Best movies like The Big Chill
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Kevin Kline and Glenn Close star as Harold and Sarah Cooper, a couple whose marital troubles are put on hold while they host an unhappy reunion of former college pals gathered for the funeral of one of their own, a suicide victim named Alex. As the weekend unfolds, the friends catch up with each other, play the music of their youth, reminisce, smoke marijuana, and pair off with each other.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: realistic, weeping, cult classic, sentimental, clever, witty, talky, existential, funny, inspirational
Best tv shows and movies like The Big Chill (1983):
Similar in 87%
Four Friends (1981)
Plot Summary:
Also known as Moritorium and Georgia's Friends, Four Friends follows the titular quartet from high school to young adulthood. The film is set during the tumultuous 1960s, an era when everyone's values were turned inside out, shaken around, and reassembled. The central character is first-generation American Craig Wasson, who confounds his Yugoslavian father (Miklos Simon) by pursuing his own let-it-all-hang-out lifestyle. Wasson's best friends are athlete Jim Metzler and chubby Michael Huddleston; all pursue the affections of bewitching Jodi Thelan. Though they are obviously deeply in love with one another, Wasson and Thelan continue to foolishly avoid a long-term commitment as the sixties unfold around them. Four Friends calls for a fresher approach than the one offered by director Arthur Penn, whose handling of the material is much too pat and old-fashioned.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: esoteric, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, non-linear, independent film, intellectual, eighties, cult film
Similar in 83%
Bye Bye Braverman (1968)
Plot Summary:
Friends gather for the funeral of a friend. Sub-plots unfold as the group attempts to link-up to attend the funeral of their friend, Braverman.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 844
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, humorous, realistic, semi serious, intellectual, dark comedy
Similar in 86%
Little White Lies (2010)
Plot Summary:
Despite a traumatic event, a group of friends decide to go ahead with their annual beach vacation. Their relationships, convictions, sense of guilt and friendship are sorely tested. They are finally forced to own up to the little white lies they've been telling each other.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 154 min
Plot tags: semi serious, humorous, emotional, talky, thought provoking, melancholic, funny, romantic, sad, sincere
Similar in 82%
Fairhaven (2012)
Plot Summary:
Long-time friends reconnect when one returns to their small Massachusetts town for a funeral.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 608
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: sincere, realistic, thought provoking, captivating, humorous, atmospheric, serious, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 83%
Cookie's Fortune (1999)
Plot Summary:
Conflict arises in the small town of Holly Springs when an old woman's death causes a variety of reactions among family and friends.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: humorous, witty, independent film, southern gothic, hilarious, touching, feel good, realistic, semi serious, surprise ending
Similar in 90%
Heartburn (1986)
Plot Summary:
Rachel is a food writer at a New York magazine who meets Washington columnist Mark at a wedding and ends up falling in love with him despite her reservations about marriage. They buy a house, have a daughter, and Rachel thinks they are living happily ever after until she discovers that Mark is having an affair while she is waddling around with a second pregnancy.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: melancholic, lyrical, sentimental, humorous, realistic, semi serious, talky, emotional, sex comedy, cult classic
Similar in 87%
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Plot Summary:
Between two Thanksgivings, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 75000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: ironic, humorous, talky, witty, sentimental, captivating, clever, intellectual, realistic, funny
Similar in 90%
While We're Young (2014)
Plot Summary:
An uptight documentary filmmaker and his wife find their lives loosened up a bit after befriending a free-spirited younger couple.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, ironic, witty, humorous, clever, talky, mumblecore, exciting, feel good
Similar in 79%
An American Reunion (2003)
Plot Summary:
The reality of life slams into the proverbial wall when a group of necessitous best friends and ex-lovers are reunited at a milestone reunion, igniting an already passionate and combustible past.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, captivating, sincere, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 87%
The Alumni Chapter (2011)
Plot Summary:
What happens when you graduate from college, only to find that jobs are practically nonexistent and your best friends aren't what they seem? Four old friends reunite after college graduation. The conversation quickly turns sour, and a series of flashbacks expose the bitter truth.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 40
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 71 min
Plot tags: humorous, contemplative, captivating, atmospheric, independent film, realistic, semi serious, dark comedy
Similar in 75%
Five Aces (1999)
Plot Summary:
