Without a doubt our culture is fascinated by addictions. Choke focuses on a few unpleasant addictions but connects the viewer to the movie in an addictive way. The film illustrates that everyone has at least one habitual flaw.
It has been adapted from Chuck Palahniuk’s, (“Fight Club”) book of the same name and remains surprisingly by-the-book the whole way through.
Sam Rockwell (“Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”) plays the protagonist, Victor, an eighteenth century colonial tour guide by day and gruesome jumble of troubles by night. Compulsive liar, sex addict and varied scam artist may make him a bad person but Rockwell plays him with a boyish charm so that no one can cast him off for these faults permanently.
It’s a delight to see Rockwell go to his Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings just to have casual sex, or to see him artfully choke on pieces of food to collect money or evoke sympathy from strangers. Even his constant lying is so ridiculously funny the audience must love the villain.
All of his issues draw back to his mother, cinema great Angelica Houston, and her less-than-stellar-parenting. We see this through a series of flashbacks where she teaches Victor the art of scamming, while she lies in a mental hospital. Houston’s dementia leaves her unable to recognize her son, heartbreaking to both Victor and the viewer.
Victor’s best friend and fellow sexual deviant, Denny, is played by Brad William Henke. We see his transformation from pervert into a “normal” member of society after he completes Sex Addicts Anonymous therapy and, naturally, falls in love with a stripper named Cherry Daiquiri.
Kelly MacDonald (No Country for Old Men) plays a doctor who takes care of Victor’s incompetent mother. Obviously Victor peruses her to the point that a restraining order may have to be involved.
It is without a doubt that Choke is a guilty pleasure; it’s a clever, quirky and twisted satirical dark comedy. It is meant to shock, and you will delight in the humor. Especially if you enjoyed Fight Club, Choke will fit in with your taste.