The Chocolate War

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The Chocolate War

R,

1988,

1h 40m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

77%

13 Reviews

Tomatometer

67%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

77%

Tomatometer

13 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Jerry (Ilan Mitchell-Smith), a new student at an elite Roman Catholic prep school, must face the freshman hazing practices handed down by the Vigils, a group of powerful students. When teacher Brother Leon (John Glover) pushes the students to sell chocolates for a fundraiser, the head of the Vigils, Archie (Wally Ward), gets Jerry to reject selling for 10 days. However, Jerry decides to keep up the refusal past the original time frame, which pits him against the Vigils and the school staff.

Joel Siegel

Chicago Reader

May 11, 2022

3/4

The film is especially insightful about the way power structures–social, religious, political–reinforce one another, despite conflicting values and goals, to squelch individualism.

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Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Dec 28, 2010

4/5

Fans of the book may enjoy this dark story.

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Jeremiah Kipp

Slant Magazine

Apr 15, 2007

3/4

The Chocolate War is reminiscent of another kind of movie that one wishes could be jump-started again: Angry Young Man films.

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Richard Freedman

Newark Star-Ledger

Jan 6, 2026

1/4

"The Chocolate War" is lethargically directed by Keith Gordon.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Oct 1, 2022

3/4

Keith Gordon's direction is unhurried and understated, and the film is all the stronger because of it.

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Apr 21, 2007

A-

The story is a classic about grace under pressure and resisting conformity, and it's a noble first effort from a director who has never sold out.

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Rey S

Jul 11, 2018

Had a lot of potential to be good. I think Robert Cormier sucks. The only good parts are with the Vigils and Brother Leon. Nobody really cares about Renault.

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Finn S

May 14, 2018

The story is a classic about grace under pressure and resisting conformity, and it's a noble first effort from a director who has never sold out.

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Keith Gordon

Director

John Glover

Brother Leon

Ilan Mitchell-Smith

Jerry Renault

Wallace Langham

Archie

Doug Hutchinson

Obie

Corey Gunnestad

Goober

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Synopsis

Jerry (Ilan Mitchell-Smith), a new student at an elite Roman Catholic prep school, must face the freshman hazing practices handed down by the Vigils, a group of powerful students. When teacher Brother Leon (John Glover) pushes the students to sell chocolates for a fundraiser, the head of the Vigils, Archie (Wally Ward), gets Jerry to reject selling for 10 days. However, Jerry decides to keep up the refusal past the original time frame, which pits him against the Vigils and the school staff.

Director: Keith Gordon
Producer: Jonathan D. Krane
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Production Co: Management Company Entertainment Group
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 18, 1988, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 30, 2018
Runtime: 1h 40m

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