My ongoing '80s film festival, and a few other things
This issue's festival entries: The Big Chill and St. Elmo's Fire
Remember The Big Chill and St. Elmo's Fire? They’re two iconic ‘80s ensemble movies, and I rewatched both this spring as part of my private ongoing ‘80s film festival.
In Lawrence Kasdan’s 1983 dramedy The Big Chill, seven old friends, college friends who’ve lost touch over the years, gather for the funeral of their friend Alex, who has killed himself. They end up staying over at the Beaufort, SC, home of Harold (Kevin Kline) and Sarah (Glenn Close), who’ve settled here—Harold owns a chain of running stores, and Sarah is a doctor. Over the weekend, many things happen! And all the characters try to come to terms with their yuppie ‘80s selves—they’re disappointments to their more idealistic ‘60s selves—and with the loss of Alex, who represented the best of them.
Watching The Big Chill again, I have to say I’m still a fan, all these years later. I was struck by a few things:
—In my memory, Glenn Close gave the notable performance, and her character served as the emotional center of the movie, with Kevin Kline a close second. But on rewatching, it’s William Hurt’s character, Nick, who’s the (off-kilter) center, as well as truth-teller. Side characters Chloe (Meg Tilly) and Alex (Kevin Costner, whose scenes got cut), through the others’ memories of him and his writing—are also off-kilter truth-tellers.
—All the characters seem well inhabited, as if they really do have a history together. Lawrence Kasdan based the group on his own experience living in a coop at the University of Michigan.
—The bedroom scene with Meg (Mary Kay Place) and Harold (Kevin Kline, with “When a Man Loves a Woman” as background music) is as cringey as I remembered it. Meg has decided that this is her last chance to have a baby, and she and Sarah land on Harold as the best possibility for sperm donor. (This is the last night of the long weekend, where everyone partners up, except for Jeff Goldblum’s character.)
—These actors were all SO YOUNG when they made this movie, and they spend a big chunk of the movie talking about how old they are.
—The soundtrack! It’s still perfect.
St. Elmo’s Fire (AKA the junior Big Chill, starring the Brat Pack, from 1984) follows seven college friends through the year after they graduate from Georgetown, as they stumble through first jobs, relationships, breakups, drug addiction…. I was so taken with this movie when it came out. (And I thought Andrew McCarthy was so cute.)
But after rewatching, I must report that St. Elmo’s Fire is a terrible movie. None of it makes sense, and all the male characters are badly behaved in ways that are sometimes surprising, but that don’t add up.
Some observations:
—Men behaving weirdly: Kirby’s (Emilio Estevez) obsession with nurse/doctor (it isn’t clear, is she a nurse or a resident?) Dale Biberman (Andie McDowell) is stalkerish and bizarre. Alec’s (Judd Nelson) control-freak character, his inability to stop sleeping with other women, his extreme rage at girlfriend Leslie (Ally Sheedy), not to mention the popped collar on his blazer—also bizarre, to the point of comical. And Kevin’s (Andrew McCarthy) obsession with Leslie (Ally Sheedy) makes for a good plot turn, but still: creepy!
—Rob Lowe is the least believable rock ‘n roller of all time: the bar scene scene where he’s playing the sax with his band (wearing tank top and matching headband) and he yells out “let’s rock!” to the crowd—yikes.
—And Mare Winningham as Wendy seems like she dropped in from another movie. Is it because she’s a better actress than the others? I don’t know. Also she’s the only one who gets an onscreen family (cardboardy though these family characters may be, we see Wendy at home, interacting with her extended family at Shabbos dinners, and having lunch with her dad, gently pushing back at his demands).
Let me know if you’ve rewatched either movie, and how they held up for you.
Book recs
Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City, Jane Wong (Tin House). Memoir from poet Jane Wong about growing up as the child of immigrants, her dad’s gambling addiction, and finding her way in the world as a poet and artist. Lots of beautiful sensory imagery throughout, and experimental in style. (And yes, there’s a Springsteen sighting, late in the memoir.) I reviewed Meet Me Tonight for BookPage.
Pineapple Street, Jenny Jackson (Pamela Dorman Books). A funny novel about money and class! Set in present-day Brooklyn Heights, Pineapple Street is a sweet comedy of manners about a WASPy Brooklyn family—thirty-something siblings Darley, Cord, and Georgiana, and Sasha, Cord’s wife. Lots of sharp observations and commentary about money, class, and what it takes to be a “good” person.
Movie rec
Somewhere in Queens. Ray Romano and Laurie Metcalfe play an Italian-American couple coping with midlife, their large extended family, and the possibility of a college basketball scholarship for their very shy, anxious son. It’s a family dramedy, and a portrayal of an extended family with all their conflicting expectations. Not a perfect movie, but Romano and Metcalfe are both great.
Writer resources
Becca Syme’s Dear Writer series. A series of six short books from writing coach Becca Syme. I’ve only read the first one, Dear Writer, You Need to Quit, but intend to read/listen to the rest. Even though these guides are mainly aimed at self-publishing novelists (in particular, those writers who aim to churn out 12 books a year 😳😱), they’re full of wisdom and good reminders. For instance: go to your manuscript first thing in the morning, before you check email, news, or social media.
Kelsey Ervick’s newsletter The Habit of Art, about writing, drawing, and storytelling. Her latest is about when to give up on a creative dream, and whether letting go of that dream lets you embrace a dream you’re better suited to. I love her illustrations and the way she describes her thought process.
Let me know what you’re writing, reading, watching!
Welcome to Substack, Sarah! Thanks for the shout-out! It's funny, I listened to the Big Chill soundtrack a million times in the 1980s (it was a fave of my dad's on roadtrips in the station wagon), but never watched it!
I kindof can't believe I haven't seen either movie...I grew up hearing about them all of the time. Reading Lessons in Chemistry - it's good!