Return of the Secaucus Seven (1980) User Reviews

Did we all see the same film?

[niohc · 8/10 · 7 March 2006]

Some of the comments about "Return" are amazingly vitriolic and appear to have been written by people who hate independent films in general, or who hate "reunion" movies, or who hate low-budget movies, etc., etc., etc. If your comfort zone is Hollywood films with predictable plots and pretty, more or less interchangeable faces you've seen over and over, why watch this film at all?

There are also some misstatements of fact among the comments--it is amazing that someone thinks that "The Big Chill," a blatant piece of Hollywood plagiarism, preceded and inspired this film--but particularly off base is the remark that few of the actors in the film have many additional credits. Yes, there are several actors with only one to three credits. But more than half of them have numerous credits, some as many as 90, and some as writers and producers as well as actors. Furthermore, many of the credits are excellent--most of the TV credits, for example, are for series that are critically acclaimed. In addition, four or five of the actors are well known and respected in the business, whether they are household names or not. If you can use IMDb well enough to make comments, you can also check the accuracy of such statements before making them.

The film may not seem gripping now, since the reunion thing has been done to death. But it is a very important movie, in terms of advancing the popular acceptance of independent films and, of course, launching John Sayles' brilliant career, one which has contributed in a major way to the culture of this country and indeed the world. And it is still good watching for those who do not expect all films to be about action.

John Sayles' home movie of 1980 America

[austex23 · 6/10 · 15 May 2001]

Overshadowed by its loud, shallow and uncredited remake (The Big Chill) Sayles' first film is a very slight effort that manages to capture a time and place with quiet brilliance. The actors -- first roles for most of them and only roles for some -- are sometimes painfully amateurish and the duration and self-indulgence of some of the scenes make the viewer long for chainsaw intervention, but the film as a whole does a wonderful job of showing a generation of aging idealists on the eve of Reagan's America. Unlike The Big Chill, where everyone is pretty and successful and the dialogue is crisp and full of what passes for wit on prime time TV, Sayles' characters are almost too low-key, their banter sometimes clumsy and their jokes not terribly funny. The unfortunate side effect of his conscientious effort to keep things "real" is that the film sometimes fails to entertain or engage and most of the characters end up outside the viewers' sphere of caring, like someone else's friends in a third-hand story. Still, a very impressive first film and influential on many other 80s movies besides its gaudy imitator.

I saw this when it came out and thought it was great!

[mgraser-1 · 7/10 · 8 February 2005]

I went to a movie theater and saw "Return of the Secaucus Seven" in 1981. I was slightly younger than the characters in the movie but I could relate to their lives. When the Big Chill came out I thought it was a ripoff of Secaucus. In the Big Chill all of the characters have big time jobs - shoe manufacturer, doctor, actor, magazine writer, etc.. In Secaucus most of the characters haven't figured out what they want to do and crashing on the floor is a way of life rather than the expense account Big Chill graduates. The acting is awful. The plot is weak. It is a very rough film. But it has a sense of reality, humor, and place that most professional movies do not have. When I saw this again a few years ago on PBS it was not quite the film I fondly remembered. Perhaps I can no longer relate to post graduate blues or life without children and a mortgage. It is still an impressive low budget first film by John Sayles.

A Solid Beginning

[alanlit96 · 23 March 2004]

Sayles' first film is, as one previously reviewer noted, the prototype independent film: small budget, previously unknown actors, an emphasis upon talk and ideas over action or even an event-oriented plot. The script varies from slow at times to very entertaining and incisive at others, but it always feels real. You don't necessarily feel you know the characters all that well when it's over, but you care about them nonetheless. It's all in all a very worthwhile film, in which you can see the director learning how to handle an ensemble cast, as he has done so effectively in recent years in Lone Star and Sunshine State. If you like this type of film at all, you will find it rewarding and quite worth your time.