Chris Martin has a problem: his impending marriage. Like any other man about to enter into the holy vows of matrimony, Chris has begun to second guess himself. Is married life what he really wants? While his bride-to-be takes care of the wedding plans, Chris returns to the neighborhood of his youth to consider his married future and to spend one last week of bachelorhood with his four high school buddies: Ray, Ash, Todd and Sean. Together, the reunited "Five Aces" enjoy a funny bittersweet week reminiscing about a time when they had all the answers... only nothing turned out the way they planned. As the week's events unfold, the Five Aces begin to realize exactly what life and friends mean to each other.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 682
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, humorous, realistic, contemplative, semi serious, sexual, sexy
Similar in 90%
Dysfunctional Friends (2012)
Plot Summary:
A group of college friends are reunited after the death of their very successful friend. The will dictates that each person will receive a large sum of money if they can all successfully stay in his mansion for a week. If one person leaves, everyone forfeits the money.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 924
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: humorous, talky, captivating, light, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 76%
Career Girls (1997)
Plot Summary:
Two young women reunite and rekindle their friendship after having said goodbye at their college graduation, six years earlier.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, France
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: cult classic, realistic, witty, talky, independent film, art house, sincere, touching, humorous, semi serious
Similar in 82%
Diner (1982)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: humorous, melancholic, sentimental, touching, semi serious, cult classic, clever, realistic, witty, talky
Similar in 84%
Trees Lounge (1996)
Plot Summary:
Tommy has lost his job, his love and his life. He lives in a small apartment above the Trees Lounge, a bar which he frequents along with a few other regulars without lives. He gets a job driving an ice cream truck and ends up getting involved with the seventeen-year-old niece of his ex-girlfriend. This gets him into serious trouble with her father.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: independent film, grim, cult classic, talky, art house, dark comedy, intellectual, entertaining, black comedy, indie film
Similar in 76%
The Lather Effect (2006)
Plot Summary:
On the eve of selling her mother's house, a thirty-something housewife wakes up to a hangover surrounded by her best friends from high school.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 712
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: humorous, talky, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 88%
The Best Man Holiday (2013)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, feel good, realistic, humorous, light, spiritual, sad, tear jerker, christmas special
Similar in 75%
The Upside of Anger (2005)
Plot Summary:
After her husband runs off with his secretary, Terry Wolfmeyer is left to fend for herself -- and her four daughters. As she hits rock bottom, Terry finds a friend and drinking buddy in next-door neighbor Denny, a former baseball player. As the two grow closer, and her daughters increasingly rely on Denny, Terry starts to have reservations about where their relationship is headed.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany, UK
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sexy, melancholic, witty, emotional, intense, sincere, realistic, semi serious, humorous
Similar in 87%
Nobody's Fool (1994)
Plot Summary:
Sully is a rascally ne'er-do-well approaching retirement age. While he is pressing a worker's compensation suit for a bad knee, he secretly works for his nemesis, Carl, and flirts with Carl's young wife Toby. Sully's long- forgotten son and family have moved back to town, so Sully faces unfamiliar family responsibilities. Meanwhile, Sully's landlady's banker son plots to push through a new development and evict Sully from his mother's life.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: feel good, touching, humorous, atmospheric, talky, witty, intense, semi serious, independent film, realistic
Similar in 80%
About Alex (2014)
Plot Summary:
A circle of twenty-something friends reunite for a weekend away to console a suicidal member of their group. Yet, despite their best efforts to enjoy themselves, a tinderbox of old jealousies, unrequited love, and widening political differences leads to an explosion of drama that, coupled with the flammable combination of drugs, wine, and risotto, cannot be contained. A Big Chill for our current social media moment, About Alex is a lighthearted look at the struggles of a generation that has it all—and wants more.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: independent film, inspirational, atmospheric, surreal, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, talky, romantic
Similar in 80%
Dinner with Friends (2001)
Plot Summary:
A husband and wife reevaluate their marriage after their closest friends, another couple decide to split up after twelve years.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: talky, witty, sincere, realistic, clever, entertaining, stylized, romantic drama, tense, serious
Similar in 80%
My Best Friend's Wife (2001)
Plot Summary:
Two friends are about to learn that they are "Grownups.".
