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No. 73: The Big Chill

Last Temptations

by
Jody Rosen
December 06, 2011

1983, dir. Lawrence Kasdan. Boomer nostalgia starts here. Lawrence Kasdan’s hit about the reunion of a group of 1960s idealists is the definitive 1980s ensemble dramedy—an irresistible mix of melodrama, sex, and rhythmically-challenged-white-people-post-prandially-boogying-to-the-Temptations. Bonus Jew-points for the depiction of neurotic generational guilt: former hippies fretting over the moral toll of their Reagan-era yuppiedom. Extra super bonus Jew-points for the presence of Jeff Goldblum as a horndog People magazine journalist, oozing his way through every scene he’s in—and failing miserably in his bid to get in Meg Tilley’s pants.

Jody Rosen is a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine.