The Life of Chuck

Summary

Pop Culture Happy Hour: "The Life of Chuck" Episode Summary

Released on June 17, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, hosted by Linda Holmes, the team delves into the latest Stephen King adaptation, "The Life of Chuck." Joining Linda are guests Ba Parker, co-host of NPR's Code Switch, and Jourdain Searles, writer and co-host of the Bad Romance podcast. They engage in a comprehensive discussion about the film's themes, performances, and its departure from traditional horror elements.

Overview of "The Life of Chuck"

"The Life of Chuck" is a film adaptation of Stephen King's novella, presented in a non-linear narrative divided into three distinct chapters:

1. Present Day: Features Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor) living in a town plagued by mysterious environmental catastrophes. A perplexing billboard appears, thanking Chuck for 39 years, prompting Marty and his ex-wife to investigate the significance of "Thanks Chuck" imagery.

2. Middle Age Chuck: Showcases Chuck (Tom Hiddleston) in a single day's life, blending the impending apocalypse with personal reflections.

3. Young Chuck: Depicts a young Chuck growing up in a Victorian house with his grandparents, portrayed by Mark Hamill and Mia Sara, uncovering the house's purported haunting.

Directed and written by Mike Flanagan, known for acclaimed horror adaptations like "The Haunting of Hill House" and "Midnight Mass," the film eschews linear storytelling in favor of a more fragmented, introspective approach.

Host and Guests' Reactions

Ba Parker introduces the film's premise, highlighting its departure from typical Stephen King horror narratives by presenting a life-affirming story that nonetheless grapples with the inevitability of death.

Jourdain Searles shares his initial skepticism about films overtly leaning into life-affirming themes. He admits, "The cynic in me went with this with a grain of salt," expressing doubt over the film's sincerity. However, he acknowledges the film's sweetness, noting, "It's very sweet... People who need it love it for him."

Jord Searles offers a balanced perspective, appreciating the film's earnestness while recognizing its potential to distract some viewers. He remarks, "I was kind of of two minds... it's very sweet," highlighting the movie's duality in tone.

Praise and Criticism

The discussion touches on several strengths and weaknesses of the film:

• Non-Linear Structure: Ba Parker points out the film's intricate structure, stating, "It's not terribly linear plot-wise... It makes sense kind of when it all comes together." This approach mirrors the novella's complexity but may challenge some viewers' expectations.

• Performances:

  • Chiwetel Ejiofor is lauded for his portrayal of Marty, with Jourdain Searles praising his performance: "Chiwetel Ejiofor is really good in this."
  • Tom Hiddleston's role as Chuck receives mixed feedback. While his dance sequences add whimsical charm, Ba Parker critiques the film's marketing focus on Hiddleston, noting, "He's on the poster, which feels inaccurate."
  • Mark Hamill and Mia Sara are commended for their roles as Chuck's grandparents. Jord appreciates Hamill's gravitas, comparing his character to his animated roles: "His grandfather is closest to Skips in a lot of the energy."

• Thematic Elements: The film's exploration of mortality and meaning through smaller, poignant moments resonates with some guests, while others find it overly sentimental. Ba Parker emphasizes the importance of these "smaller things," stating, "I kind of do believe that that is how meaning in life develops."

• Humor and Whimsy: The inclusion of dance sequences adds unexpected lightness to the narrative. Jord highlights the charm of these moments, remarking, "There was a whimsy to it that I appreciated and didn't expect from a Stephen King adaptation."

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Ba Parker [6:35]: "I think horror people often are consumed by thinking about death and thinking about the monsters that are out in the world."

• Jord Searles [5:29]: "I was kind of of two minds... it's very sweet."

• Jourdain Searles [7:26]: "Chiwetel Ejiofor is really good in this. And between this and the new Bridget Jones, it's just been a nice year for him being in movies that I actually enjoy."

• Ba Parker [15:51]: "If the structure was more straightforward, would it still work?"

• Jord Searles [17:43]: "That's when it got too schmaltzy for me."

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

"The Life of Chuck" emerges as a thought-provoking film that blends Stephen King's signature themes with Mike Flanagan's introspective storytelling. While its non-linear narrative and sentimental moments may divide audiences, the film's exploration of mortality, combined with strong performances and unexpected whimsical elements, offers a fresh take on life-affirming cinema. As Ba Parker aptly summarizes, "It's a very warm, fuzzy movie about the inevitability of death. I think it's definitely going to divide people."

