Movie Review: Choke

Starring Sam Rockwell, Brad William Henke, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald, and Clark Gregg. Written for the screen and directed by Clark Gregg. Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk.

Funny. Sad. Poignant. It wins!

Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk (esteemed author of "Fight Club"), Sam Rockwell plays sex addict and "historical interpreter" Victor Mancini. Victor has a fellow sex addict and historical interpreter roommate Denny (Henke), a big guy who's into masturbation and finds a girlfriend; stripper Cherry Daiquiri (Gillian Jacobs). His mother Ida (Huston) is at a nursing home and whenever Victor arrives, she believes that he's one of her many lawyers. To pay for her stay, Victor goes to restaurants and chokes on food, thus eliciting sympathy and monetary compensation. Life is sad and lonely for Victor.

It all changes when he meets his mother's new doctor, Paige Marshall (MacDonald). She tells him there's an experimental way to save his mother from dementia, and to do it they must do it. This causes problems with Victor because he's about sex, not relationships. Speaking of relationships, Victor is trying to find out from his mom who his father really is and the secrets are in a diary she wrote in Italian. With Denny moving out, falling in love with Paige, and the possibility that he may be a direct descendant of Christ, it all becomes too much.

For those wanting to compare this with, "Fight Club," the only traits this movie shares with it is that the character is sad, depressed, lonely, and basically living on the bottom rung. And this person also has relationship issues. That's about it. Dotted through this film are pieces to explain to us how Victor came to be. His mother went from place-to-place, Victor was often put in foster care, and there is a more than a hint that Victor was taken by Ida from another couple.

This is one of the most honest movies in regards to portraying relationships and sexuality. As I've stated earlier: funny, brutal, messed-up, but honest.

Kudos to Clark Gregg who not only wrote and directed this (based on the novel), but had a part as Lord High Charlie. Funny.

My grade: B