THE LIFE OF CHUCK

Name: THE LIFE OF CHUCK
Item: THE LIFE OF CHUCK
Author: Review

"Questioning the Meaning of Life"

Family Content: -2 Extreme caution for older teenagers and adults.

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

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What You Need To Know:

THE LIFE OF CHUCK follows Stephen King’s short story, about a man experiencing the end of the world and pondering why. Marty is a teacher who loves his job and values his students. The classroom has dwindled in attendance, because the world has descended into chaos. Each day seems more bizarre than the last, and all he sees are posters saying, “Charles Krantz. 39 great years. Thanks, Chuck.” Eventually, all the roads to his school are blocked by sinkholes. He walks to his ex-wife’s house for comfort. The two hold hands, not knowing the future.

THE LIFE OF CHUCK is an interesting movie that tries to break the norm but ultimately misses the mark. The story tries to include a dramatic plot twist, but it doesn’t flow in a typical pattern, with a beginning, middle and end. THE LIFE OF CHUCK has a mixed worldview. It asks, “What’s the meaning of life?” Also, characters thank God and say, “God created the world.” However, the movie ends with a humanist attitude, with no afterlife. THE LIFE OF CHUCK also contains strong foul language.

Content:

(PaPa, B, HH, LLL, S, AA, M):

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Mixed pagan worldview with some mentions of God creating the world and some thanking this Creator God, but movie mostly presents a humanist take on death with no mention of an afterlife;

Foul Language:

25 obscenities (including 16 “f” words) and five profanities;

Violence:

Scenes of the world ending, with cars crashing, mentions of suicide, mentions of people dying, and giant sinkholes;

Sex:

No implied or depicted sex but there is a positive mention of a pornography website;

Nudity:

No nudity;

Alcohol Use:

Drinking and drunkenness, but some of it is looked down upon

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:

No smoking or drugs; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

The movie features a cryptic quote from the poet Walt Whitman, “I am large, I contain multitudes.”

More Detail:

THE LIFE OF CHUCK follows Stephen King’s short story, about a man experiencing the end of the world and contemplating why. THE LIFE OF CHUCK is an interesting movie that’s trying to break the norm, but it ultimately misses the mark.

Marty Anderson, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, is a teacher who loves his job and values his students. The classroom has dwindled in attendance, as the world seems to be going to chaos. Many states are having massive natural disasters, including earthquakes, tornados, and sinkholes appearing out of nowhere. One day Marty drives home, and it takes hours to get to his home because of the traffic. People start getting out of their cars and walking home. During all this, his ex-wife, Felicia, calls him to find some comfort. The two talk about why this may be happening, to which Marty explains that the calendar is off, and they only appear to have a few days to live.

The next day Marty tries to get to school but is told it’s hopeless because the roads have huge sinkholes. He decides to start walking to Felicia’s house. On his way, he sees signs saying, “Charles Krantz. 39 great years. Thanks, Chuck.” On his walk to Felicia’s house, all the power shuts off, and the windows show a hologram of Charles Krantz. Marty doesn’t know who this is, but he’s terrified. He finally gets to Felicia, who’s also in distress. The two sit outside while looking at the sky and pondering the ending of the world.

THE LIFE OF CHUCK is an interesting take on Stephen King’s short story. The movie has a bit of a different feel to it, almost more like a theater play rather than a movie. The characters often feel over the top, though this may be intentional to create a world that’s questioning existence. Because the movie is from a short story and tries to have a dramatic plot twist, the plot is out of sync. As a result, the movie doesn’t have a typical movie pattern, with a beginning, middle and end. So, some viewers may be thrown off by it. In addition, the narration doesn’t seem to help the plot, and the move lags in the middle.

THE LIFE OF CHUCK has an interesting, mixed worldview where the movie asks the question. What is the meaning of life? The movie mentions “Thank God” and ‘God created the World”, but ultimately the movie ends with a humanist worldview. The movie’s premise is based on one of the poet Walt Whitman’s quote, “I am large, I contain multitudes.” This implies that our world is made up of everything we see and whomever with whom we interact, and there’s nothing beyond that. This ends up being the movie’s final twist, but, in the end, that doesn’t seem to be all that surprising. Another message in the movie is to live with intention and purpose every day, knowing that we all will pass away at some point. This is a humanist, and a depressing, conclusion, with no afterlife.

THE LIFE OF CHUCK also has more than 15 strong obscenities. So, extreme caution is advised.