Listeners are encouraged to share their own opinions on the film via Pop Culture Happy Hour's social media channels.

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Produced by: Liz Metzger and Mike Katsiff
Edited by: Jessica Reedy
Theme Music by: [Provider Name]

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Note: Advertisement segments and non-content sections were omitted to focus solely on the episode's discussion.

Transcript

[Linda Holmes]

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[Ba Parker]

Stephen King's work has often contemplated the inevitability of death, but the latest King adaptation, the Life of Chuck, isn't a horror movie. It's life affirming and it will challeng the cynic in everyone. And it's got a big cast that includes Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jacob Tremblay, Mark Hamill and narrator Nick Offerman. I'm Linda Holmes and today we're talking about the Life of Chuck on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour.

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[Ba Parker]

Joining us today is Ba Parker. She's one of the hosts of NPR's Code Switch podcast. Hello Parker, hi.

[Jord Searles]

Thanks for having Me.

[Ba Parker]

Oh, thank you for being here. Also joining us is writer, comedian and co host of the Bad Romance podcast, Jord Searles. Hello, Jourdain. Welcome back.

[Jourdain Searles]

Thank you for having me back.

[Ba Parker]

Delightful as always. So the Life of Chuck is based on a Stephen King novella of the same name. It's presented in three chapters. In the first, a teacher named Marty, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, is living in a town where the world seems to be ending as a result of mysterious environmental catastrophes. One day a billboard appears. A man with glasses sits at a desk smiling and the billboard says, thanks Chuck for 39 great years. Assuming Chuck is a guy retiring from some desk job, Marty and his ex wife try to make sense of everything that's happening, including new sightings of thanks Chuck imagery all over town. In the second chapter, we spend one day with middle aged Chuck. He's played by a dancing Tom Hiddleston. In the third chapter, a young Chuck lives in a Victorian house with his grandparents, played by Mark Hamill and Mia Sara. He learns that his grandfather believes the house is haunted. The film was directed and written for the screen by Mike Flanagan, probably best known for several well regarded horror adaptations on Netflix, including the Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass. The film is in theaters now. I also want to say this film is not terribly linear plot wise. And so if it feels that way as we talk about it, that's just because of the nature of the movie and it makes sense kind of when it all comes together, but it's not that linear. It is a very mushy movie or a schmaltzy movie in some ways. That of course works for me. I don't know if it will work for everybody. Parker, I want to start with you. How did this one strike you?

[Jord Searles]

It grew on me, I will say, because there is a while where it's leading up to something and you're like, I don't know where this is going, so I'm going to. I'm gonna lean in. I think I personally, I'm leery of films that are leaning too hard on like being quote, unquote, life affirming.

[Ba Parker]

Sure, yes.

[Jord Searles]

The cynic in me went with this with a grain of salt.

[Ba Parker]

Yes, I think it is fair to say that the cynic in everybody has to be either settled down for this movie or else will ultimately persuade you that the cynicism is justified.

[Jord Searles]

It made me miss, like the Frank Darabont adaptations.

[Ba Parker]

Yes, I get that. I get that. Jourdain, how about you? Where did you Come down on this one.

[Jourdain Searles]

I was kind of of two minds. Cause there's one side of me that's just like, yes, sincerity, something nice happening in the movie theater. And then there's the other side of me that couldn't stop thinking about how audiences would react to it. And it kept on distracting me. So what I think is that it's. It's very sweet.

[Ba Parker]

It is sweet. I think that it's somewhat like anti cynical. And at the same time, it is basically a movie about the inevitability of death. It is a movie about being conscious of your mortality in a lot of ways. So it doesn't surprise me. I've heard a lot of talk about how this is somehow kind of a off brand thing for Stephen King and for Mike Flanagan because they're horror guys and this is not really a horror piece. But like, I think horror people often are consumed by thinking about death and thinking about the monsters that are out in the world. You know, the world is full of disaster and pain and that everybody's story is gonna end exactly the same way, which is, you're gonna die. What do you do with that knowledge? And to me, that's kind of what this movie is about.

