Ebert is bang on in his assessment of why I found the film so darn enjoyable. Much like his American cohort Gene Hackman,Caine’s screen persona is littered with lovable scamps(Dirty Rotten Scoundrels)affable cads (Alfie) and noble douchebags (Get Carter). It is Caine’s ability to encourage audiences to identify with even his most deplorable character, which proves the most satisfying aspect of A Shock to the System.

 

The titular “shock to the system” awakens Graham Marshall’s sleeping dog who then spends the rest of the film looking for bones to gnaw on and then subsequently bury. Mild mannered white guys who go off the rails – I see you, Falling Down – are certainly no novelty.Heck, many of Caine’s films embody this trope.