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!"

Michael Caine made "A Shock to the System" in 1990 and I must have blinked and missed it, (me and a lot of others). He's Graham Marshall, a corporate businessman who is passed over for promotion in favour of his hot-shot subordinate Peter Riegert. Naturally, he doesn't take this too well. In fact, he feels that he's cursed in some way and he really should do something about it. As it turns out, "A Shock to the System" is a deliciously funny and dark comedy about a man who will go to any lengths, including murder, if it means getting ahead and Caine is terrific, (it's actually one of his best performances), and he's backed by an equally terrific supporting cast. Riegert is superbly slimy as Caine's new boss; then there's Elizabeth McGovern as the colleague who takes a shine to him, Swoosie Kurtz as his social-climbing wife, John McMartin as the out-going head of department and Will Patton as a very inquisitive cop. The director was Jon Egelson who doesn't revert to any tricks to tell his tale but rather relies on the quality of his material and his cast and it and they don't let him down.

Michael Caine plays a reasonably successful but disaffected middle-aged executive. He has a very good job and home--but he also has a wife who seems more interested in what his job will buy her and he isn't given a promotion EVERYONE thought he'd get. One day he is attacked by a homeless guy and accidentally kills him. Yet, despite happening at a subways stop in New York, no one sees this happen and he's able to just walk away from this like it never happened. However, oddly, instead of being saddened or scared by this event, Caine is thrilled! He starts to feel invulnerable...almost magical. So, after his wife pushes him too far, he experiments to see if once again he can get away with killing her, too. When this occurs, Caine decides he's pretty much invulnerable and decides to try his luck again...after all, killing can be like potato chips--you can't stop at just one! Talk about a bad mid-life crisis!! I am not sure if this is meant as a dark comedy or just a suspense film--all I know is that it made me laugh...and wonder just how many smart guys like Cains character do what he did and never get caught. Very well written and unique. It's certainly not a film for everyone--especially with its VERY unconventional ending, but I sure liked it and think it's an unnoticed little gem.By the way, on the DVD there is an alternate ending. This ending stank...so I really think they did the right thing sticking with the darker ending.

A fairly mediocre movie. Only Michael Caine's performance rescues it from being truly awful. The original novel by Simon Brett is 100 times superior. I recommend you read it, and you'll see how far the film version falls short of the mark.The original novel was an entertaining crime thriller. The movie strives to be a black comedy, but misses. The real problem is the ending, or rather the lack of one. In the original novel,I won't spoil it for you, but Graham Marshall gets his well-deserved comeuppance in a supremely ironic fashion. The film version just stops abruptly, with no real denouement or climax. So, we don't get to enjoy seeing his destruction, and because he's such an unsympathetic character, we also don't enjoy seeing him get away with it.And that "bippity-boppity-boo" stuff is just annoying.