It is amazing, though, how so many of the reviews attempt to not merely acknowledge the similarities to The Big Chill, but to elevate one film and denigrate the other. They come from very different places in terms of budget, stars and polish, but are both very fine films. In one sense, TBC is deeper in that the characters in that film have varied from their previous ideals (or at least it seems that way), a fact that lends a melancholy beneath the slickness that really isn't there in S7. However, a lot of people reach the age of the characters in S7 (they are all only about 30, younger than the characters in Chill) without yet having to really put things in perspective. The leads in S7 have become teachers, a predictable outcome. One other character has taken a job as an aide to a senator. J.T. is pursuing (or putting off pursuing) a musical career. The fact that this film views the characters before some of the inevitable conflicts in their lives have ripened actually makes it more subtle, and allows for the viewer to wonder where they will be in 5-10 years. Will the leads become Kevin Kline and Glenn Close? Will one of the characters die young and precipitate the life-examining session that occurs in Chill? I think the two films dovetail nicely together. To exalt one at the expense of the other is unnecessary and needlessly cynical.

In my all-time Top 10

[asc85 · 10/10 · 13 July 2005]

I am absolutely stunned by the majority of contributors here who didn't love, or even like this film. One of the best films I've ever seen in terms of dialogue. It's true that if you're in the mood to watch "Raiders of the Lost Ark" with a couple of friends, this is NOT the film for you. Since not much happens in this movie, if you can't appreciate the dialogue, than you won't like this movie at all.

I find it interesting that most of the "stars" of this picture were amateurs, and didn't make another film after this one. The only "major" stars who came out of this were Gordon Clapp (NYPD Blue) and David Strathairn, who wasn't even one of the stars, and was in a supporting role.

Charges Dropped

[jay4stein79-1 · 7/10 · 23 July 2006]

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.

Groundbreaking Indie Film

[divineangel · 9/10 · 17 December 2006]

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.

Good

[Cosmoeticadotcom · 7/10 · 19 September 2008]

Independent filmmaker John Sayles' debut film, The Return Of The Secaucus 7, released in late 1979, is a film that is typical of the low budget feel of such films from that era- even such horror films like Last House On The Left or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Like those other films it is filled with inexperienced and mediocre acting, and unrealistic dialogue. Before this film was made, Sayles had been a screenwriter and script doctor for Roger Corman's cheapo horror films. This film, however, was the first that bore his own imprint and vision. Unfortunately, the excellence of his later films only points up the flaws of this first film, written and directed by Sayles on a low budget. Like many low budget indy films, this film is long on talk and short on action and visual razzle-dazzle, and was filmed at a New Hampshire lodge.

The film has often been compared to the 1983 Lawrence Kasdan film The Big Chill, but, like that film, there is a dearth of characterization that weighs this film down. The characters in The Return Of The Secaucus 7 are little more than stereotypes, or, at best, archetypes- some are teachers, two are speechwriters for a U.S. Senator- Irene Rosenblue (Jean Passanante) and Chip Hollister (Gordon Clapp), and another is a bad country singer-songwriter. The plot follows a group of pretentious thirtyish former college radicals who gather for a weekend reunion in a small New Hampshire town. Other than that, there is no plot, merely thinly connected scenes of gossip, flirtation, barbecues, Charades and Clue, volleyball, and basketball, nude male rock diving, and alcohol and drug consumption…. one wonders why more was not made of the great late summer landscape of New England? Surely panning over the White Mountains would not have been such a large cost? Is the film wholly devoid of good moments? No. The basketball scenes are well coordinated, and give a good sense of how men bond vs. the women's bonding over Clue, but such moments are too few in number. The Charades scenes are typical of the bad and unrealistic conversations the characters have. Instead of having real conversations that reveal depths, Sayles cuts far too quickly between scenes, in order to push the film forward, but at the expense of depth. With later classics such as Matewan and Lone Star, Sayles would reveal himself as a filmmaker capable of greatness, but this film gives few glances into that later flowering. That it was recently put on the list of important American films worth preservation is more a testament to its place as Sayles' initial film than any qualities the film, alone, has. Still, The Return Of The Secaucus 7 is an interesting film that, despite its flaws, is well worth seeing, if only for film historians who love discerning small traits that hold clues to later and greater art by the artist. For the rest of us, flip a coin, and you have the same shot at enjoying this film. That's still better than most Hollywood films these days. Sigh.

