Chuck Palahniuk belongs to a class of writers raised on film. His novels read at the same cadence of an easily-consumed blockbuster, rife with cleverness and gross-out humor. The transition to the screen should be seamless.
And, much like his last adapted work, Fight Club, the film version of Choke seems like an equally effortless translation. Writer and first-time director Clark Gregg took the helm for Choke and stuck closely to the novel plot-wise.
Focusing on sex-addict Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell), the film screams of Palahniuk. Mancini is a historical interpreter at colonial Williamsburg where he and best friend Denny (Brad William Henke) anger the more dedicated workers with their irreverence and sexual deviance. On the side, Victor runs a scam pretending to choke on food at restaurants to get money to pay his mother Ida's (Angelica Huston) nursing home bills.
Though Choke demonstrates Palahniuk's usual nihilistic and vulgar humor, the film is a strange brand of romantic comedy. Denny, a chronic masturbator, falls in love with a stripper named Cherry Daiquiri, and Victor struggles to have a relationship with his mother's doctor. All the while, Victor copes with his mother's dementia, which provides the film some of its best scenes and acting between Rockwell and Huston who mix the profane and the touching with ease.
With multiple distinct tones emerging, Gregg tries to keep Choke streamlined, making it seem like the film is leading somewhere. But the vulgar nihilism and romance never amount to anything.
Choke, the film, is much like the book-clever and entertaining in a uniquely Palahniuk way, but ultimately unsatisfying.
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