A Shock to the System

Starring:Michael Caine, Elizabeth McGovern, Peter Riegert, Swoosie Kurtz, Will Patton, Jenny Wright, John McMartin, Barbara Baxley, Haviland Morris, Philip Moon, Kent Broadhurst, Zach Grenier, David Schramm, Sam Schacht, Christopher Durang, Mia Dillon, Alice Haining, Patience Moore, Darrell Wilks, Scotty Bloch
Director: Jan Egleson
Studio: First Look Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Shock to the System: A Donald Strachey Mystery

Average customer rating:

Mystery and love for everybody!
Stimulating, Riviting, and Good Depiction
Not a shock to my system - it was an injection of pleasure.
Not so shocking, another pleasant film!
A nice, complicated murder mystery with an interesting private eye. Don't forget to read the books by Richard Stevenson

Shock to the System: A Donald Strachey Mystery
Starring: Chad Allen , Sebastian Spence , Michael Woods , Daryl Shuttleworth , and Morgan Fairchild
Director: Ron Oliver
Manufacturer: Regent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000K2V7EG
Release Date: 2007-02-13

Description

(Gay Thriller) When private eye Donald Strachey finds his latest client dead, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Strachey's investigation leads him on a dark and dangerous trail into the world of "gay conversion therapy" - a twisted mix of psychology and religion designed by a doctor to turn homosexuals "straight." Based on the best-selling series of novels by Richard Stevenson

Customer Reviews:

Mystery and love for everybody!.......2007-06-13

I loved "Third Man Out", the first Donald Strachey Mystery movie and this one is even better. The great thing about "Shock To The System" is that the characters are more developed, especially Donald. You get to know him better and in the scene when he tells Timmy about the Army (I can't give details) you feel and cry with him. Chad Allen is a excellent actor but in that particular scene he is simply superb.

I love murder mystery either on film or in books and "Shock To The System" is a great film for those like me who love this genre. But what truly caught my heart is Donald and Timmy's relationship... they are adorable together! This movie is MUST for cute-couple-suckers like me... you can't get wrong with these guys!!!

Stimulating, Riviting, and Good Depiction.......2007-05-13

For anyone who has wondered if the movies would change from showing us the stereotypical gay man, here is a set of films that do. A gay detective embarks on a mission to discover the devious deeds that lead to another mans death. Yet, this film shows much more than just an interesting plot. This is the second film in the Donald St. series and gives the audience a more indepth picture to who the hero really is as well as to how he is coming to understand what life is about. Through this film the protagonist, Det. Don, battles many fears and insecurities all people suffer from, not just a homosexual adience. He confronts a past that still haunts him and stands in the way of his current relationship as well as deals with the oppressive need to fit. Something the murder victim was struggling with.
So, if you enjoy a good murder mystery that also allows you to see how human a person can truly be, I highly recomend this film. You will enjoy the plot as well as charater development and be able to identify with many of the feelings and emotions portrayed within this film. Of course this is only my opinion, but I can safely say you will not be disapointed with the purchase of this video.

Not a shock to my system - it was an injection of pleasure........2007-05-11

This is the second movie in the Donald Strachey Mystery series. It is an improvement on Third Man Out (the first) which also was a thoroughly watchable mystery.

The characters and the storylines are developing well. There is more background information to show how Strachey became the man he is: loyal, trustworthy, tenacious and attracting trouble like a magnet. His partner Tim (Sebastian Spence you can put your shoes under my bed at any time:0)), although not as prominent also developed more depth in this installment of the series. It was like he is settling in for the long haul, relaxing into the role.

I felt the story flowed more easily than Third Man Out and it was a little harder to pick the murderer - although I did by the second murder (but I usually do because I LOVE mysteries).

I don't know if the fact that Chad Allen is actually an out gay man means he brings depth, understanding and a comfortableness to his role but he definitely portrays the character well and shows emotion realistically in the scene where he recounts his first gay relationship experience and the tragic outcome of that. He seems relaxed and real - which is not an easy thing to do - as Strachey.

I think although being gay oriented, because of the characters, it is not an in your face type of prominence. It shows being gay is as normal as being blonde - it just is, you can't change it (although ironically the storyline in this movie is centred around this being otherwise). I like that it is woven into the story showing gay people have real lives, real relationships, real problems and real love. (Sigh) I love a love story and this fits into that liking as well. It gets to me on a couple of levels which is refreshing - mutli-satisfying.

I am definitely looking forward to the next one. If they keep developing in depth and quality this will prove to be a must-have series for film buffs, especially those that love the mystery genre.

Not so shocking, another pleasant film!.......2007-04-23

The gay detective is back! After a promising turn in "Third Man Out", private dick Donald Strachey returns in this second mystery starring Chad Allen.

[...]

[...]

The story and the plot are much better than the first, a definite sign that the series is improving with each film. Sebastien Spence returns as Donald's partner,Tim, and Nelson Wong becomes Strachey's new office manager, Kenny Kwon. Chad Allen does a very good job as the main character and is a wise choice as the film's protagonist.

A good mystery film and worth adding to your dvd library. I hope we see another Donald Strachey film soon!

A nice, complicated murder mystery with an interesting private eye. Don't forget to read the books by Richard Stevenson.......2007-03-22

"Trevor Cornell is one of the most successful reparative therapy providers in New York," says Timmy Callahan. "I wonder what his idea of 'successful' is," says Donald Strachey, a private eye. "Dressing badly," says Callahan, "decorating your home with duck decoys, breaking out in a rash whenever Barbra Streisand sings."

To explain: Reparative therapy means conversion from being gay or lesbian into happy, contented heteroes. Timmy Callahan (Sebastian Spence) is a political type in Albany, New York. Donald Strachey (Chad Allen) is not only a capable and tough private eye in Albany, he and Timmy are married. "At least," as Strachey says, "as close as two men can get to it...more important, I'm in love with him." Those who find a gay agenda under every leaf, revolver and bloody baseball bat may not like this movie. On the other hand, those with a fondness for well-constructed mysteries that feature politics, victimization, murder, martinis and phenalzine should enjoy the story, the style of Donald Strachey and the puzzle. Bet you don't guess the murderer. It's worth pointing out that you don't need to be a collie to enjoy "Lassie" or a guy with a gut to enjoy John Wayne. And you don't need to be gay to enjoy Shock to the System. The movie has it's faults...it was made for cable with awkward acting in some of the secondary roles and it has that clean, careful look of most made-for-TV films. But the mystery is satisfyingly complicated, with a nice number of red herrings. Chad Allen makes a believable, interesting private eye. And his happy home life with Timmy would probably be the envy of many married couples, gay or straight.

Paul Hale, a frightened 20-year-old man, wants Strachey to help him. But before he can tell Strachey what he wants, he is found dead. At first it's thought Hale died of a stroke, but when a lethal mixture of alcohol and barbiturates is found in Hale's system, Strachey decides to find out what was going on. And that takes him undercover to the Phoenix Foundation, a successful institution led by Dr. Trevor Cornell and his wife, where gays and lesbians, Dr. Cornell says, can find their true path to heterosexuality. It turns out that Hale was going to be a poster boy for the Foundation when Cornell announced a major push to go nation-wide with his cures. Not only does Strachey find himself taking part in group therapy and flashing back to his own earlier life, he gets threatened, beaten up, chased and shot. Almost as frightening, he encounter's Hale's wealthy, well-groomed and surgically-enhanced mother. "My son was not gay!" she says. "He was...confused." Strachey eventually solves the crime. Justice, formal and informal, is dealt out.

Donald Strachey is the gay private eye in eight mysteries written by Richard Stevenson, beginning with Death Trick in 1981. They are first-rate reads with clever, involved and sometimes violent plots. In other words, they aren't gay mysteries...they're mysteries that happen to feature a gay private eye. Two of the books have been made into cable movies; this one was shown in 2006 and Third Man Out was shown in 2005. The books are well worth reading if you like mysteries. This movie is no classic, but it makes it's "gay agenda" points low-key enough that they don't interfere with the story. And although there is a bit of beef cake that shows up from time to time, one or two friendly smooches and a quick flash of frontal nudity, the movie has none of the leering smarminess that seems built-in to many of the boy-girl Hollywood films nowadays.

The DVD transfer is excellent. The disc has a director's commentary and two or three extras. I didn't bother to sample them.

Average customer rating:

what a shock!
Great Suspense
Punchy stinging black comedy of the workplace
Play Naughty; Win Big
Michael Caine is brilliant in this black comedy.

A Shock to the System
Starring: Michael Caine , Elizabeth McGovern , Peter Riegert , Swoosie Kurtz , and Will Patton
Director: Jan Egleson
Manufacturer: First Look Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001US85S
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Customer Reviews:

what a shock!.......2007-01-12

Michael Caine gives a great performance in this movie as he was passed over for a promotion. He plays by the rules only to get trampled by those less deserving of said promotion. Then he takes matters into his own hands and makes power moves that gets him his much deserved promotion by any means necessary .

Great Suspense.......2006-03-25

Great suspense. Michael Caine is excellent. The bad guys are very convincing in this picture.

Punchy stinging black comedy of the workplace.......2004-05-23

Here's where Michael Caine shines, as a corporate exec who gets passed over for the promotion he's so feverishly expecting he'll get in favor of a young Turk--well played by Peter Reigert--who lords it over Caine's character in subtle (and not so subtle) ways. Caine's wife, also well played by Swoosie Kurtz, one of the great unknown American stage and film actresses, is a serious [problem] to him. So he has two people in his life who are supremely annoying.

What does he do? Well, let's just say that his solution to these two problems ends in the population of the world changing, shall we?

The dialogue in this very smart blackly comic thriller is sharp as a razor; it's a lot of fun to watch Mr. Caine give us his best as a put upon exec who's more than capable of flying into a rage at the drop of a hat and of executing his very sneaky and well thought out plans for revenge. Also on hand is Elizabeth Perkins, an equally intelligent office colleague who attracts Caine in more ways than one, but does not suspect him of any wrongdoing at all. That is, until...

One of the best office comedies around, A Shock to the System is a stinging portrait of greed and selfishness in America--for my money, far better than the somewhat overblown Wall Street. This is a movie that gives you a great evening's entertainment and part of the reason for that may be to secretly exact vengeance upon those corporate bigwigs who've prevented you from getting a job for so long, given this miserable economy.

Great job. Highly recommended.

Play Naughty; Win Big.......2003-06-16

Michael Caine is marvelous when playing a happy villain. He was impossibly beautiful as a young man, but middle aged Michael with serious bags under his eyes and a slight weight problem has an air of wounded vanity, as if he can't quite understand how things went wrong.

Caine, as Graham Marshall, is a fairly successful marketing director with an expensive home, an expensive and slightly boring wife, and is desperately anticipating a promotion for his many years of diligence. He is stunned when he is passed over for a young, brash associate. Graham has an epiphany when a particularly smarmy panhandler enrages him, and Graham impulsively shoves him off the subway platform in the path of an oncoming train. No one has seen him and Graham muses on his "magical" powers. He quickly and cleverly dispatches the wife and the business rival, gets rid of his white elephant of a house in the suburbs, boards the pets and gets a tasteful apartment in Manhattan. Though homicide Lt. Laker (Will Patton with a splendid Long Island accent) is suspicious, nothing can be proved. Graham not only gets the promotion, he has his eye on taking over the company, dispatching his rivals on his upward climb.

What keeps the tension intact is the victims are not cartoon-like villains. The wife is irritating, but not evil. The youngster who beat him out for the promotion is vulgar, but it is clear he is clever and competent. We just cannot help but cheer Graham on his nefarious way. Michael Caine's glee and satisfaction are catching.

There is more than a whiff of Alec Guinness's "Kind Hearts and Coronets" in Caine's performance, but Michael Caine has a knack for villainy all his own. "Shock to the System" may be a trifle of a movie, but it is a highly enjoyable trifle. ....

Michael Caine is brilliant in this black comedy........2002-06-12

You're here so you're probably a Michael Caine fan. So, the crux of the issue is; Is this a performance you need to see? The answer is yes. If you're a fan of Michael Caine's you HAVE to buy this film. He is absolutely brilliant in it. No other actor could have pulled this off. The wicked, sly, dark humor, the subtlety, killing people and making you believe it, laugh
about it, and actually root for him. Caine nails it. If you're a Caine fan, you're not looking for some big obvious slap-stick comedy, you're looking for something a little more off-beat and
original. You found it. Enjoy.

Average customer rating:

what a shock!
Great Suspense
Punchy stinging black comedy of the workplace
Play Naughty; Win Big
Michael Caine is brilliant in this black comedy.

A Shock to the System
Starring: Michael Caine , Elizabeth McGovern , Peter Riegert , Swoosie Kurtz , and Will Patton
Director: Jan Egleson
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video