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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Simon Brett (novel)
Andrew Klavan (screenplay)
Release Date:
23 March 1990 (USA) more
Tagline:
Killing is easy... Getting away with it is murder. more
Plot:
Graham Marshall already celebrates his anxiously awaited promotion in an advertising company, when he learns that Roger Benham... more | add synopsis
Awards:
1 nomination more
User Comments:
A Michael Caine Classic more (20 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Michael Caine | ... | Graham Marshall |
 | Elizabeth McGovern | ... | Stella Anderson |
 | Peter Riegert | ... | Robert Benham |
 | Swoosie Kurtz | ... | Leslie Marshall |
 | Will Patton | ... | Lt. Laker |
| Jenny Wright | ... | Melanie O'Conner |
| John McMartin | ... | George Brewster |
| Barbara Baxley | ... | Lillian |
| Haviland Morris | ... | Tara Liston |
 | Philip Moon | ... | Henry Park |
| Kent Broadhurst | ... | Executive #1 |
 | Zach Grenier | ... | Executive #2 |
| David Schramm | ... | Executive #3 |
| Sam Schacht | ... | David Jones |
| Christopher Durang | ... | Convention Speaker |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
91 min | UK:85 min | Canada:89 min (Ontario)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Canada:14 (Ontario) | Iceland:12 (re-rating) | Iceland:L | UK:15 | USA:R
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Goofs:
Continuity: A detective questions Michael Caine's secretary and writes down his telephone number on a piece of notepad paper for her. Later, when she decides to call him, she has his business card. more
Quotes:
Robert Benham:
[At Graham's lunch] We're putting the boat in this weekend...
Graham Marshall:
Oh, and we forgot ours! Didn't we?
Robert Benham:
Tara's coming out to the house.
Graham Marshall:
Tara! What kind of a name is that?
Executive #2:
Her last name is "Rah-Boom-Dee-Ay!"
Graham Marshall:
[as everyone sings the "Gone with the Wind" theme] The man is dating a plantation!
more
Movie Connections:
References Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (20 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for A Shock to the System (1990)Recommendations
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Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Comedy section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |
Little-noticed on release and little-seen thereafter, the annoying thing is that this has to rate as one of Caine's better films; yet trying to find a copy of/transmission of it (at least in the UK) can be quite difficult.
Caine's portrayal of the central character, Graham Marshall, an advertising executive sidelined and humiliated during a corporate restructuring, is deliciously wicked (even down to his devilish facial expressions), both in its comedy and thriller components. Elizabeth McGovern, playing the role of Stella, Marshall's PA, is sweetly convincing as the innocent dupe in Marshall's subsequent plotting.
Part of the (admittedly dark) fun with this film is that, thanks to the monumental unpleasantness of the characters which Marshall comes up against, you really want him to do terrible things and to get away with them. Enjoy!!