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.

This is a heartwarming and inspiring film from Flanagan! So full of warmth and soul, it touches on the meaning of life and our reckoning with the vastness of it, while not shying away from the hardships that come with it. A cathartic movie that comes at just the right time!

3rd act was so good but the others (especially the second) were lackluster in comparison.

While this movie may appear to be an uplifting “live your life to the fullest”, I believe there’s actually something less “sweet” going on. It’s a really thought provoking film, lots of layers and so well done. You get more from it on a second watch and it demands full attention.

Kind of a strange movie to watch due to everything going on in the world right now. I applaud the unique narrative device they used. Also the acting and story were good. It’s just was a bit slow for me and i wasn’t in the right mindset for the movie.

Cute, but uhhh that’s about it, the first part was honestly stressingggg me out though