There is a child in a bathtub.
He is probably around 3, debating the merits, mostly, of Three Dog NightsJoy to the World.
A phone rings in the background.
So begins one of the greatest ensemble films about postcollegiate life, 1983sThe Big Chill.
(Flashback scenes with Costner as Alex were filmed but subsequently cut from the picture.)
I feel like we should have had a chair for Alex.
The chair that does not exist for Alex is the genesis of the movie.
Coming together after college is a moment to reevaluate.
Are we the people we used to be?
Do we still like each other?
The Bill Chill, one might argue, is a multigenerational movie in this way.
Here is who we are now.
Here is where we have landed.
