Rotten
While the idea would certainly seem to hold promise for interesting social commentary, the script by Ron McGee lacks the necessary bite, as does the rote direction of Ron Oliver.
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter
Shock to the System
Some secrets kill.
2006 · 1h 31m · R Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Overview
After the mysterious demise of a client, private detective Donald Strachey infiltrates a therapy group for gay people who want to become straight. He takes on the group's founder to prove that his client's death was not a suicide.
Director and cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
50%
Tomatometer
Fresh
This is a sly, refreshingly grown-up gay entertainment, though rather less satisfying as a thriller.
Nathan Lee, New York Times
Rotten
Where film noir is often punch-drunk with a jab of snappy patter and a left hook of world-weary cynicism, Shock tries to clinch with understanding.
Michael Ordona, Los Angeles Times
Rotten
... director Ron Oliver applies a thin veneer of straight-to-cable pseudo-gloss without finding a workable tone, and the cast lacks the charisma and chemistry to make the genre and gender-bending register as more than novelty.
Jim Ridley, Village Voice
Fresh
A perfectly respectable second entry in the saga of gay private eye Donald Strachey.
Robert Koehler, Variety
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