Unable to find a teaching position after earning an MA in Education from the University of Michigan, Lawrence Kasdan became an advertising copywriter, a profession he found so loathsome he refused to bring a second child into the world until he escaped it. Still, he labored at it for five years (even picking up a Clio Award along the way), first in Detroit and later in Los Angeles where he tried to interest Hollywood in his screenplays. Although he sold a script ("The Bodyguard") which would not make it to the screen until 1992, his screenplay for "Continental Divide" (1981) caught the eye of Steven Spielberg and led to an introduction to George Lucas who would bring him on board the "Star Wars" trilogy when screenwriter Leigh Brackett died. As a result, Kasdan received screenplay credits on three of the most successful films in motion picture history (his first produced feature "The Empire Strikes Back" 1980, the initial Indiana Jones adventure "Raiders of the Lost Ark" 1981 and "The Return of the Jedi" 1983.)
These colossal hits opened the door for Kasdan to do what he had always wanted to do--direct, and his initial effort seemed to herald the arrival of a major talent. An updated version of Billy Wilder's noir classic "Double Indemnity", "Body Heat" (1981) featured William Hurt and Kathleen Turner as the steamiest screen couple of the early 80s. Peppered with intriguing dialogue and propelled by a tight plot, the film paid homage to the genre without being merely derivative. Along the way, Kasdan demonstrated a knack for subtle characterization, creating a cynical gem that belies his more optimistic work as a Spielberg-Lucas hired pen.
"The Big Chill" (1983) proved more commercially successful, but less satisfying, than his promising debut. Instead of reaching back to the 40s, this time Kasdan covered ground explored by a contemporary film, John Sayles' low-budget "The Return of the Secaucus Seven" (1980). A group of "baby boomers" (played by, among others, Hurt, Glenn Close and Kevin Kline) spend a mournful weekend lamenting their lost innocence, but instead of Sayles' touching character study, Kasdan's film comes off as knee-jerk 60s nostalgia--complete with Motown soundtrack. The film's success paved the way for other Reagan-era films that would romanticize 60s ideals in order to reach that most desirable demographic, the disillusioned hippie.
Politics aside, the most disappointing thing about "The Big Chill" was the two-dimensionality of Kasdan's characters. Similar problems plagued his next feature, the Western saga "Silverado" (1985). Kasdan's early strength, characterization, was now only a memory, as still more hip young actors in flat, underwritten roles paraded through a film that tried too hard to be a parody. "Silverado" suffered from an overly complex narrative, but its real downfall was the film's condescending tone: it ultimately ridicules, rather than satirizes, the Western genre. In the process, Kasdan revealed that writing action pictures and directing them are two different things.
"The Accidental Tourist" (1988), based on Anne Tyler's quirky best-selling novel, returned Kasdan to his original form. Once again the characters were impeccably drawn, and this time his camera, making generous use of the close-up, worked to highlight the brilliant performances offered by Oscar-winner Geena Davis and the reunited Hurt and Turner. Poignant and well-observed, "The Accidental Tourist" is the kind of intelligent, well-crafted work that Kasdan proved himself so capable of producing with "Body Heat".
"Grand Canyon" (1991) was an ambitious but glib attempt to address the issues of class, race and violence as they permeated life in Los Angeles. Co-written by Kasdan and wife Meg, the film received mixed reviews, being dubbed by some critics a "Big Chill for the 90s" and derided by others as mushy, superficial and unconvincing. A considerably worse critical reception greeted "The Bodyguard" (1992), a Kevin Costner-Whitney Houston vehicle directed by Mick Jackson from a script Kasdan had originally written for Steve McQueen in the 70s. Despite the brickbats, the film earned in excess of $120 million, fueled partly by the success of the soundtrack (which included Houston's rendition of "I Will Always Love You") and partly by the on-screen chemistry of the leads.
Kasdan's next venture as auteur, "Wyatt Earp" (1994), starring Costner in the title role, was overly long (3 hours 15 minutes with a special video edition 20 minutes longer than that!), negating the good storytelling that had propelled it for quite awhile, and neither the comic savvy of his stars (Meg Ryan, Kline and Timothy Hutton) nor the striking Paris scenery could save "French Kiss" (1995), a charmless contrivance which he directed as a hired gun. He made a rare acting appearance as Dr Green in James L Brooks' "As Good As It Gets" (1997) and turned up as a producer for "Home Fries" (1998), starring Drew Barrymore, Jake Busey and Shelley Duvall, while the world watched and wondered if he could recover the mastery of his best work.