The Life of Chuck

6.6 - I don’t know why I failed to love this.

This kind of saccharine sweet, life-affirming, go dance with a stranger type of thing usually gets to my sensitive & sappy side easily.

Something just didn’t work. The performances are good. The set up is unique, & I was enjoying catching the call backs & referential moments as the happened. But I didn’t care enough by the end. Maybe it’s that “Act 3” to open was my favorite part with its mystery & tension, & in my opinion strongest & most direct portrayal of the central theme but I just wanted more of that.

As the narrator asked, would answers make a good thing better? Here, they didn’t. The more was revealed, the less I connected with it. The tonal inconsistency & the lack of depth to back up the “we contain multitudes” so don’t judge a book by its cover & don’t be afraid to seize the day messaging made it all feel just too familiar & too flat in the end.

It did fly by, & as I said it’s full of great performances. You can tell, as with any of Mike Flanagan’s work, his people love working with him & always give their best. There are moments of real emotion in each act that did stand out even if they didn’t piece together perfectly. Tom Hiddleston’s performance feels like a hug, & this was an incredible intro for Benjamin Pajak.

I may have to see this one again before it leaves theaters because I want to love it & I hope I can get that on a second watch. But for now, I just can’t.

I like when he danced

Dude snoring in the cinema 😭