[Jord Searles]

The first, like one third is very like Waiting for a Godot. And I get it. Like it's the. Everyone is trying to process what's happening and instead of thinking about the mortality of it, I got caught up in like this cast of characters. Like you get like a Matthew Lillard and you get Carl Lummley, which I was like really excited to see. And everyone gets these Mike Flanagan monologues, which I find to be like, weigh the film down a bit.

[Linda Holmes]

Well.

[Ba Parker]

And in fairness to Flanagan, a lot of those are Stephen King monologues. A lot of those are very similar. The whole Matthew Lillard thing where he's talking about everything collapsing and acceptance and all that stuff, that's pretty all straight out of the story. A lot of this is very, very true to the way the novella is written.

[Jord Searles]

Oh, Linda, that does not make me feel better about the movie.

[Jourdain Searles]

Also, I wanted to point out that, like, Chiwetel Ejiofor is really good in this. And between this and the new Bridget Jones, it's just been a nice year for him being in movies that I actually enjoy.

[Ba Parker]

I get that.

[Jord Searles]

That's real. I get that too. Yeah.

[Ba Parker]

And with a little more humor in some cases. Even though this is such a sad thing, there is some lightness, kind of romantic charm to him in this.

[Jourdain Searles]

Yeah, yeah. Like if he was my ex husband and the world was ending.

[Jord Searles]

Go to him.

[Jourdain Searles]

I would hang out with him 1000%.

[Ba Parker]

And he's a teacher. I mean, listen, you get a Carl.

[Jord Searles]

Sagan monologue, you get like all the things. Yeah, the Big bang happens in the 1st, 2nd, January 1st. And today, right now, we're in the final millisecond of the last minute, of the last day, December 31st, leaving over. It's just like Mike Flanagan, like, how you doing? It's like, well, to ask these questions, you have to look into the multitudes of the man. And I'm like, oh, I just asked how you were doing.

[Ba Parker]

I think you're right. I think they're both like that. I think Flanagan and Stephen King are actually very similar writers in some ways and similar creators in some ways. They're always like, well, you know, I'm thinking a lot about the universe and the inevitable collapse of the solar system and how we're all doomed to fade into a tiny little dot and all that stuff.

[Jord Searles]

Just tell me how your day was.

[Ba Parker]

And he has done a couple of Stephen King adaptations before. He did Gerald's Game and a couple other things.

[Jord Searles]

I mean, like, I know that, like, for me personally, Flanagan, he can't beat the melancholy and sadness of the Haunting of Hill House. And I feel like everything that I watch of his, I'm still chasing that kind of high of my introduction to him outside of Hush. Like, objectively, I know what both King and Flanagan are going for, but I'm not the person who's like, buying it, even though I know, like, it won the Tiff, like People's Choice Award and all these things.

[Jourdain Searles]

I mean, a lot of things win the tiff. People's Choice Award, Green Book.

[Ba Parker]

That's true, that's true. I mean, the other thing is the winners of that People's Choice Award at the Toronto Festival, often in the last 20 years or so have been Best Picture nominees. Yeah, I would not defend everything that has won that award, Green Book. But also Three Billboards, a movie that I can't stand. That's true. Also won that award. I get what you're saying. I do think this is an issue, interesting addition to that list of films that has won that award. I'll just say that it was like.

[Jord Searles]

The same year of Honora and like all these other films at the festival and they were like, this is the one. And I'm very curious as to.

[Jourdain Searles]

Well, I liked it more than Anora.

[Ba Parker]

So maybe I'm like, that's fair.

[Jord Searles]

That's so Fair.

[Jourdain Searles]

I mean, it's very schmaltzy, but they're like, I loved the dad doing the monologue about pornhub being down.

[Ba Parker]

That was very funny. That's David Dastmalchian, like, doing that really good monologue lamenting how pornhub as the world is ending. And that's another thing that's right from the novella. The character in the story doesn't actually say it, but Marty, the Chiwetel Ejiofor character, realizes, you know. Hmm. I suspect that a lot of these parents are actually more worried about pornhub.

[Jord Searles]

I mean, one thing I was stricken most about the film was, like, the amount of whimsy that is in it.

[Ba Parker]

Mm.

[Jord Searles]

There are several dance sequences in the movie.

[Ba Parker]

Yes, there are.

