Rich man’s The Big Chill: Both have similar backgrounds, college friends get together and realize that their lives never turned out as planned. I Melt With You is the gritty reboot of The Big Chill.
★★★★☆
In I Melt With You, Rob Lowe, Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven, and Christian McKay star as four college friends who are having their yearly reunion. Although they are all moderately successful, they could all be described as sellouts. They’ve all traded in their idealistic hopes for the realities of middle age. Rob Lowe is a doctor who wanted to save lives, but now sells prescription pain pills to rich women. For every pill he sells, he seems to pop a couple in celebration. Thomas Jane is a one-hit wonder author who now teaches High School english to pay the bills. Jeremy Piven is a stock broker who started out wanting to help his clients achieve their financial dreams, but now is under investigation for his illegal business practices. Christian McKay is a man who once had the love of his life, but has now lost him. None of them are where they hoped to be.
The movie begins almost like The Hangover. Four friends doing copious amounts of drugs. Even the immortal god of youth that is Rob Lowe manages to look like absolute shit after their debauchery. However, in between the moments of partying, there are quiet, sober moments that bubble through. As the movie progresses, the partying and fun go awry and the movie quickly becomes dark and dangerous. The four friends realize what is spelled out for the audience in the opening scenes of the movie: They are unhappy with who they’ve become. Once they make this realization, they must come to grips with who they are.
As a naive twentysomething, this movie could be a cautionary tale. My dad has frequently given me the advice that “It’s the choices you make in life that put you where you are.” This movie might tell me that each sacrifice and compromise of my idealistic dreams may put me in a place where I do not want to be. Each of the friends loses sight of their deepest goals, and make sacrifices that compromise themselves. It also might be telling me that idealism, while enchanting, can be just as dangerous. When coming to grips with the differences between their self-image and who they truly are, each of the friends is destroyed because they cannot reconcile.
In the end, I’m very glad that Josh assigned me this movie. It was an interesting watch and made me think about what is truly important to me. When push comes to shove, what will be the things that I hold most dear and refuse to let go of? What will be my guiding light when I come to a crossroads? Each of us has a limited amount of time in a day, year, and life and in the end you cannot do or achieve everything that your imagination may dream of. I think the ultimate point of this movie is to remind the viewer to not forget and sacrifice your most important ideals when life becomes difficult, because then you are truly lost.
This is not a popcorn movie. This is not a blockbuster movie featuring men in skin tight suits avoiding the laws of physics while punching each other. This is a movie that forces the viewer to ask questions about themselves by presenting characters that are flawed, but not one-dimensional. This is a movie that is difficult to do well. There are many movies that make this attempt, but turn out sanctimonious and predictable. If you’d like an example, go see The Family Man or Crash. Except please don’t watch Crash, that’s not something I want on my conscience. Twelve Angry Men, Do The Right Thing, and Orange is the New Black are movies (and one TV show I’m currently obsessed with) that I think are good examples of what I’m talking about. The characters in these shows have views that I don’t agree with, and do things I don’t agree with. However–and this is the key–when you watch these characters you realize that they’re not straw men and they’re not stereotypes. They’re simply people. People who make decisions and do and say things because it’s what they believe and what they’ve experienced. There, but for the grace of God, go I.
I Melt With You is available for streaming on Netflix
Next week Josh will be reviewing The Sting. After seeing Paul Newman and Robert Redford team up in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, this was the next movie I tackled. I love this movie. It holds up to modern standards and is still funny, well-written, and keeps you guessing.
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