There is just so much movie here. For some it may be too much. But in the same secretly sarcastic way most telemarketers say the phrase, the title of this one is particularly apt.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Mount Angel, a small New England community inhabited mostly by seniors, is beset with a serial killer; the bachelor chief of police and his kooky assistant figure out the murderer's motive. "Isn't it Shocking?", an ABC movie-of-the-week scripted by mystery writer Lane Slate and directed by John Badham, is full of talent, yet it fizzles out somewhere along the way. The teleplay, the handling and the performances are all offbeat, yet not odd or unusual enough; the scenario is tinged with black comedy, but it isn't funny enough; and, worst of all, there's no guesswork needed in these killings because neither Slate nor Badham is interested in making the film a mystery (the killer is revealed to us right off). Alan Alda has the perfect dryly-eccentric manner for a role like this; if he were comically frazzled, it would add too much weight to the material (he gives the proceedings the cautiously light touch it needs). But there's no sympathy for the elderly victims (the first of whom, a woman, is found stripped), and the succession of funeral services is too gloomy. Badham doesn't provide any sting (or, conversely, any dark humor) to the narrative; he's determined to bend this thing towards the bizarre but, like the pun in the title, he lacks taste and finesse.

I remember "Isn't It Shocking?" from way back in the 70's when TV movies were bad. How often are you going to see Ruth Gordon, Louise Lasser, and Alan Alda in the same movie? They are 3 of my favorite actors. Ruth Gordon - amazing in anything and the movie is worth watching just to see her.Louis Lasser flinging birdseed always makes me laugh. It's a dark comedy (not a good drama).Alan Alda - well he's good in everything -right? I'm trying to get a copy but not easy. The 1970's were bad bad bad for movies but the made-for-TV genre had a feel about them (yes, "They Only Kill Their Masters" is a perfect example), and every once in a while they are good for bowl of popcorn on a snowy night.If you like this type of movie "Isn't It Shocking?" is worth watching just for the few moments of the 3 actors mentioned.

I've found, after seeing a dozen or so of them, that made for TV seventies horror flicks are generally good for seventy minutes of entertainment. This one looked really good considering the comments about it, so I hoped that I'd be in for one of the better ones; however, that wasn't the case. It's not that this is a bad film, but it's not all that good either and certainly isn't one of the better made for TV movies from the seventies that I've seen. The plot is interesting enough, and focuses on a small town where a bunch of old people are dying. There are certain similarities between the deaths, and it leads Sheriff Dan Barnes (Alan Alda) to investigate. The plot plods along at a relaxing pace, and there's not a great deal of suspense or interest, which is a bit of a surprise since director John Badham would go on to make the very suspenseful thriller 'Nick of Time'...though that was twenty two years later. The small town setting provides a good place for the film to take place, but this isn't taken advantage of to any notable extent, and the film simply boils down to a simple ending. Overall, this film isn't terrible; but it's not great either, and I can't really recommend bothering to track it down.

This is a great TV movie with a good story and many comic moments thanks to the excellent cast.The only problem this movie has is that it hasn't stood the test of time as well as it might have.Despite this, it's definitely worth viewing, particularly if you are an Alan Alda or Ruth Gordon fan.