The Big ChillMovies like The Big Chill
- Key Features:
- Reunion, Friendship, Existential crisis, Coming-of-age, Nostalgia, Senior citizens, Group dynamics, Self-reflection, Mortality, Guilt, Regret, Soundtrack-driven, Ensemble cast
- Tone:
- serious, dramatic, restrained
- Target Audience:
- Baby Boomers, Those interested in character-driven dramas, Viewers who enjoy ensemble casts, Audiences seeking nostalgic themes
- Emotional Arc:
- Grief → Reflection → Acceptance
The Big Chill

Seven old college friends gather for a weekend reunion after the funeral of one of their own.
The Big Chill
Seven former college friends, along with a few new friends, gather for a weekend reunion at a summer house in New Hampshire to reminisce about the good old days, when they got arrested on the way to a protest in Washington, D.C.

After inheriting a large country estate from his late father, Peter invites his friends from college: married couple Roger and Mary, the lonely Maggie, fashionable Sarah, and writer Andrew, who brings his American TV star wife, Carol. Sarah's new boyfriend, Brian, also attends. It has been 10 years since college, and they find their lives are very different.

After their high school basketball coach passes away, five good friends and former teammates reunite for a Fourth of July holiday weekend.

A group of former high school classmates meets for a reunion 15 years after graduation, only to discover that any innocence or friendship is long lost.

Three friends attempt to recapture their glory days by opening up a fraternity near their alma mater.

They are the best friends of the world. Five friends who shared everything: may 68, hippies years, the rock and their love for Bernadette. This Bernadette has left them to become a rock-star, and is back 15 years later for a weekend. Jean-Marie Poire describes with this movie the portrait of a generation with lots of humor served by excelent actors.

When college friends reunite after 15 years over the Christmas holidays, they discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten rivalries and romances to be reignited.

One weekend, after years without seeing each other, several friends, over whom hangs the shadow of a murky episode of the past, meet in a house in the mountains. During the first night, a strange incident takes place that leaves them isolated.

Soon to be a father, Mark feels the pressure of domestic responsibility closing in, so he is more than happy to accept when his old friend Kurt proposes a camping trip in the Oregon wilderness. During their time together, the men come to grips with the changes in their lives and the effect on their relationship.

Five old friends decide to move in together as an alternative to living in a retirement home. Joining them is an ethnology student whose thesis is on the aging population.

Aging pals Billy, Paddy, Archie, and Sam have been best friends since childhood. When Billy finally proposes to his much-younger girlfriend, all four friends go to Las Vegas to celebrate the end of Billy's longtime bachelorhood and relive their glory days. However, the four quickly realize that the intervening decades have changed Sin City and tested their friendship in ways they had not imagined.

A college reunion goes awry when Pete suspects his friends may be out to get him... As their weekend getaway grows more and more uncomfortable, should Pete be worried about his safety, or is it all in his head?

When a group of old college friends reunite over a long weekend after one of them attempts suicide, old crushes and resentments shine light on their life decisions, and ultimately push friendships and relationships to the brink.

Following a group of friends from university as they progress into middle-age life and go their own separate ways.

The cast of Friends reunites for a once-in-a-lifetime celebration of the hit series, an unforgettable evening filled with iconic memories, uncontrollable laughter, happy tears, and special guests.

Grand Canyon revolved around six residents from different backgrounds whose lives intertwine in modern-day Los Angeles. At the center of the film is the unlikely friendship of two men from different races and classes brought together when one finds himself in jeopardy in the other's rough neighborhood.

Three 1960s California surfers fool around, drift apart and reunite years later to ride epic waves.

Two old friends reconnect at their friend's funeral, and decide to exact revenge on the widower who wronged all three of them decades earlier.

Newly single, 35, and uninspired by his job, Jesse Fisher worries that his best days are behind him. But no matter how much he buries his head in a book, life keeps pulling Jesse back. When his favorite college professor invites him to campus to speak at his retirement dinner, Jesse jumps at the chance.

A group of childhood friends, now in their thirties, reunite at Camp Tamakwa. Only a few of the original campers show up, but they still have a good time reminiscing. The people share experiences and grow while at the camp. They are dismayed to discover that the camp's owner, Unca Lou, is going to close the camp down.

Jack, a soon-to-be graduate, finds he's having a difficult time letting go of the college life -- and decides maybe he doesn't have to. Also questioning whether there's life after college are Jack's roommates: Rob, who fears domestication; comic-strip artist Mickey, who's shy around girls; intellectual party animal Slosh; and perpetual student Dennis.

Three friends, whose lives have been drifting apart, reunite for the funeral of a fourth childhood friend. When looking through their childhood belongings, they discover a trunk which contained details on a quest their friend was attempting. It revealed that he was hot on the trail of the $200,000 that went missing with airplane hijacker D.B. Cooper in 1971. They decide to continue his journey, but do not understand the dangers they will soon encounter.

