, Richard and Meg.

Meg's not staying.

Well, actually...

Where will we put them?

We'll make room.

Hi, guys.

- Hey, Nick.

- How you doing?

Good.

Advertising's all right.

A lot of bullshit

with clients and stuff.

But it's all right.

It's a decent living.

Not as much as we spend, of course.

Just kidding.

It's exactly as much as we spend.

What have you got, an oil leak?

Can I give you a hand?

I think I got it.

I feel like I have never been

alone in my own house.

Never. Either Richard is there,

or the boys or the housekeeper.

Remember those lab rats who went

crazy when deprived of privacy?

They're living with you too?

- Should we push the beds together?

- Why?

Okay. How about further apart?

In January we open in Greensboro.

And in April, our second store

in Charleston.

How many is that now?

Twenty-seven and twenty-eight.

Better watch out.

Some big monster will buy you.

We've had offers.

Who would've thought we'd both

make so much bread?

Two revolutionaries.

Good thing it's not

important to us.

F*** them if they can't

take a joke.

Chloe. Hi, you there?

I just wanted to...

...make sure you're okay.

- Yeah, I'm fine.

- Good.

Thanks, Michael.

Come along?

Are you kidding?

So I'm in the Philadelphia Public

Defender's office.

My clients were the scum of the earth.

Extreme repulsivos.

One of them got caught

in the house.

He and his friends beat up

the husband, rape the wife...

...then tried to blow the place up.

When I ask what happened, he says:

"I was in Montreal at the time."

Who'd you think your clients would be?

Grumpy and Sneezy?

Huey and Bobby.

I don't know.

I just didn't think they'd be...

...so guilty.

And then?

Then I left.

A law school friend is at a firm

in Atlanta doing real estate law.

I went to see them.

The offices were very clean...

...and the clients were only

raping the land...

...and then of course

there was the money.

El greedo strikes again.

Sarah has that robe.

Not this weekend she doesn't.

I always jump her

when she wears it.

Harold, don't you

have any other music?

Like, from this century?

There is no other music in my house.

There's been a lot of terrific music

in the last 10 years.

Like what?

How about you, Michael?

Tell us about big-time journalism.

Where I work we have

only one editorial rule:

No writing longer than an average person

can read during an average crap.

I'm tired of having

my work read in the can.

People read Dostoyevsky in the can.

But they can't finish it.

This certainly is a familiar scene.

I'm feeling very guilty about it.

I'm happy to be here,

but I'm sick about the reason.

I'm going to bed.

I'm sorry.

We could talk about something else.

That's okay. I'm exhausted.

Good night, everyone.

I'll be up in a minute.

Good night, Sarah.

Harold, I'm sorry.

We all feel that way.

I forget what this is like.

In L.A., I don't know who to trust.

I feel like everybody

wants something from me.

I know that sounds terrible,

but it's true.

Tell me about it.

It's a cold world out there.

Sometimes I think

I'm getting frosty myself.

I don't know what people

think about me.

I don't know why they like me,

or even if they do like me.

You don't have

that problem here.

You know I don't like you.

Me either.

Ditto.

So relax.

A**holes.

I was just coming down.

Don't.

What are we doing?

I didn't get to talk to you before.

You got me stoned too quick.

But I'm okay now.

I'm just drunk and therefore brave.

I've always been

a cowardly drunk myself.

I bought the land three years ago.

He and Chloe were working on it.

There's an old house they were fixing up.

It's really pretty. I can take you

out there tomorrow if you want.

That's what I don't get.

It's one of the things I don't get.

He was really

involved in that.

It seemed to really mean

something to him.

I went with him three weeks ago

to buy a table saw.

Why does he do a thing like that?

I should've known.

- How could you know?

- Nobody knew.

I can't even believe it now.

I don't care.

I should've known.

All I want is a little warmth.

What?

Sweetheart?

Did I ever tell you...

...what happened to me in Vietnam?

It's a f***ing bat, and I think

it touched my hair!

I hate them!

They're like rats with wings.

No, pigeons are rats with wings.

- They're harmless. They eat mosquitos.

- I'm going to wash my hair and puke.

- Puke first, of course.

- Stand aside!

That's cashmere!

Give me that.

I'll be right bat.

Where'd it go?

Listen for it.

It makes weird sound.

Kind of:

It's quiet in here.

It's too quiet.

Sh*t!

Look out, Nick!

Behind you.

Here, let me open this.

Maybe it'll split.

All right!

Okay, now we got a fair fight.

Keep your mouth shut.

I'll do the talking.

You can't go in there.

I told you never to

walk in here without knocking.

What's this?

I'm not sure.

What's it about?

I don't know.

Who's that?

I think the guy in the hat

did something terrible.

- Who wants to be next?

- Like what?

You're so analytical.

Sometimes you just have to let art...

...flow over you.

I'm hungry.

I had this really dirty dream.

Was it about Karen?

- Why do you say that?

- Why should anything have changed?

You're the one she always wanted.

In the old days, I wasn't emotionally

equipped to satisfy her.

Now the equipment doesn't

work at all.

Why do we have to talk about that?

Come on in the kitchen with me.

I think she found what she was

looking for in Richard.

Be careful what you want,

young lady...

...or you will surely get it.

What're you doing up?

Why didn't you come in?

I didn't realize anybody else was up.

I've been thinking

about your friend Alex.

Did you ever meet him?

Karen's told me some.

I'm imagining mostly.

I never sleep through the night.

Insomnia. Karen doesn't know.

I might have something

that can help.

No, thanks.

I don't mind it.

Sometimes when my family's asleep,

I sit downstairs and it's so quiet.

I hate not being able to sleep,

but I don't mind the time alone.

Sometimes I think the thing about kids

is their instant priorities.

You know you must

protect and provide for them...

...and sometimes it means your life

isn't exactly how you want it to be.

There's some...

...a**hole at work you

have to kowtow to...

...and sometimes you do things

you never thought you'd do.

But you try to

minimize that stuff...

...and be the best person

you can be.

But you set your priorities.

And that's the way life is.

I wonder if

your friend Alex knew that.

He couldn't live with it.

I know I shouldn't talk.

You guys knew him.

But the thing is...

...nobody said it was

going to be fun.

At least nobody said it to me.

Rate this script:3.7 / 3 votes

Lawrence Kasdan

Lawrence Edward Kasdan (born January 14, 1949) is an American screenwriter, director and producer. He is best known as co-writer of the films The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Return of the Jedi. Kasdan co-wrote the Star Wars sequel trilogy film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and will co-write the series' Han Solo spin-off film.[ more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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