Shock to the System

"Trevor Cornell is one of the most successful reparative therapy providers in New York," says Timmy Callahan. "I wonder what his idea of 'successful' is," says Donald Strachey, a private eye. "Dressing badly," says Callahan, "decorating your home with duck decoys, breaking out in a rash whenever Barbra Streisand sings."

To explain: Reparative therapy means conversion from being gay or lesbian into happy, contented heteroes. Timmy Callahan (Sebastian Spence) is a political type in Albany, New York. Donald Strachey (Chad Allen) is not only a capable and tough private eye in Albany, he and Timmy are married. "At least," as Strachey says, "as close as two men can get to it...more important, I'm in love with him." Those who find a gay agenda under every leaf, revolver and bloody baseball bat may not like this movie. On the other hand, those with a fondness for well-constructed mysteries that feature politics, victimization, murder, martinis and phenalzine should enjoy the story, the style of Donald Strachey and the puzzle. Bet you don't guess the murderer. It's worth pointing out that you don't need to be a collie to enjoy "Lassie" or a guy with a gut to enjoy John Wayne. And you don't need to be gay to enjoy Shock to the System. The movie has it's faults...it was made for cable with awkward acting in some of the secondary roles and it has that clean, careful look of most made-for-TV films. But the mystery is satisfyingly complicated, with a nice number of red herrings. Chad Allen makes a believable, interesting private eye. And his happy home life with Timmy would probably be the envy of many married couples, gay or straight.

Paul Hale, a frightened 20-year-old man, wants Strachey to help him. But before he can tell Strachey what he wants, he is found dead. At first it's thought Hale died of a stroke, but when a lethal mixture of alcohol and barbiturates is found in Hale's system, Strachey decides to find out what was going on. And that takes him undercover to the Phoenix Foundation, a successful institution led by Dr. Trevor Cornell and his wife, where gays and lesbians, Dr. Cornell says, can find their true path to heterosexuality. It turns out that Hale was going to be a poster boy for the Foundation when Cornell announced a major push to go nation-wide with his cures. Not only does Strachey find himself taking part in group therapy and flashing back to his own earlier life, he gets threatened, beaten up, chased and shot. Almost as frightening, he encounter's Hale's wealthy, well-groomed and surgically-enhanced mother. "My son was not gay!" she says. "He was...confused." Strachey eventually solves the crime. Justice, formal and informal, is dealt out.

Donald Strachey is the gay private eye in eight mysteries written by Richard Stevenson, beginning with Death Trick in 1981. They are first-rate reads with clever, involved and sometimes violent plots. In other words, they aren't gay mysteries...they're mysteries that happen to feature a gay private eye. Two of the books have been made into cable movies; this one was shown in 2006 and Third Man Out was shown in 2005. The books are well worth reading if you like mysteries. This movie is no classic, but it makes it's "gay agenda" points low-key enough that they don't interfere with the story. And although there is a bit of beef cake that shows up from time to time, one or two friendly smooches and a quick flash of frontal nudity, the movie has none of the leering smarminess that seems built-in to many of the boy-girl Hollywood films nowadays.

This is a well-plotted, superbly cast follow up to the first Donald Strachey film, "Third Man Out." I personally found the subject matter—-sexual "healing" for gays—-more engrossing than the "outing" theme of the first film. Once again, Chad Allen is fascinating as the macho gay detective. And his back story—-he's an ex-soldier who was drummed out of the service for being gay—-more ably serves the screenplay this time around. The regulars all seem more comfortable in their roles, and it's nice to see Nelson Wong returning as Donald's secretary. Morgan Fairchild appears in a rather thankless cameo, and, although Sebastian Spence is a little less ditsy as Donald's lawyer boyfriend (Nora to Allen's Nick), Timmy, Allen's banter with Daryl Shuttleworth, as Detective Bub Bailey, and the other guys at the precinct is more fun. It's a first-class production, with director Ron Oliver making all the right moves, and Allen's acting is nothing short of brilliant: he does Emmy-caliber work in a surprisingly literate script.

Richard Stevenson's gay mystery novels based on his creation of Donald Strachey, Private Investigator have found the perfect crew to transform these very interesting and entertaining stories to film. SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM is the second in the series and as adapted for the screen by Ron McGee, directed with panache by Ron Oliver, and starring the very fine actor Chad Allen as the sleuth with couth and style and charisma the results are a polished little gem of a film. But aside from the fact that the film is so well put together, it presents gay people in roles that are so far away from the usual stereotypical types that their sexual proclivity is in many ways simply incidental: you have to look long and hard to find a solid healthy gay relationship as well portrayed as that between Strachey and his life partner Tim (the very fine Sebastian Spence).

