4 Page 6 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 30, 1983 Can you get what you want? By Susan Makuch IT HASN'T happened to us yet, but just wait. There will be a moment in time, maybe in five or ten years, when we will be revisited by a figure from our past - from our college days. It may be a word, a phrase, or a song that strikes a certain cord in our memories. It's the chill that runs up and down your spine that indicates that we do, indeed, remember what it was like. All the hopes and dreams from those years will be either realized or lost ideals - it is the future. That is exactly the type of feeling University alumnus Lawrence Kasdan aims for in his latest, and perhaps finest, motion picture, The Big Chill. Kasdan, author of such fabulous fun as The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Return of the Jedi, scores once again, only this time in a totally different genre. Combining insight and humor, Kasdan tells the story of seven college housemates who reunite at the funeral of their friend. Don't be fooled - this is not your usual "let's-get-together-and-talk- about-old-times" reunion movie. The Big Chill does talk about old times, but only in order to let the viewer know that the characters have reached their present states. These University graduates, produc- ts of the baby boom as well as the '60s, seem to have a lot more to deal with than you or I, but maybe that's because of the idealism with which they grew up. The problem that continues to arise for this group is that their ideals were 4 4 University alumni gather to reminisce about Ann Arbor in Lawrence Kasdan's latest,'The Big Chill.' formed in the radical '60s, but they had to come to terms with those attitudes during the introspection and me-ism of the '70s. Kasdan, himself a student of the '60s, had to deal with the very same disillusionment as do his characters. That is precisely why The Big Chill works - it comes from the heart. Kasdan, also the director of the film, R w T Y r lci;n I n m W I ' u .lr Richard Brinsley Sheridan r should be credited with deftly handling a large ensemble cast, that includes some of the hottest actors in films today: Tom Berenger, Glenn Close, Jeff Goldblum, William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Mary Kay Place, Meg Tilly and Jobeth Williams. This movie could have very easily turned into an ego-fest - one thespian trying to out-act the next.. The Big Chill, however, never falls into that trap. Kasdan retains complete con- trol without becoming domineering. The actors form a commraderie that is real, as if they really were housemates in college. That feeling of reality is most obvious when they do normal things - like cleaning off the table after a communal meal. One of the characters, Sam Weber (Berenger), has become a Tom Selleck- like TV star. It's comforting to see his ability to fall right back into the casualness of warm friendships, even after the harshness of Hollywood.. Nobody in The Big Chill possesses a haughty attitude - they are all equals. The problems that these people face are created by their obviously high ex- pectations. Those lost hopes, in turn, leave them each with a void that'is not easily filled. At one point,- in a discussion with an outsider (the older husband of Karen, played by Jobeth Williams), Sam and Nick (played by William Hurt) ask an advertising man how he deals with boredom and stagnation of everyday life. He replies, "Nobody said it was going to be fun-at least nobody told me." He has the ability to deal with the unfullfilling part of life because, unlike the 60s generation, he doesn't expect anything more. Another character who floats into the lives of this reunited group is that of Chloe, a youngster of 23 who was Alex's lover, the friend who has died by his own hands. Alex, a mere memory by the time the film opens, was the con- science of the group in their earlier days. What made them such a good couple, someone asks Chloe. "I had no expectations and he had too many," she answers. The Big Chill overflows with such statements and analogies. One of the most effective components of the film is its use of music from the generation in question - the '60s. Right from the first snipet of celluloid, the viewer gets the distinct feeling that he/she has been there before. "I Heard it through the Grapevine" blasts into the theater and grabs the audience im- mediately. The method in which it is weaved into the opening credits - which is interesting and imaginitive - makes us want to find out why these characters are so ,closely tied to that era. The tunes, which include everything from "Joy to the World" to "You Can't Always Get What You Want," give The Big Chill the definitive 60s flavor. The film can be fun for University students who may enjoy the passing references to University-type things. Harold (Kevin Kline), the business magnate, does all his jogging in blue- and-gold Michigan T-shirts and shorts. A focal point of the film occurs during a'Wolverine football game, at which timie these folks look like real alums - complete with tassled "Go-Blue" knit hat and scarf. They look back to their Ann Arbor days with a feeling of bewilderment and longing - something I wonder if we, the current crop, will ever do. There's just too much to say about The Big Chill, and just not enough space in which to say it. Kasdan has done i again, achieving a level of sophistic~ated, personal moviemaking that is much too infrequent in Hollywood these days. Now that's something you can shout "Go Blue" at. For an interview with Lawrence Kazdan, see today's Weekend Magazine. Y Directed by Ed Stern V Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre October 5 & 6 Previews, October 7-9; Wed.-Sat. 8P.M.; Sun.-2 P.M. v 13-16 v Tickets available at the Professional Theatre Program Ticket Office Michigan League Building, (313) 764-0450 i^\ T v r r r r siUDEH ~OR o San Fran videofest 4 (Continued from Page 5) woman yet another. Their views are as far-ranging as they are funny. We listen to a prostitute describe herself as merely a product, then watch an Am- way distributor promoting a bleach while she comments on how her whole life now has a purpose since she swit- ched careers to hustling soap. Ilene Segalove's repulsion toward the whole business world is obvious, perhaps a little too much at times. She could also learn to treat her human sub- jects with just a bit more compassion, though she does maintain a light enough tone throughout the tape to keep the piece entertaining and even thought provoking. In fact she herself con- cludes, "Business is biological, like breathing." The SFVF Traveling Show is co- sponsored by the Performance Net- work and Ann Arbor Community Ac- cess Television. The program is two hours long, beginning at 8 p.m. tonight through Sunday at the Performance Network's intimate auditorium (408 W. Washington between First and Third ir4 Ann Arbor). Tickets are $5,$4 for students. Also available at the showing will be copies of the magazine Video 80, which is published by the producers of the SFVF. Video 80 is one of the leading publications on video art and is other- wise unavailable in Ann Arbor. More information on the Performance Net- work can be obtained by calling 663- 0681.4 NO CMUAN BAND CAN MAKE OU THIS OFFER. If you're a musician who's serious The Army has bands performing about performing, you should take a in Japan, Hawaii, Europe and all serious look at the Army. across America. Army bands offer you an average And Army bands offer you the of 40 performances a month. In every- chance to play with good musicians. Just thing from concerts to parades. to qualify, you have to be able to sight- Army bands also offer you a read music you've never seen before and chance to travel. demonstrate several other musical skills. It's a genuine, right-now, imme- diate opportunity. Compare it to your civilian offers. Then write: Army Opportunities, P.O. Box 300, North Hollywood, CA 91603. BE ALLYOU CAN BE. NAAOR Ev~ET >RSNT ,, &iirn I