Five long-term pals confront ageing and mortality as they enjoy their last weeks together before taking different paths.

The story of four lifelong friends who met in the 2000s when they were presidents of the BDE of the Nantes Institute of Business. At the time, they were the "Bioman": the kings of partying, excess and "transmutation". 20 years later, they have mellowed out and lead well-ordered lives. Except... Once a year, when they get together for the WEB: the Bioman Weekend. There, they "transmute" hard as they like to say. In short: they drink and sing in a pathetic way.

A husband and wife reevaluate their marriage after their closest friends, another couple decide to split up after twelve years.

A small circle of friends suffering from post-collegiate blues must confront the hard truth about life, love and the pursuit of gainful employment. As they struggle to map out survival guides for the future, the Gen-X quartet soon begins to realize that reality isn't all it's cracked up to be.

The characters we met a little more than a decade ago return to East Great Falls for their high school reunion. In one long-overdue weekend, they will discover what has changed, who hasn’t, and that time and distance can’t break the bonds of friendship.

A young college student in London moves into a flat and becomes best friends with a flatmate; the former moves into her own flat 4 years later but 6 years after their parting, the former returns to London to pay the latter a visit.

A group of literature-loving friends bury letters to be opened 10 years later when they will confront the dreams of their youth with what the future has held in store for them.

Centers on a murder that takes place at a high school reunion, unfolding during a snowstorm that leaves guests trapped in an isolated mansion.

Former high school musical star, Marc Pease, finds himself still living in the past, eight years after graduating.

Ten years after their Upper Sixth, Bruno, Momo, Leon and Alain meet together in the waiting room of a maternity hospital. The father of the awaited baby is Tomasi, their best friend at that time, who died one month before due to an overdose. They remember their teenage, their laughs, their dreams, their stupid pranks... a description of the French youth in the middle of the seventies.

Six high school friends in their 40s who haven't seen each other in nearly 20 years rekindle their younger selves after a court cancels their diploma, forcing them to repeat the final high school exam.

Seven girls become good friends in high school, then events pull them apart for 25 years. When one of the friends lies dying in a hospital, she wishes to see each of them one last time.

Standing on the precipice of adulthood, a group of friends navigate new relationships, while reexamining others, during their final summer before college.

Phil, Melissa, Mitch, Mary, and Vinnie are high school friends, who unwittingly raise the dead on Halloween night. Once the dead have returned, Pitchford Cove will never be the same again....or will it?

In 1971, five college buddies from the University of Texas embark on a final road trip odyssey across the Mexican border before facing up to uncertain futures, in Vietnam and otherwise.

Yann who is trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to cope with his life generally and especially bereavement decides to look up Thomas, his best friend from high school. Thomas is thee same crazy character as he ever was and between them they cook up a plan to rearrange Yann's birthday party from their high school days and get all their old friends to come along. This means locating their friends and a journey to visit and convince some of them to join in their plan. How their friends have changed, their lives and the revelations provide plenty of humour. But why is his friend Thomas just the same as he ever was ?

Two quirky, cynical teenaged girls try to figure out what to do with their lives after high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric, middle aged record collector, one of them befriends him, which causes a rift in the girls’ friendship.

The result of the small handkerchiefs "Petits mouchoirs", 7 years later. The band, which erupted, is found on the occasion of the anniversary surprise organized for Max.

For decades, next-door neighbors and former friends John and Max have feuded, trading insults and wicked pranks. When an attractive widow moves in nearby, their bad blood erupts into a high-stakes rivalry full of naughty jokes and adolescent hijinks.

Despite their different family backgrounds, four friends grew up together in the wearisome years of the 70s. But as time goes by, each of them takes a different life path.

Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.

Two college students share a ride home for the holidays. When they break down on a deserted stretch of road, they're preyed upon by the ghosts of people who have died there.

Three friends leave their village for a retirement home travelling the countryside

Four successful elderly gentlemen, members of the Chowder Society, share a gruesome, 50-year-old secret. When one of Edward Wanderley's twin sons dies in a bizarre accident, the group begins to see a pattern of frightening events developing.

Four inseparable friends try to face their midlife crisis with daytrips and pranks at the expense of their families and the people around them.

A privileged rich debutante and a cynical struggling entertainer share a turbulent, but strong childhood friendship over the years.

Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.

Four best friends negotiate loss and major life changes during the last two weeks of high school.

Six people are brought together at the funeral of a childhood friend. While settling the estate, they discover a map, which leads them on a search for a time capsule. What they discover reawakens childhood traumas and leads them on a journey through their abandoned childhood home: a home with a terrible secret and a mysterious dead girl who will lead them to their strange fates.

