A Shock to the System

A Shock to the System

1990 · 91 min · EN · R · 6.4 (106 votes)
Dir. Jan Egleson · Starring Michael Caine, Elizabeth McGovern, Peter Riegert, Swoosie Kurtz, Will Patton, Jenny Wright · Music Gary Chang

Climbing the corporate ladder can be murder.

CrimeComedy

Madison Avenue executive Graham Marshall has paid his dues. A talented and devoted worker, he has suffered through mounting bills and a nagging wife with one thing to look forward to: a well-deserved promotion. But when the promotion is given to a loud-mouthed yuppie associate, Graham unleashes his rage on an overly aggressive panhandler, who he accidently kills by pushing him into the path of an oncoming subway train. He re-thinks his problems with an entirely new solution. First, he arranges an "accident" for his annoying wife. Then he creates another "mishap" for his boss. It seems like the world is once more Graham's oyster…but a missing cigarette lighter and a prying police detective may change all that.

VIBE

A slick, cynical descent into suburban madness. It feels like a dark, twisted corporate satire where ambition curdles into murder. The city's neon glow hides a creeping dread and a darkly humorous unraveling.

darkly comediccynicalthrillingunsettlingsteady80s excessneo-noirdark comedymidlife crisissociopathycorporate greedsuburban ennui
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new york citybased on novel or booksailinglightermurderelectrocutionadvertising executiveadvertising agencymadison avenuecorporate ladder
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