[Jord Searles]

And I was like, huh. I ended up re listening to one of the songs on my way out the theater on my phone. Gimme some lovin' Like, I was like, oh, this is. There was a whimsy to it that I appreciated and didn't expect from a Stephen King adaptation.

[Jourdain Searles]

I didn't expect to see Tom Hiddleston dancing like that. Like, that was really cool.

[Jord Searles]

He was moving.

[Jourdain Searles]

He was really. He was. He was out there. He was cutting up.

[Ba Parker]

I think the other thing that I would say about that and the dance sequence and the Tom Hiddleston thing is they've kind of promoted this as a Tom Hiddleston movie. Right. He's on the poster, which feels inaccurate. He's not in it that much. Right. You see him do this dance sequence. You see him a few other times. He has one very nice scene with the woman who broke up with her boyfriend, who he runs into on that day. They have a chat. It's the apocalypse part, which is the first part, and it's the childhood part, which is really, you know, dominated not only by the actors who play him as a young person, but also by Mark Hamill, who is kind of the center of gravity of that last part of the movie. Yeah.

[Jord Searles]

I thought the casting of the younger versions of Chuck were so good that I was like, did they wait for Jacob Tremblay? I was like, how long did they film this? That was my mistake.

[Ba Parker]

They do all look like they could be the same kid.

[Jord Searles]

Yeah. I'll say. Kudos to the casting director. But Mark Hamill, we under appreciate him. Like, he's Luke Skywalker. Yes. But he had this gravitas and this sadness that I respected. And Flanagan was able to pull out these layers of Mark Hamill that we haven't seen before. Math can do a Lot of things. Math can be art, but it can't lie. So take another run at those two.

[Ba Parker]

Because Chuckle, you are good.

[Jord Searles]

You have art in you.

[Jourdain Searles]

The voice that Mark Hamill is doing as the grandfather and kind of like his energy of it reminds me of an animated character that he plays on regular show. He plays this immortal yeti named Skips. And honestly, his grandfather is closest to Skips in a lot of the energy. And I really liked that.

[Ba Parker]

I very much enjoyed seeing him in this. Also. I'm so glad that in the TR they said Mia Sarah, because otherwise I would have sat there trying to figure out who is that that's real. Because I haven't seen Mia Sarah very much post Ferris Bueller. And I don't think she's been acting very much for the last 10 or 12 years. And when you see her, it's this lovely moment of. I think there are just some really nice casting choices.

[Jourdain Searles]

She's so good. She's so beautiful. She's so alive. Like every with her. Like, she's like. She's such a cool grandma.

[Ba Parker]

And she really does, I think, cut through some of the potential for it to be really schmaltzy. Cause she really does seem like a really lively and individual and specific grandma. I think the other really nice piece of casting is I think they get away with a lot of voiceover, which again, comes directly from the novella because they had it done by Nick Offerman, who always brings a kind of a gravitas. A gravitas and like a kind of a dryly funny. And I think they get away with a little bit more of that voiceover than they otherwise would because he always has a little bit of that, like, arched eyebrow thing going on in everything that he does. So I think they definitely did do a really nice job of casting.

[Jord Searles]

Yeah. I think Flanagan has built this kind of band of actors that he can take along with him to different projects, like Raul Cooley, like Karen Gillian.

[Jourdain Searles]

Carl was also in the Fall of the House of Usher, which is like the most.

[Ba Parker]

Oh, Carl Laemmle.

[Jourdain Searles]

Yeah.

[Jord Searles]

Yeah. Even like him, like, paying homage, like respecting like the older horror actors and bringing them into the film.

[Ba Parker]

Heather Langenkamp, right?

[Jord Searles]

Yeah, Heather Langenkamp. Thank you. Haven't seen her in like a decade. Like, happy to see her. That's what I was most excited about in seeing the film.

[Ba Parker]

I definitely appreciated. You know, we talked a little bit about that. It is corny in a way, but I sort of believe all this stuff. Right. These are sentimental ideas in a way. But I. I believe that as you go through life, it is a series of smaller things that often stick out. You know, the dance sequence which kind of has gotten the most attention. There's a dance sequence when he's this middle aged, like, accountant. There's also a dance sequence that takes place at a school dance when he's a young person. Neither of these dance sequences are like, then they danced and all of a sudden he became a professional dancer. And he was the best dancer anyone had ever seen. It's not that. It's just like he had a really great time. And everybody really enjoyed watching these people, this drummer and these two folks dancing. It's just a really nice thing. And I kind of do believe that that is how meaning in life develops. A lot of the time is smaller things.