A sudden loss disrupts Carol’s orderly life, propelling her into the dating world for the first time in 20 years. Finally living in the present tense, she finds herself swept up in not one, but two unexpected relationships that challenge her assumptions about what it means to grow old.

Paul reflects on the summer he met Angèle and Frédéric as he watches his friend being laid to rest.

Five medical students want to find out if there is life after death. They plan to stop one of their hearts for a few seconds, thus simulating death, and then bring the person back to life.

Sylvia is a social worker who leads a simple and structured life: her daughter, her job, her AA meetings. This is blown open when Saul follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter will profoundly impact both of them as they open the door to the past.

Follow the 10-year reunion of the Deadwood camp to celebrate South Dakota's statehood. Former rivalries are reignited, alliances are tested and old wounds are reopened, as all are left to navigate the inevitable changes that modernity and time have wrought.

A world-weary college professor is given a life-changing diagnosis and decides to throw all pretense and conventions to the wind and live his life as boldly and freely as possible with a biting sense of humor, a reckless streak and a touch of madness.

Reluctant to let go of college life, a close-knit team of seven friends--irresponsible saxophone player Billy, young Republican Alec, his girlfriend Leslie, struggling journalist Kevin, drama queen Jules, lovesick waiter Kirby, and Wendy, a social worker with a heart of gold--realise the party is over. And as the burdens of maturity close in on the young dreamers, the complexities of adulthood and the daily struggle of growing up put their sacred friendship to the test. But everyone knows life is not a bed of roses. It won't be easy, but when all is said and done, what will it take for St. Elmo's clique to find its place in the real world?

Four friends get together for a nostalgic evening of fun and games after a decade of absence, which takes a dark turn.

Retreating from life after a tragedy, a man questions the universe by writing to Love, Time and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.

After college graduation, Grover's girlfriend Jane tells him she's moving to Prague to study writing. Grover declines to accompany her, deciding instead to move in with several friends, all of whom can't quite work up the inertia to escape their university's pull. Nobody wants to make any big decisions that would radically alter his life, yet none of them wants to end up like Chet, the professional student who tends bar and is in his tenth year of university studies.

With his 20th reunion looming, Dan can’t shake his high school insecurities. In a misguided mission to prove he’s changed, Dan rekindles a friendship with the popular guy from his class and is left scrambling to protect more than just his reputation when a wild night takes an unexpected turn.

Four boyhood pals perform a heroic act and are changed by the powers they gain in return. Years later, on a hunting trip in the Maine woods, they're overtaken by a vicious blizzard that harbors an ominous presence. Challenged to stop an alien force, the friends must first prevent the slaughter of innocent civilians by a military vigilante ... and then overcome a threat to the bond that unites the four of them.

Writer Paul Benjamin is nearly hit by a bus when he leaves Auggie Wren's smoke shop. Stranger Rashid Cole saves his life, and soon middle-aged Paul tells homeless Rashid that he wouldn't mind a short-term housemate. Still grieving over his wife's murder, Paul is moved by both Rashid's quest to reconnect with his father and Auggie's discovery that a woman who might be his daughter is about to give birth.

Nine friends gather every year in their friend Thomas’ hotel in Hawaii. Following a nuclear attack alert, they believe that their last moments are upon them. Years of hidden truths, resentment and bitterness starts to resurface and their friendly annual meeting soon turns into an aggressive score-setting shouting match.

Three middle-aged wealthy couples take vacations together in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Along the way we are treated to mid-life, marital, parental and other crises.

A group of 30-year-olds who have been friends since high school attempt to throw an end-of-summer orgy.

Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, three lifelong pals risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.

A group of families on a tropical holiday discover that the secluded beach where they are staying is somehow causing them to age rapidly – reducing their entire lives into a single day.

Two college freshmen who decided to stick with their high school sweethearts have to pull a 'Turkey Dump' and break up with them over 'Drunksgiving' the one chaotic night before Thanksgiving in their hometown that puts their codependent friendship to the test.

Meeting by chance when they return to their tiny California hometown, two former high-school sweethearts reflect on their shared past.

It's graduation day at Huntington Hills High, and you know what that means - time to party. And not just any party, either. This one will be a night to remember, as the nerds become studs, the jocks are humiliated, and freshman crushes blossom into grown-up romance.

A man in his mid 30's reevaluates his life and priorities after he met someone from his past.

A daring dream to scale the world's most challenging trio of mountains soon turns into a terrifying nightmare for a group of friends when a deadly storm traps the climbers near the summit and cuts off all hope of rescue. With the odds stacked against them, the friends are forced to trust each other to save themselves by any means necessary.

When the dinosaur families get trapped in a valley by an ice storm, one family of "spike tail" dinosaurs volunteers to leave since they consume more food than the others. Meanwhile, the young dinos and a new adult dinosaur named Mr. Thicknose, head out to bring back their friend Spike, who has left his friends to be with members of his own species.

