Seen on: September 15, 2008

The players: Director: Clark Gregg, Writer: Clark Gregg, Cast: Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald, Brad Henke, Joel Grey

Facts of interest: "Choke" is based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, author of "Fight Club."

The plot: It's the story of a man who pays for his mom’s hospital bills by pretending to choke on food in top-notch restaurants.

Our thoughts: I wonder if Sam Rockwell has a clause in his contract that stipulates that he will only work if he is typecast as a neurotic bungler... let's just say that this may have been the first time Rockwell played a character who walks around for 30 minutes with a derelict anal bead in his rectum, but it doesn't feel like the first time I've seen him do that.

This time around Rockwell is a cynical sex addict who functions as the 'backbone of colonial America' at an Eastern colonial theme park and, for kicks and cash, fakes choking to death in restaurants in the hopes that his rescuers' pity will take on fiduciary proportions.  

His best friend is a compulsive masturbator, his mother (Huston) is a withering former vigilante, slowly skipping from sanity in a mental hospital, and his one true love interest is a smartly perky nurse (MacDonald) who always leaves the viewer with a curious "...?" hanging over his head. Between lurid, comedic sexual fantasies and wince-inducing childhood flashbacks we watch Rockwell attempt to balance out his own personal sicknesses with his often grotesquely absurd reality.

 

“Choke” was adapted by actor-writer Clark Gregg from Chuck Palahniuk's bestselling novel, yet another tainted tableau of a world whose denizens are barely more than slaves to their compulsions. Palahniuk's works are even more adaptable than Stephen King's; his novels practically function as films from their publication.  

And “Choke,” no doubt, is perfect movie material, but doggonit, it's so rare that any director's first effort ever succeeds its ambitious intentions. I like Gregg. He's intelligent and he has a sense of humor. And “Choke” is an admirable effort! But I can safely say that, seriously, nobody will see the film and be completely satisfied.

Palahniuk's jet black cynicism reminds one of having a cigarette snuffed out on his hand, but “Choke” is just too darn light: it's plucky string soundtrack should've been replaced with screeching electric guitars, its bland, beige, would-be verite cinematography should've consisted of sharp, blatantly contrived shots with distinct color schemes (ironically, not unlike the film's poster), and its strolling-down-the-street glib one-liners should've been oral ice picks that pierced our ears.

No performance really stands out in memory, though each one is passable. MacDonald, as much as I like her and as well as she did, was simply miscast. This movie is, perhaps, 3/5 of the way there. Immediately we are thrust into the narrative with no mincing about and the momentum never really dies - points for Gregg.

Narratively, the film borders on slipshod, any number of scenes and subplots coming and going without fanfare or memory (a rather dull 'rock' sidequest, that was quite relevant in the book, appears here as nothing more than a forced gag). Clearly “Fight Club” raised the bar quite high for Palahniuk adaptations, and now “Choke” will serve as the 'what not to do' of that ilk.

Freaky quote: “I am the backbone of colonial America" – Sam Rockwell

The final word: Future directors, take note: if you're going to dive into the plasma pool, make it a deep, penetrating dive, and save the toe-dipping for the quakers.

Article by David Ashley.