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| Plot Synopsis The traditional crime thriller gets a modern twist with this sequel to Third Man Out following the further adventures of gay detective Donald Strachey (Chad Allen). Hard boiled private investigator Donald Strachey has just found the lifeless body of his latest client, and now in order to catch the killer he'll be forced to rely on his straight-laced husband Tim and overenthusiastic assistant Kenny. As the investigation leads Strachey straight into Dr. Trevor Cornell's dark world of "conversion therapy,' where psychology and religion combine with the singular goal of turning average everyday homosexuals "straight," the stage is set for a climactic showdown with more than a few surprising twists and turns. Sebastian Spence and Morgan Fairchild co-star in an adaptation of author Richard Stevenson's best-selling series of books that will have viewers of all sexual pursuasions on the edge of their seats. - Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide Reviews PAM GRADY Reel.com When thinking about Albany, New York, the phrase "mean streets" doesn't automatically come to mind, particularly when those avenues look suspiciously like the environs of Vancouver, B.C. But that is the beat trolled by private eye Donald Strachey (Chad Allen). The quiet burg certainly turns dangerous when Strachey roils the wrong waters in the diverting Shock to the System, the second Strachey mystery to reach the screen. The first, Third Man Out, went straight to television, so this limited theatrical release might be considered an experiment to see if the series might find a life outside the home. Strachey is like several more-famous detectives all rolled into one: He's got Philip Marlowe's sense of honor, Mike Hammer's toughness, Sam Spade's cynicism, Columbo's doggedness, and Nick Charles' wit. He even has his own Nora, only his is a senator's aide named Timmy Callahan (Sebastian Spence), and as gay men, they cannot legally marry. But Strachey considers himself wed, which makes this new case all the more unsettling as it brings up issues he thought were resolved. He knows little about his client Paul Hale (Jared Keeso), and is not even clear on what his assignment is supposed to be when the young man dies from consuming a lethal alcohol-barbiturate cocktail. The cops rule it a suicide, particularly since Paul had been in "reparative" therapy at the Phoenix Foundation, an organization dedicated to "curing" homosexuals. Strachey has his doubts and decides to do a little undercover work on his late client's behalf. That sends him into the belly of the beast, the Phoenix Foundation, run by Dr. Trevor Cornell (Michael Woods). The place, a local phenomennon on the verge of going national, leads to some unexpected soul-searching for Strachey when the half-true back story he uses to infiltrate the clinic stirs up some long-buried memories. Allen is the ace in the hole for this film, which is based on a novel by Richard Stevenson, one of a series of Strachey mysteries. His sardonic charm and swagger infuse the proceedings with a liveliness that Ron McGee's by-the-numbers screenplay and Ron Oliver's pedestrian direction otherwise lack. Oliver is clearly aiming for noir, but misses. That the project was slated for television is evident in the poor production values and wooden acting in many of the supporting roles. The stunt casting of Morgan Fairchild as Hale's homophobic mother-clearly a bid to add name recognition to a mostly anonymous cast-is a disaster. Not only is she not very good, her presence is distracting. The portrayal of the Phoenix Foundation is also problematic: For an organization supposedly so successful that it is about to expand, the premises look like a ghost town. And the fact that most of the patients are there under false pretenses makes the whole situation even more ludicrous. For all of those defects, Shock to the System is completely entertaining, and not just because of Allen. It is a little bit like watching a Perry Mason mystery, not the classic TV series, but the made-for-TV movies Raymond Burr made at the end of his career, with William Katt or William R. Moses taking over gumshoe duties from the late William Hopper. Those too were undemanding mysteries with little suspense, fairly ridiculous plots, and silly guest stars (including Fairchild, in 1993's The Case of the Skin Deep Scandal), but they were a lot of fun, the filmic equivalent of comfort food. So is this, only with more skin. It's certainly a pleasant enough way to kill 90 minutes. NATHAN LEE New York Times Published: August 4, 2006 With his 1981 novel "Death Trick," under the pseudonym Richard Stevenson, the writer Richard Lipez began a series of mysteries featuring Donald Strachey, a gay private investigator on the mean streets of New York - Albany, to be precise. Using the detective mode to reflect on gay themes, and vise versa, the books were sexy, playful