The story this time around involves Strachey's being asked to help one Paul Hale (Jared Keeso), the supposed poster boy for the Phoenix Foundation, a 'turn gay people straight' institute run by Dr. Trevor Cornell (Michael Woods) and his wife Lynn (Anne Marie Loder). Paul is soon found dead and the implications are suicide. But Strachey suspects foul play (we later discover Hale was his first love in the Army!) and aided by Hale's mother Phyllis (Morgan Fairchild looking terrific and acting well) who encouraged her son's joining the Phoenix Foundation, he begins his own style of investigation.

Strachey wisely 'becomes a patient' with Dr. Cornell and in group therapy makes discoveries and friends with those who eventually help to solve the case: a strong group of actors including Rikki Gagne, Stephen Huszar, Ryan Kennedy, Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman, Shawn Roberts, Dany Papineau, and Gerry Morton. The clues are laid out, the deaths follow and the truths finally surface. And all the while Strachey is supported by Tim, by a very fine comic actor Nelson Wong as his 'office manager', and by his 'boss' Detective Bailey (Daryl Shuttleworth).

The dialogue is crisp, relevant, intense when it needs to be and funny when it relaxes, the cinematography takes a beautiful bow to the old Hollywood film noir techniques, and the cast is excellent, filled with not only a lot of eye candy but also with some very well realized characterizations. In the end the film belongs to the very hunky and versatile Chad Allen, only making wait for the next installment in this very successful series! Highly recommended for all audiences. Grady Harp

Shock To The System begins on a dark night with Chad Allen as openly gay private eye Donald Strachey meeting Jared Keeso who wants him to find somebody. No sooner does he hand Allen a $5000.00 retainer check than someone tries to run him down with a car. The next day he's found dead of a pill and liquor combination and the coroner calls it suicide.

To even the dumbest cops you'll find in any detective story you don't hire a PI for a job and then kill yourself. But the Albany cops don't want to go any farther, but Allen has the scent. Young Keeso was the poster boy for an Ex-Gay therapy group the Phoenix Foundation headed by Michael Woods and his wife Anne Marie DeLuise. That seems the place to start though Keeso's mother Morgan Fairchild tells Allen that it was some gay seeking vengeance on her son for betraying the movement.

In a move that requires real acting on his part, out and proud detective Chad Allen goes undercover in the foundation claiming to be a troubled gay man seeking a cure from the curse of homosexuality. Some of these scenes and later some scenes of self examination and introspection on his own life with partner Sebastian Spence show some really moving acting by Chad Allen.

Shock To The System throws us a ton of red herrings as suspects and believe me you will never figure out the real motive for this and another homicide of one of the patients. That being said you won't figure out who the killer is. I didn't until about 30 seconds before it was revealed.

Chad Allen has made four Strachey stories and hopefully will do more. Having the series shot in Canada I have to say that British Columbia doesn't look anything like Albany, New York so that's a bit of let down in the sense I'm familiar with Albany. But there is a more fundamental difference between these stories and most pulp detective work.

Be it Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe, Mike Hammer or any of a thousand lesser imitations your basic straight detective is a love them and leave them type with a new dame in every story. But the Donald Strachey stories emphasize that Strachey is a domestic type who has settled down with the love of his life who works for a State Senator in Albany. The two are very much in love and the films and books show that at every opportunity.

The books were written and the films made at a time when LGBT folks are pushing for marriage rights and in 2006 when this film was made we didn't have them in New York. It's interesting to speculate that the idea for a gay private eye originated 20 year previously or if such stories are written 20 years in the future when marriage is secured whether a pulp hero like Donald Strachey will be your typical detective loner dealing with a bar crowd and loving and leaving a succession of young party boys.

And I would not dare speculate on what lesbian detective fiction might be like if someone is inspired to write a series of those stories.

But at this point in time Donald Strachey is a hero of those times and hopefully we'll see more of him in future work.

This film is about a private investigator who investigates the death of a young man who hired him to find someone shortly before the death.

I just watched "Third Man Out", so there is an inevitable comparison between the two. The mystery part is toned down compared to "Third Man Out", replaced with emotional elements about gay conversion. This makes the film melancholic and even saddening. To balance it off, there are more steamy scenes than "Third Man Out" to make "Shock to the System" more commercially appealing.

The mystery part of the plot is hurt by the fact that all the leads point to a single suspect. If there were more suspects, then the mystery would have been more thrilling and engaging. Nevertheless, "Shock to the System" is an interesting mystery film with a emotional commentary on societal attitudes towards homosexuality. I find "Shock to the System" entertaining to watch.