Groundbreaking

[preppy-3 · 10/10 · 27 June 2008]

John Sayles made this film for only $60,000 and only one person in the film had any previous acting experience. It's just amazing how well this turned out. It's about a couple (Mike and Katie) who invite all their college friends to spending the weekend in a cabin in New Hampshire. They all spent their college years as radicals...and now they're all turning 30. We learn who they were and how they are now. No big catastrophes or changes are made with any of the characters--we just see how these former radicals are now dealing with life. Sounds boring but I found it absolutely fascinating. The acting is all natural and realistic--I found myself actually believing these people all have been friends for 10+ years! The dialogue was sharp and on target...but John Sayles has always been a master at writing great scripts.

I was in my first year of college when this came out. It was a HUGE hit in Boston (I believe it played at one independent cinema for over a year!) and I saw it again and again. Even though I was too young to really identify with the characters (their moaning about turning 30 struck me as silly) I was fascinated by their characters and situations. They do discuss issues that were relevant in 1980--that's probably what I found so interesting. Seeing it now (28 years later) it's dated (of course) but still fascinating. The references to late 70s issues, politicians and life style may confuse younger viewers. Also it was interesting to see that casual sex and drug taking is shown as being OK! I also liked the surprising and casual male nudity in a skinny dipping sequence. (None of the female actors get nude but it seems the guys had no problem). This was later remade (sort of) in Hollywood as "The Big Chill". "The Big Chill" is an excellent COMMERCIAL film...this is an excellent independent film. This made John Sayles and is also David Strathairn's first film! Absolutely fascinating motion picture. I wish Sayles had revisited these characters again in 1990 and 2000--by the end I was really wondering what happened to this people. A one of a kind and a groundbreaking independent film that was very profitable. A must see!

Don't give up on this one

[jrodman-1 · 6/10 · 14 March 2005]

The first time I saw this movie was at a John Sayles movie festival. He's so interesting that I always give his movies a look, even if I don't always find them without flaws. I had been hearing so much about this one that I was really looking forward to it. Well, I was so bored that I ended up sleeping through almost all of it. But it was on IFC the other night, and even though it was on at 3AM, I managed to stay awake through it all, and I can see its merits. It IS talky, like what happens when a stageplay hits the movies, but as I found out, it IS worth a second look. And I never did really like "The Big Chill"--there always seemed something phony about it.

"All that space just going to waste"*

[Dunelm · 1/10 · 15 September 1998]

At some point in the next century, the last of the baby boomers will die and the rest of the world will no longer have to suffer from their bizarre notion that the 1960s was the most important decade in Western history, or films like "The Return of the Secaucus 7". The film focuses on a group of sixties-activist college friends who gather together for a weekend (at least I think it was a weekend, this film seemed to drag on for months) to talk about themselves. Too bad they're such uninteresting, one-dimensional people. See the women lean against fences, crouch next to streams and play board games while they talk about their interpersonal relationships! Watch the men play basketball, skinny dip and chop firewood! Laugh as the characters trash Lacey's wooden performance in bad summer stock, uttering criticisms equally applicable to this film and their own clumsy, mannered acting! Cringe at the lengthy bar scene, where bad songs are sung badly, and Maura and Jeff have the kind of fight that usually only happens in amateur theatre! Wonder at what may be the only bad performance by David Strathairn captured on film! Weep with relief when no one accepts Katie's offer to extend their stay even longer!