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 531
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: humorous, captivating, entertaining, sexy, sensual, realistic, witty, semi serious, sexual, sex comedy
Similar in 90%
Nine Lives (2005)
Plot Summary:
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: emotional, talky, intense, sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, depressing, anthology
Similar in 87%
Diggers (2006)
Plot Summary:
Diggers is a coming-of-age story directed by Katherine Dieckmann. It portrays four working-class friends who grow up in The Hamptons, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, as clam diggers in 1976. Their fathers were clam diggers as well as their grandfathers before them. They must cope with and learn to face the changing times in both their personal lives and their neighborhood.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: humorous, touching, realistic, witty, semi serious, period piece, independent film, biting, suspense
Similar in 81%
This Is Where I Leave You (2014)
Plot Summary:
When their father passes away, four grown, world-weary siblings return to their childhood home and are requested -- with an admonition -- to stay there together for a week, along with their free-speaking mother and a collection of spouses, exes and might-have-beens. As the brothers and sisters re-examine their shared history and the status of each tattered relationship among those who know and love them best, they reconnect in hysterically funny and emotionally significant ways.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 88000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, independent film, emotional, melancholic, funny, realistic, hilarious, teen, thought provoking
Similar in 76%
Peter's Friends (1992)
Plot Summary:
It is New Year's weekend and the friends of Peter (Fry) gather at his newly inherited country house. Ten years ago, they all acted together in a Cambridge University student comedy troupe, but it's less clear how much they have in common now.Peter's friends are Andrew (Branagh), now a writer in Hollywood; married jingle writers Roger (Laurie) and Mary (Staunton); glamorous costume designer Sarah (Emmanuel); and eccentric Maggie (Thompson), who works in publishing. Cast in sharp relief to the university chums are Carol (Rudner), the American TV star wife of Andrew; and loutish Brian (Slattery), Sarah's very recently acquired lover. Law plays Peter's disapproving housekeeper, Vera; and Lowe, her son Paul. Briers appears in a cameo role as Peter's father.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, witty, intense, realistic, sincere, talky, clever, independent film, funny
Similar in 76%
Igby Goes Down (2002)
Plot Summary:
A young man's peculiar upbringing renders him unable to competently cope with the struggle of growing up.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, depressing, cynical, humorous, clever, realistic, witty, talky, suspense, black comedy
Similar in 76%
The Station Agent (2003)
Plot Summary:
When his only friend dies, a man born with dwarfism moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 73000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: tragicomedy, sentimental, touching, humorous, sincere, feel good, psychological, captivating, dramatic, realistic
Similar in 88%
Carnal Knowledge (1971)
Plot Summary:
The concurrent sexual lives of best friends Jonathan and Sandy are presented, those lives which are affected by the sexual mores of the time and their own temperament, especially in relation to the respective women who end up in their lives.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: controversial, sexy, depressing, sex comedy, realistic, witty, talky, cynical, sexual, erotic
Similar in 89%
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Plot Summary:
Five high school students, all different stereotypes, meet in detention, where they pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have a lot more in common than they thought.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 428000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: teen, talky, feel good, realistic, cult classic, humorous, semi serious, funny, inspirational, sincere