Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

tremont600 Among subsequent films that seem to "owe" their plots to "Secaucus 7" is the British film "Peter's Friends." All these films, like "Big Chill" add their own twist to the story, but the characters and basic plot seem all too similar to "Secaucus 7" to be coincidence. The movie itself says SO much about my generation, particularly in those 10 or 15 years after college, when we are getting our lives started, or, like J.T., still looking for a starting-point. I always feel that I KNOW these guys! Sayles, generally, is one of those directors who has stuck to his guns and still tells a wonderful story with characters that are truthful. Thank heaven there are little havens like his movies in this world of "sequels" ad nauseum, and more special effects than plot. (I was DRAGGED, kicking and screaming, to see this movie and have never stopped thanking the friend who frog-marched me into the movie theatre to catch this movie. I have since become a hard-core Sayles fan and have every movie of his I can get on DVD.)

ekeby Okay, I watched this just now, many, many years after seeing The Big Chill. Maybe my expectations were too high, maybe I've seen too many other good movies by Sayles. I have to say I think this movie is seriously overrated.I understand why people would prefer this over TBC. The script is not bad, the camera work is not bad, the editing is not bad. A lot of the dialog is smart. Unfortunately, when the dialog isn't smart, it's downright smarmy, completely off the mark. But what makes this a truly inferior movie is the ACTING! Jon Lovitz's "It's ACTING!" came to mind no more than ten minutes into this movie. I couldn't get past the atrocious delivery, intonation, pacing, and fake emotion of just about every actor in this movie. Just really, really bad. There's no way to soft pedal. Even the (now) reliable David Strathairn will make you wince. I couldn't help thinking that this is one movie Sayles could remake and greatly improve upon just by using good, professional actors.So, if you're like me, someone who actually thinks TBC is a good movie, and you've heard The Return of the Secaucus 7 praised as infinitely superior . . . lower your expectations. Perhaps you won't be quite so put off like I was.

divineangel Shocked that there's only three pages of comments for the film widely considered to be one of the fathers of the modern indie film movement. John Saylees used his b-movie money from Roger Corman (the best scripts written for him) and financed this weekend home movie that became a hit and launched Sayle's film career. Some of the bad reviews are really unfounded. This has some of the best dialog in American film, and though the performances are not all polished, it adds to the reality. There's a sense of genuine community not like the Hollywoodized "Big Chill."If you stick with the film you'll be rewarded by many nifty scenes and conversations. Gordon Clapp is fun and there are beautifully observed moments of wit and drama. Mark Arnett is particularly good and the moment he recites his litany of protest arrests is great. The film-making is raw, but that's not the point.However, the DVD version is actually missing a scene on the VHS of the hamburgers being grilled to some sort of rhythmic montage. Why?Anyway, if you're a fan of great dialog, political commitment, and what can be done for 40 grand and terrific writing, check this classic out.

Jason Forestein I will be completely frank upfront: I hate the Big Chill. I think it's vapid and boring. The only reason people still watch that superficial piece of trash is because the actors in it are eminently watchable. Every time I flip past it on AMC, I groan. How dare it have two of the finest actors of the last 30 years (William Hurt and Jeff Goldblum)? How dare it have Kevin Kline? How dare it, because of these terrific actors, take over the place in cinematic history rightfully held, at one time, by Return of the Secaucus 7? Usurper!Return of the Secaucus 7, the first film directed by Piranha scribe John Sayles, is a marvelous little gem that explores the lives of several friends and former radicals as they approach 30 and spend a weekend together in New Hampshire. There's not much plot to speak of, but there is a vibe. It's organic and lazy and real. I felt, watching this movie, that John Sayles set out to make a movie that mirrored a reunion weekend he once had with his friends: There was some barbecue, volleyball, and beer-drinking; there was some drama too but nothing, you know, major--minor spats and an unexpected sexual encounter or two but nothing much. That's basically the plot. Long segments revolve around montages of men sweatily playing basketball and men skinny- dipping. Shorter scenes occur in which characters have "deep" conversations. For the most part, though, there's some talk of politics, tales of olden times, and updates on what's happening now. Frankly, it feels like when my friends and I get together for a weekend. Consequently, since so little happens, if you don't like the characters, you're unlikely to appreciate the film. I found the characters interesting, human, and imperfect, so I like both them and the film. Visually, Return is uninspiring, but that doesn't really matter because of the vibe these characters give off. I don't mind that nothing is resolved (well, nothing happened that needed to be resolved). I don't mind that the dialogue doesn't "pop" the way Tarantino's or Mamet's does (it doesn't need to--the movie's about real people and not caricatures of conmen and gangsters). I liked the characters and the way the movie felt. It has a genial attitude and a worn-in feel. Return of the Secaucus 7 is far from Sayles's greatest work, but it's a great start.