*quote from script

The first "Big Chill"

[Huron · 9/10 · 3 January 1999]

Well before "The Big Chill" came along, John Sayles made this terrific low-budget film. If you are looking for slick-filmmaking go elsewhere. If you want something that is different, and for me far more believable, than most Hollywood films try this one.

Nice Debut For John Sayles

[baker-9 · 6/10 · 3 April 2001]

Watched this film again for the first time since it was in theaters about 20 years ago. It held up better than I expected, especially given some of the user comments here.

The film doesn't have the more conventional dramatic devices that you'll find in "The Big Chill" and it does begin to lose steam midway as there doesn't seem to be much in the way of conflicts among the characters, except for the one couple in breakup mode.

However, the group as a whole are intelligent and interesting enough to merit a viewing of the film, thanks to Sayles' skills as a writer. And the tone is more wry than rueful. The cast is generally appealing, with some familiar faces (David Strathairn, "NYPD Blue's" Gordon Clapp, Adam LeFevre) in younger days. I will agree with another poster that Strathairn's performance is not good; he's pretty hyper and amateurish, except during one scene in the bar with Maggie Counsineau (another weak link in the cast). Clearly he learned quite a lot very quickly given his subsequent work.

"Secaucus Seven" has been unavailable on video for some time now, unless your local store or library has an old copy (which is how I got it). But it's worth another look.

I hear Jon Lovitz: "It's ACTING!"

[ekeby · 4/10 · 21 September 2007]

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.

What a great film!

[alexhall · 24 August 2000]

This is what good moviemaking is about. If you are looking for million-dollar cost overruns, over-rated movie stars, the same crop of (yawn) "special" effects and trite action-movie plots and dialog, look elsewhere. This is young John Sayles doing his absolute best with limited resources. The characters are realistic, the dialog brilliant yet believable and the script does an excellent job of handling the subject of not only growing up, but growing older with a bittersweet sense of humor.

For years I heard this film described as The Big Chill only three years earlier. A pretty accurate description. The plot and characters are similar, but Return of the Secaucus 7 has more layers, and provides more random "slice of life" scenes. Whilst watching this film, you can't help the feeling you know these people, or someone like them. Sayles manages to prove that real life situations can be interesting, funny and touching; unexpected moments can start a chain of life-altering events.

The New Hampshire scenery is beautiful – nice to see something shot anywhere other than NYC or a Hollywood back lot. A testament to friendship, fun and low-budget filmmaking.

A charming movie that I still quote often.

[IAMelcher · 10/10 · 22 March 2002]

This movie is wonderful. I never tire of watching it. The dialog rings true and the actors have a feeling of long friendship that makes this movie truly enjoyable. This movie is head and shoulders above most movies made in the last 20 years. I am not saying this movie is the best movie ever made I am ranking it by how much enjoyment I have garnered from it. Since viewing this movie I have sought out every Sayles movie and never been disappointed.

The Indie blueprint for "The Big Chill"

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 14 May 2023]

Seven former college friends from Boston meet at a cabin-in-the-woods in New Hampshire, along with a couple of others. They talk about where they were, where they are, where they're going, plus other things, like romances ending or reigniting.

"Return of the Secaucus Seven" (1980) is a cabin-in-the-woods drama without any boogeyman focusing on the lives of former 'radicals' in college, all of them around 30 years-old now. Obviously "The Big Chill" (1983) used this as a template, but they're both different enough to appreciate.

This one had a way smaller budget ($60,000) and no-name actors with only David Strathairn going on to any notable success, not counting director John Sayles, who plays peripheral character Howie. The biggest differences are the locations and the fact that the protagonists here are about 9 years younger.

Like "The Big Chill," you have to be in a mood for a dialogue-driven drama to enjoy this. There's some good droll humor, a fun swimming sequence, an entertaining bar episode and more.

The film runs 1 hour, 44 minutes, and was shot in North Conway & Jackson, New Hampshire.

GRADE: B.

the original "reunion" movie, first(?)Sayles, a really classic film!

[tremont600 · 10/10 · 30 July 2008]

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.)

