Reptileenbu Did you people see the same film I saw?

SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Celia A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

tavm After about 30 years of reading and hearing of this film, I finally watched this directorial debut of John Sayles on DVD that I borrowed from a local library. A reunion of several college buddies from something they were arrested for when they were demonstrating on some issue, we witness how some are broken up, some are trying to make something of themselves, and some are now settling with a family. Sayles' dialogue makes many pertinent points of life and how things don't always go in directions that satisfy our ideals or dreams though one keeps trying to enjoy things while they still can. There's also some fine humorous exchanges of whatever they're going through that abound. Nothing more to say except that I highly recommend Return of the Secaucus Seven. Oh, and I also recommend Sayles' commentary track I listened to afterwards.

Donal Fagan A few weekends ago, I watched Return of the Secaucus Seven again. I first watched it circa 1982, and enjoyed it so much that I brought a different girl to see it a few weeks later. Over the years I rented it on VHS for one girlfriend, and then another, to see. Several years ago I bought the DVD to show my wife, and I probably watch it about once a year. (I do miss that hamburger scene - what a shame!) The film concerns a weekend reunion of a handful of people that knew each other as young adults in the 1960s. Seems that IMDb reviewers can't resist comparing Sayles' small film to The Big Chill, a big budget film about a reunion of people that met in the 1960s. Both groups talk a lot, and share a lot, but they are actually very different films in almost every other way. The RS7 friends are still fairly young, not yet settled in life, not rich or famous, not at all generic types, and not played by familiar actors. I enjoyed Chill, but I have come to think of the characters in RS7 as old friends. I always look forward to seeing them again.

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.

derbyhandicap Late night at the IFC. The Return of the Secaucus 7 pioneered the "get together" movement of eighties cinema. This movie should be misplaced or evaporated from any film restoration. I'm afraid this movie would be the only piece of life from a nuclear disaster of mass proportions. Future generations would be lead to believe that past generations had no interest but to socialize about nothing. Imagine this..........lotion, yes Johnson and Johnson hand lotion was never created or thought of. Our hands, of course would be dry and chalky sort of like this dry trip. Was this movie perhaps countering the movements of the sixties or seventies? Perphaps the filmmakers were hoping of a return to simpler times. WASP playing a game of volleyball and discussing how much they've learned from their misfortunes. Ron, the outcast of the bunch works at the local gas station! Let him be! The basketball montage is great. Not to mention, the out of breath voice-over. Nude diving at a eleven. "Oh June I'm home."