Choke (R, 2008)

Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, CHOKE tells the story of Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell), a schemer and scammer driven to extraordinary lengths by his sex addiction and the challenge of caring for his increasingly senile mother Ida (Anjelica Huston). He supports her by relying on a network of benefactors who send him money; all are strangers he met by pretending to choke in restaurants and then imposing on their good will and kindness after they "saved" him. When Ida's condition worsens, Victor strikes a bargain with a female doctor at the rest home: Dr. Marshall (Kelly Macdonald) will try to get Ida additional care if Victor impregnates her. Victor observes that "I have sex with strangers because I'm incapable of doing it with someone I like"; ultimately, his relationship with Dr. Marshall, his mother, and his own needs all need to be reconciled with his desire to live a better life.

The directorial debut of actor Clark Gregg (State and Main, The New Adventures of Old Christine), Choke is a scattershot satire, covering everything from pop culture (Victor works as a "historical re-enactor" at a local park recreating colonial America) and sex (Victor's a sex addict whose 12-step meetings simply offer him the chance to have more sex) to the bond between parents and children (Victor's mother is a unreliable con artist, but, in her way, she loved him) and religion (as word spreads of Victor's possible origins as a half-clone of Jesus, various residents of his mother's rest home look to him for guidance and comfort).

But Choke is a little too sprawling, a little too unfocused. Rockwell is an appealing rogue, but the film's jumps between past and present, plot and subplot, make it feel disjointed; the story feels, if anything, too full of ideas. Most problematically, Choke is so close to Fight Club -- also focused on an unreliable narrator facing problems who's redeemed by the love of a woman with issues of her own -- that it simply feels redundant.

Studio: Fox Searchlight
Director: Clark Gregg
Cast: Anjelica Huston, Joel Grey, Kathryn Alexander
Genre: Comedy
Run time: 98 minutes
Theatrical release: September 24, 2008
DVD release: February 17, 2009
MPAA Rating: R
MPAA explanation: strong sexual content, nudity and language