For fans of John Sayles and Independent Filmmaking

[paur46 · 7/10 · 5 February 2001]

Anyone who has enjoyed the films of John Sayles and/or likes independent films should see Return of the Secaucus 7. It is the story of several 1960's radicals who get together on an every so often, and the film occurs about 10 years after their college days. The interactions among the characters are interesting. The production values are not particularly noteworthy, but there is an authenticity to everything in the film. Many of the actors have few, if any, other credits. Comparisons to The Big Chill, made 3 years later, and highly indebted to this film, are not merited. Sayles film stands on its own. I personally much prefer The Big Chill.

Great film that shows you can be great with budget

[Matthew-40 · 10/10 · 8 February 2004]

In John Sayles debut, we mostly get talking, talking, and more talking. A great script can do amazing things for a low budget film. There really was not a point where I was disinterested in what the characters were saying.

*Small spoiler* The tension between best friends JT and Jeff over Maura is great and culminated in a beautifully sequenced basketball game. You can feel the difficulty between them. I haven't seen the Big Chill. And after seeing this film I don't feel that it could top it. This movie should be an inspiration to all aspiring independent filmmakers.

aka The Big Yawn

[Captain Ed · 2/10 · 25 May 2000]

OK, I realize that this film predates the Big Chill, but comparisons abound here. In BC, you have a group of seven successful former college friends who get together and realize how much they sold out to get where they are today. In S7, you have seven former college friends who are all miserable failures and seemingly never had their values challenged at all.

Not much conflict there; basically, who cares?

In BC, you had a great soundtrack filled with some of the best music of the characters' college years. In S7, you get yodeling. Lots of yodeling. And a bar scene where the singing makes you nostalgic for the yodeling.

Not much entertainment value there, either.

In BC, you have seven excellent actors who are at the top of their craft, proving that being in your 30s and 40s does not disqualify you from being funny, sexy, and smart in film. In S7, you have six people you'll never hear from again and David Straithairn, who although he is a fine actor, doesn't deliver here.

So, although I love John Sayles (Matewan and Eight Men Out were unbelievably terrific movies), and although this movie did come first, I would avoid it like a dead skunk in the middle of the road. If this was his first movie, it is a tribute to Sayles that he learned many important lessons from it. And never repeated his mistakes. If you want to see a movie like this, stick to the Big Chill.

Similar, but not ripped off by Big Chill

[bald_tony · 8/10 · 2 May 2005]

After watching the extras on The Big Chill DVD you know the idea for Big Chill was created in the late 1970's. 1983 is simply the release date of Big Chill, not that it was actually put together from concept through release in 1983. There are similarities, old college friends reuniting and reminiscing, but Big Chill seems a bit darker to me. Probably a combination of the characters being slightly older, coming together because of a suicide, and the conversations they have. RETURN however more than holds its own as a movie with good dialouge, genuine situations, and the low budget actually helps the feel of the film. Even as I get older than the characters in both movies, I am still reminded of the friendships, casual and lifelong, made during college, as there is something about each character in both that reminds me of someone from the good old days. RETURN may be a bit hard to come by, but look for it, it is worth the search.

The best part of the movie is when you turn it off!

[ONMeany · 1/10 · 14 September 1998]

Are there really 30 people in the world who think this appallingly acted film is a 10? Are they allowed to vote and drive cars? John Sayles has written and directed some of my favourite movies, but his head must have been in the toilet (along with that plunger in the tedious first scene) for this one.

Good film about old friends reuniting

[capt-10 · 7 May 2000]

John Sayles first film and it shows, but despite this a great film about old friends reuniting and having a good time. Great characters just being themselves in front of the camera and it is very beautiful. Don't expect action or even much plot out of this film but if you can get past the fact this is not your same old generic Hollywood film you will like this one.

Return of the Secaucus Seven is a fine directorial debut for John Sayles

[tavm · 9/10 · 14 October 2015]

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.