The movie follows the story of a group of close friends trying to spend the weekend after the funeral of their friend who committed suicide. During the following weekend, these friends compare their thoughts with the harsh reality of their lives in the 1980s, where they discover that friendship is what transforms a person's life into a different path and discover that you are in a cold world that can change through friendship.
It has all the right moves. It knows all the right words. Its characters have all the right clothes, expressions, fears, lusts and ambitions. But there's no payoff and it doesn't lead anywhere.
...even though it's aware of their narcissism, The Big Chill still views its characters sympathetically, even when they do little to invite much sympathy themselves.