and unafraid of politics, while always mindful of their genre mandate. "Shock to the System" is the second Donald Strachey mystery to be adapted into a movie for the gay cable channel Here! Making allowances for the scale and tone of a low-budget television project, this is a sly, refreshingly grown-up gay entertainment, though rather less satisfying as a thriller. It's enough to make one curious to see the first ("Third Man Out") and hope they get around to adapting the other five. I, for one, would see any movie with a name as marvelous as "On the Other Hand, Death." Sweetly compelling as Strachey, Chad Allen embodies and subverts the classic butch detective. The plot involves Strachey going undercover at a gay conversion therapy organization to investigate the suspicious suicide of a client. His snooping leads through the predictable mystery movie twists, but also to a surprisingly nuanced take on the way gay conversion therapy exploits universal anxieties about who we are and wish we could be. Morgan Fairchild turns in a freakish cameo amid a supporting cast nicely filled out by Sebastian Spence as Strachey's politico boyfriend, Nelson Wong as his eager new office manager, Michael Woods as the conversion therapy guru and a handful of naked football players. "Shock to the System" is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Some hard-boiled language, some gay hanky panky and a steamy shower scene. ROBERT KOEHLER Variety Wed., Jul. 26, 2006, 2:58pm PT A Regent Releasing release of a Regent Releasing and here! TV presentation of a Shavick/Insight Studios production in association with here! TV. Produced by Kirk Shaw. Executive producers, Barry Krost, James Shavick, Paul Colichman. Directed by Ron Oliver. Screenplay, Ron McGee, based on the book by Richard Stevenson. With: Chad Allen, Sebastian Spence, Michael Woods, Daryl Shuttleworth, Anne Marie DeLuise, Rikki Gagne, Morgan Fairchild. "Shock to the System" is a perfectly respectable second entry in the saga of gay private eye Donald Strachey (based on author Richard Stevenson's books), which began with 2005's "Third Man Out." Made with television in mind but receiving a modest August theatrical run, Canuck helmer Ron Oliver's film noir-lite casts the founder of a center designed to turn gays and lesbians straight as the gumshoe's nemesis. Enough action, a tiny pinch of sex and some campy moments from Morgan Fairchild should the draw target aud in advance of a vid rendezvous. Strachey (Chad Allen) finds his client (Jared Keeso's Paul Hale) dead -- supposedly by his own hand -- before he can tell the p.i. whom he's looking for. Not buying the suicide theory, Strachey sniffs a trail that leads from Hale's in-denial mom (Fairchild), who fiercely blurts out "my son wasn't gay!") to Dr. Cornell (Michael Woods), a shady type who runs a gay "reparative therapy" center. Husband Timmy (Sebastian Spence) enjoys helping Strachey piece together the clues, but on the street, the p.i. must go undercover to penetrate Cornell's inner sanctum and learn the truth about Paul's mysterious demise. A sidebar story involving ex-Army vet Strachey's first love during the Gulf War is designed to add texture and poke a dig at "don't-ask-don't-tell," but it's simply an awkward appendix to this slight tale. All of the genre's required ingredients are here -- from the slight comic relief with the new secretary in Strachey's office to multiple suspects and Macguffins -- to suggest that Oliver and screenwriter Ron McGee have affection for the tradition of Dashiell Hammett, Raymond Chandler and "The Thin Man." The twist of casting all of this within a gay prism seems clever enough, yet the pic can't help appearing like a dress-up version of noir. Impression is reinforced with surface thesping (except from Allen, who disdains the tough guy facade), and design and music contributions, all of which seem scaled to the small screen. |
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| SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM 2006 - Canada/USA - 91 min. - Feature, Made for TV Director: Ron Oliver |
| Genre / Type: Crime, Gay & Lesbian Films Flags: Sexual Situations, Profanity, Nudity, Violence MPAA Rating: R Keywords: detective, homosexual Themes: Private Eyes, Going Undercover, Murder Investigations Cinematic Process: HD Video Produced by: here! / Here! TV Presentation / Insight Studios / Shavick Released by: Regent Releasing MPAA Reasons: for sexual content, nudity, language and a violent image DVD Street Date: Feb 13, 2007 Languages: English Subtitles: English Screen Format: Widescreen Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Studio: Regent Cast Chad Allen -- Donald Strachey Sebastian Spence -- Tim Callahan Michael Woods -- Dr. Trevor Cornell Daryl Shuttleworth -- Det. Bailey Anne Marie De Luise - Rikki Gagne -- Katey Simmons Morgan Fairchild -- Phyllis Hale Nelson Wong -- Kenny Kwon |
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