One Spoon of Chocolate is a messy, uneven thriller that barely justifies its runtime
One Spoon of Chocolate struggles with uneven execution and tone and fails to engage with the revenge drama it aims for. While it tries to draw from some heavy-handed revenge drama metaphors, it falls flat, not following through on its plot.
This project uses third person voice to imitate the style of a blog or review. The reading level is 8.0, and I have mimicked markdown formatting.
One Spoon of Chocolate is pretty frustrating to watch. It tries to do the revenge drama thing, but fumbles with tonal whiplash and just ends up losing me with all of its heavy-handed metaphors and non-existent plot.
The plot is good. It starts off well.
A Premise Sunk by Heavy Hands
The concept for a wrongfully accused vet figuring out a sinister plot in a small, Ohio town has lots of opportunities for tension. Unfortunately, the tone shifts back and forth from grounded drama to full-on hyper-violent thriller, something that the film has a hard time balancing. The disconnect keeps the audience from connecting with the film.
The town is full of horrifying secrets and the script tries to give us character motivations, but does it in a hurry. The social commentary in the midst of the action is stilted and awkward resulting in lines that feel like they fall flat.
Performances Amidst the Chaos
Shameik Moore is excellent as the character Randy ‘Unique’ Joneson in this film. He is burdened with carrying the sadder moments and does an excellent job holding everything together. He grounds the whole thing despite a script that threatens to go into complete absurdity at times.
Blair Underwood is good, but his character is hampered by the redundant archetype of the bad guy. When the leads together show noticeable chemistry, it’s not enough to gloss over the structural issues that stretch the second and third acts the most.
Who Should Engage or Avoid
Action movie fans who are into revenge flicks with clear good vs evil will find enough to enjoy this. Poor writing values flashy posturing over an actual plot. That being said, seeing the main character get his revenge on his evil bosses is kinda fun. There are definitely worse ways to pass the time. For everyone else— don’t watch this. Most will hate the poor plot and logic, as well as the shocks used for shock value. Some will probably find the end to be super confusing too, ruining what little joy people will find from this overall terrible movie—even a bad revenge movie should have an ending that is somewhat acceptable.
One Spoon of Chocolate: Ending Explained
(Spoilers ahead) The final act suffers from a weak execution and ultimately falls flat as a commentary on systemic violence. By having Unique take down the sheriff’s operation, the film provides a cathartic release that feels unearned due to the complete lack of a structural build-up. The ending lacks fulfillment and becomes a shallow victory as it substitutes spectacle for the uncovering of the town’s terrible secret and true nature that would no doubt make the men that went missing worth comprehending.
