The Life of Chuck didn’t do tremendously well at the box office. It was probably destined to do poorly. Hopefully, it will find the audience it deserves when it is set free from its twenty-dollar hell on Amazon Prime and shuffle-ball-changes over to Hulu/Disney+ the day after Christmas
The main reason given is that rather hoary old cliche, “It’s not like other Stephen King stories,” and though it’s true, it’s also nonsense.
The once-over-lightly King fans may be thinking of the right-away, in-your-face horror of It or Salem’s Lot in one their various incarnations, but come on: the nostalgic fascination of Stand by Me bears little resemblance to psychlogical horror of The Shining, which has even less in common with the slow-burn social commentary of Under the Dome or the political-thriller feel of The Dead Zone, which in turn are in entirely different worlds (so to speak) from the crass pop-cult madness of Creepshow or the breakneck, cocaine-induced chaos of Maximum Overdrive.
Or, to put it another way, there is no typical “Stephen King story”; just the ones that you’ve run across whose style and substance resonate most with you and yours.
But yes, it’s true: The Life of Chuck is like none of the above. For one, it’s King’s first musical (with choreography by Mandy Moore, for god’s sake! Mandy Moore!). It’s also one of his quietest films, informed by the subtle touch of Mike Flanagan’s adaptation and direction. A sadly uplifting piece that is going to stick with you just as long as the evil clowns or floating vampire children.
It’s available for the ridiculously low price of $5.99 to rent or $9.99 lto buy, or if you’re a Huu subscriber, you ocan take it in during the slow (I hope, for your own sake) quiet week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Let us know what you think here. Spoiler alert, though: it’s one of our favorites … but it’s not your typical Stephen King movie.