Help Me ID This 1980's Movie

Cafe Society
1

I’m seeking the name of a movie circa early 1980’s. I believe it was made by the same people (directors and/or producers) that brought us “Grand Canyon” in the 1990s. In fact, it is along the exact same lines. It is one of those movies that is like a snapshot in the life and times of a family, or two…or even four, IIRC, in the movie whose name escapes me. It’s not “Shoot The Moon”, but it was out in that same time period - give or take. Also, you could say it is like Steve Martin’s “Parenthood”, more drama and less comedy.

Any guesses? Thanks! (This will drive me nuts, but really…it’s more of a short putt!)

  • Jinx
2

You’ve probably already given this a go, but IMDB lists all the credits of Lawrence Kasdan (Grand Canyon, The Big Chill, Body Heat, etc.) here

3

Nothing by the directors and producers of Grand Canyon fits. I think you’ve remembered wrongly there. Can you tell us anything else about the film.

4

No relation to the Kasdan film, but The Four Seasons fits the description and time frame.

More information (specific subplots, etc.) would help.

5

The film whose place in history is assured as the source for the eternal question: “Are we having fun yet?”

6

I’m going to go with Ordinary People.

7

Ooh, I looooove The Four Seasons! Underrated little film that’s highly quoteable.

Anyway, re: the OP: any chance that it was 1982’s Author, Author? Al Pacino, Dyan Cannon, Tuesday Weld et al., directed by Arthur Hiller. Pacino’s a playwright trying to juggle career and single parenthood. Hijinks ensue. (Well, not really.)

8

Huh? I thought that was Bill Griffith’s comic “Zippy the Pin-Head”. Hmm… Four Seasons is from 1981, Anybody know when Zippy started using the line?

9

I’m thinking maybe Happiness but that’s not really the kind of movie you’d forget! :smiley:

10

I agree and so does this page

11

How could Jinx possibly mean Happiness (made in 1998) to be the movie he’s remembering? He said it was an early 1980’s film. How could he possibly have gotten the time frame that badly wrong?

Jinx, if you want an answer to this question, you’re going to have to give us more information about the film. It annoys me when people throw out a question and don’t bother to return to the thread occasionally to help things along. Without further information, we can’t answer your question.

12

Sorry Wendell to annoy you, but it’s my job, you see! :wink: But seriously, it was indeed “The Big Chill”…and someone mentioned “Ordinary People” of which I had totally forgotten. I will have to rent one of these tonight!

Thanks y’all! You’ve been a great big helper-oo!

  • Jinx
13

Why didn’t you just use the IMDb to check on all the movies that Lawrence Kasdan was associated with? Why couldn’t you come up with a better description of the film than “a snapshot in the life and times of a family, or two…or even four”? Why don’t you do your own research and quit wasting bandwidth on the SDMB (and the time of a bunch of SD’ers) with questions that you could answer perfectly well on your own?

14

Well, like Parenthood, The Big Chill is indeed about a family … of, um, unrelated adults. Okay, that part of the description is off, but at least the ‘snapshots of their lives’ thing is accurate. Except that we’re not really seeing their ‘lives’, just what happens when they gather for the funeral of a friend…

Hmm. Now that I think about it, I gotta agree that a quick look in the IMDB would’ve been the best way to figure this one out.