Lenny has relocated his family back to the small town where he and his friends grew up. This time around, the grown ups are the ones learning lessons from their kids on a day notoriously full of surprises—the last day of school.

For a grieving fiancée, learning to love again requires the help of her late love's three best friends.

Faced with the decision of a lifetime, Arvilla Holden enlists her two best friends and sets off in a vintage '66 Bonneville convertible to deliver her late husband's ashes to Santa Barbara.

On Halloween 1997, two estranged teen skaters embark on a surreal journey through their memories, dreams and fears.

Twenty years after tragedy cut their graduation trip short, four friends return to that destination to finish what they started in 1980. However, as they find out, you can't repeat the past.

A retired businesswoman – who tries to control everything around her – decides to write her own obituary. A young journalist takes up the task of finding out the truth, and the result is a life-altering friendship.

The reinvigorated elderly group that left Earth comes back to visit their relatives. Will they all decide to go back to the planet where no one grows old, or will they be tempted to remain on Earth?

Jaded 74-year-old lizard Leo has been stuck in the same Florida classroom for decades with his terrarium-mate turtle. When he learns he only has one year left to live, he plans to escape to experience life on the outside but instead gets caught up in the problems of his anxious students — including an impossibly mean substitute teacher.

Former prom king Scott returns home for Thanksgiving break and gets dumped by his long-term girlfriend. With his world turned upside down, Scott strikes an unlikely friendship with former classmate Tori, an ugly duckling who blossomed in her first semester of college, and they embark on an outrageous adventure through their hometown. But when Scott and Tori start falling in love, they realize that a few months away may have changed them more than they realized.

A man's life is turned inside out after a visit from his college friend leads him into the unexpected.

A group of 7 youngsters decide to spend a night at a reportedly haunted hotel to celebrate the farewell of one of them leaving for the USA. Despite people's warnings and other "signs" trying to ward them off from there, they enter the hotel, and then the truth dawns on them. Seven friends - Sam alias Samrat, Magesh, Achint, Neel, Neena, Sonia and Magi reunite after several years apart to celebrate the farewell of one of their friends, who is going abroad in order to pursue his career and fulfill his goals. The group soon learns about an abandoned hotel with strange stories around it. Much against warnings, they decide to spend a night at the hotel, and soon realize the mistake of their lives.

David Sinclair seems to have everything going for him: he's smart, musically talented, and very successful. To top off his senior year in high school, his band is trying to get a recording session. Therefore, David's suicide leaves everyone, especially his best friend and bandmate, Chris, with a lot of questions.

A tale of four generations of men, all of whom have had their offspring at a young age: a great-grandfather, a grandfather, a father in his twenties and a son who is about 7 years old. When the oldest member passes away, the trio heads out on the road together in the Southwest to search out an old family secret that connects to their past.

Alex, Antoine, Jeff and Manu. Four friends, four years later. Their relationships, friendship, shared secrets, feelings of guilt and their desire to change and improve.

Set in 1959, Diner shows how five young men resist their adulthood and seek refuge in their beloved Diner. The mundane, childish, and titillating details of their lives are shared. But the golden moments pass, and the men shoulder their responsibilities, leaving the Diner behind.

After serving 28 years in prison for accidentally killing the son of a crime boss, newly paroled gangster Val reunites with his former partners in crime, Doc and Hirsch, for a night on the town. As the three men revisit old haunts, reflect on their glory days and try to make up for lost time, one wrestles with a terrible quandary: Doc has orders to kill Val, and time is running out for him to figure out a way out of his dilemma.

Although Brad has a satisfying career, a sweet wife and a comfortable life in suburban Sacramento, things aren't quite what he imagined during his college glory days. When he accompanies his musical prodigy son on a university tour, he can't help comparing his life with those of his four best college friends who seemingly have more wealthy and glamorous lives. But when circumstances force him to reconnect with his former friends, Brad begins to question whether he has really failed or if their lives are actually more flawed than they appear.

A group of former classmates gather for a pre-party at one of their homes the night before their 10-year high school reunion, and one by one, they are brutally slain in a manner befitting each's senior yearbook superlative.

The seemingly casual reunion of three old friends at an out-of-the-way repair shop masks a hidden agenda fuelled by the arrival of a privileged young yuppie.

Billy, once the coolest kid in high school, comes back to his hometown 15 years later to find he’s no longer cool and the girl he still has feelings for now dates the former class outcast. Billy becomes obsessed with proving the outcast is a murderer.

Sabrina's perfectly planned high school reunion goes south when a monster keeps killing all the guests.

Diego, Manny and Sid return in this sequel to the hit animated movie Ice Age. This time around, the deep freeze is over, and the ice-covered earth is starting to melt, which will destroy the trio's cherished valley. The impending disaster prompts them to reunite and warn all the other beasts about the desperate situation.


