A Major Disappointment

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This wasn't a bad movie overall and while I didn't full in love it I would revisit it again. The storyline was simple and easy to follow and that simpleness was put to shame by having Caine as the lead actor, putting on a performance that made the movie better, just as you would expect.

In this off-beat thriller, Michael Caine plays a very unhappy man. He's frustrated with his wife, Swoosie Kurtz, bogged down by expenses and problems with his house, and he's desperate to get a promotion at work. When his friend and coworker John McMartin gets sacked and Peter Reigart gets the promotion instead, Michael loses it.I'm a pretty big Michael Caine fan, so this wasn't the best choice of film for me to watch. He plays someone who basically has an undiagnosed nervous breakdown and acts out in psychotic ways. He narrates the film and refers to himself in the third person, hallucinates, and plots the murders of those around him. I prefer to see him in dreamier roles, but if you don't mind him shouting and acting like an evil lunatic, you'll be in a better position to appreciate the movie.A Shock to the System is a very dark comedy. As dark comedies aren't my preferred genre, I didn't really end up liking the film. In the spirit of fairness, I put myself in the shoes of someone who does like this genre, and for those with a more sardonic sense of humor, it's probably very entertaining. There's a side love story with Elizabeth McGovern, lots of tension when Michael Caine is plotting his schemes, and twisted humor running throughout. Those who feel out of control of their lives will probably really like this flick.DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not your friend. There are strobing lights and active camera movements that might make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

This is not a black comedy. It's not an anything comedy. There's not one funny, or even remotely funny, thing in the movie. It's an extremely boring and ultimately depressing movie about one of the most unlikable protagonists I've ever seen in a movie. In fact, I disliked every character, including the constantly smirking young girl who is unbelievably attracted to a guy old enough to be her grandfather. In fact, virtually every event and every character in this film were totally unbelievable, including a police detective who acted about as much like a detective as a turnip acts like a palm tree. Note to the sound mixer, it is amateurish and extremely annoying to have the music louder than the dialog. SPOILER ALERT -- The most depressing thing about this movie is the ending. I hated this guy and the only reason I kept watching was to see how he got caught, arrested, shot, killed, whatever, but -- SPOILER -- he doesn't. He does all these awful things and succeeds, and smirks, The End. Give me a break. One star is too many.

In a time where succeeding at things is more important than just make something good and be satisfied with what you have and what you are "A Shock to the System" is the real article on how things go in our heads everyday when we don't get the things we want, or feel that we deserve them. The things we want to do with everyone in our way are greatly and humored to a certain extent by the character played by Michael Caine, an veteran executive that after not getting the job promotion he was hoping for, given to an incompetent and younger rival, starts to get rid off the people who are ruining his life and starts to concentrate his efforts in trying to be promoted. And there's time to have a small affair with his young and beautiful secretary (Elizabeth McGovern). By getting rid off, I mean in the Patrick Bateman style. To him those people, his demanding wife, his former colleague now current boss, they doesn't deserve to live.Viciously funny, well-acted and more relevant to our times than to the yuppie era when this was released, "A Shock to the System" is perhaps one of the finest examples of dark humor to ever be used on screen. It's not violent like one might think it could be, or ridiculously comical neither so serious. It makes good statements about the day to day pressures, the lack of reward one has while working hard at everything, but such statement is presented in a light and entertaining way. And it's such a pleasure to see Michael Caine carefully plan his actions and later desperately trying to get away with murder. The one involving his wife (Swoosie Kurtz) is priceless. It took some real time to make me laugh but when that part came in, with his reaction on the phone, I really knew I was watching something special. It's a electric and powerful performance in a underrated film. My only problem comes to the investigation led by Will Patton's character. It's too unlikely that he was the responsible for investigating the wife's "accidental" death and the boat explosion, just with the logic that there's too many deaths around Caine's character. The movie would benefit more without the detective character, or reduce to the minimum the coincidences of him following the executive. Here's a small film that accomplishes so much more than the big ones with larger than life budgets and no story to tell. This one has one to tell and it's a very good one. 9/10