[Jord Searles]

You know, this has been my question, thinking about this film for the past week or so. If the structure was more straightforward, would it still work?

[Ba Parker]

I will say, when I read the novella, I assumed that in adapting it, they would simplify the structure of it, which is not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing. I just assumed that they would.

[Jord Searles]

They would. Hollywood. Fire it.

[Ba Parker]

Because Hollywood, to me, is reluctant to do this kind of tricky structural stuff. You know, both the going backward and also not really revealing that initial act and Chuck until a good ways into the movie.

[Jourdain Searles]

Yeah, I think it would feel different chronologically. Like, I don't know if I would say that it wouldn't work, but I think that I think it wants to end on this hopeful note. And I don't know how hopeful it would feel otherwise.

[Ba Parker]

Right. There's an element of mystery in it, particularly in the first part of it, where there is that mystery that comes up in a certain number of Stephen King stories about what's going on, what's wrong. He is kind of an apocalypse guy. And so there's a little bit of mystery in that first section of the film. Why is the world ending? And what does it have to do with all these billboards of Chuck? I'm curious if there's anything else that you guys want to talk about.

[Jourdain Searles]

How do we feel about. You contain multitudes.

[Jord Searles]

Again, this is too earnest for me.

[Ba Parker]

So there are a couple of different times in the movie where it comes up that Chuck is fond of this Walt Whitman poem and specifically this passage about I am large, I contain multitudes, and has a conversation with the teacher about what that means. Everything you see, everything you know, the world, Chuck. Planes in the sky, manhole cupboards in the street. Every year that you live that World inside your head will get bigger and.

[Linda Holmes]

Brighter and more detailed and complex.

[Jord Searles]

That's when it got too schmaltzy for me. It's. There's an earnestness to reaffirm the life affirmingness of the piece. It tries too hard to hit this nail on the head that makes me step back from it. People who need it love it for him.

[Ba Parker]

Yeah, I get that. I do like the idea that sometimes a kid fastens onto a phrase from a piece of poetry or writing. Cause I do think that sometimes happens. And listen, if the worst thing I can say about a movie is that it makes an over effortful attempt to wrap up the ideas of mortality and death and Walt Whitman, you're still in my area. You know what I mean?

[Jourdain Searles]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ba Parker]

Without sort of trying to like analyze what goes on in other people's heads. I always think part of that is that Hollywood has massively earned the skepticism that people have about overt sincerity and overt sentiment. There are many good reasons why, when people feel like the swelling music and the, you know, the dance sequence and stuff like that, why it creates in a lot of people that kind of like, ugh, that's because of a lot of bad movies that have been made and a lot of bad and manipulative storytelling that's been done that isn't ultimately very satisfying. So some people just don't like it because they don't like it. And other people, I think, have just seen too many things that are not thoughtful that are schmaltzy. And so if your thing is both thoughtful and schmaltzy, which is kind of where I would put this, that can be a hard case to make, I think.

[Jourdain Searles]

You know, in my most optimistic mind, I would hope that it would maybe fill someone's heart, make it a few more sizes larger. That's never a bad thing.

[Ba Parker]

Yeah, I mean, it's a very warm, fuzzy movie about the inevitability of death. I think it's definitely going to divide people. And what more can you ask from a movie about dancing? Tell us what you think about the life of Chuck. Find us on [e-mail] PCHH and on [e-mail] NPRpop Culture. Culture. We'll have a link in our episode description that brings us to the end of our show. B.A. parker, Jordane Searles, thank you so much for being here to talk all about the inevitability of death.

[Jord Searles]

Our pleasure.

[Jourdain Searles]

Yeah, thanks for having us.

[Ba Parker]

This episode is produced by Liz Metzger and Mike Katsiff. And edited by our showrunner, Jessica Reedy. Hello. Come in. Provides our theme music. Thanks for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from npr. I'm Linda Holmes and we'll see you all next time.

[Linda Holmes]

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