Parents' Guide to

Choke

By James Rocchi, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Adults-only sex comedy is shocking but shallow.

Movie R 2008 98 minutes
Choke Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 17+

Based on 1 parent review

lindsey678
lindsey678 Parent of baby, 2, 4, 7 and 11-year-old
February 20, 2011
age 17+

BAD PARENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IF YOU LET A KID 14 AND UNDER WATCH THIS MOVIE THAN YOU ARE A BAD PARENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

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.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (3 ):

The directorial debut of actor Clark Gregg (State and Main, The New Adventures of Old Christine), Choke is a scattershot satire that doesn't quite succeed. It covers 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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the nature of extreme satirical comedy. Is this movie intended to be over the top? How can you tell? What messages is it sending about sex and relationships? This movie was adapted from a novel by the author of Fight Club; what do this movie and Fight Club have in common? Families can also discuss the challenges of caring for an aging parent, as well as why people engage in compulsive behaviors.

Movie Details

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