Movie Review: Choke

 

 

A feel-good sex addict movie.

 

Starring Sam Rockwell, Brad William Henke, Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald, and Clark Gregg. Written for the screen and directed by Clark Gregg. Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk.

 

Funny. Sad. Poignant. It wins!

 

Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk (esteemed author of “Fight Club”), Sam Rockwell plays sex addict and “historical interpreter” Victor Mancini. Victor has a fellow sex addict and historical interpreter roommate Denny (Henke), a big guy who’s into masturbation and finds a girlfriend; stripper Cherry Daiquiri (Gillian Jacobs). His mother Ida (Huston) is at a nursing home and whenever Victor arrives, she believes that he’s one of her many lawyers. To pay for her stay, Victor goes to restaurants and chokes on food, thus eliciting sympathy and monetary compensation. Life is sad and lonely for Victor.

 

It all changes when he meets his mother’s new doctor, Paige Marshall (MacDonald). She tells him there’s an experimental way to save his mother from dementia, and to do it they must do it. This causes problems with Victor because he’s about sex, not relationships. Speaking of relationships, Victor is trying to find out from his mom who his father really is and the secrets are in a diary she wrote in Italian. With Denny moving out, falling in love with Paige, and the possibility that he may be a direct descendant of Christ, it all becomes too much.

 

For those wanting to compare this with, “Fight Club,” the only traits this movie shares with it is that the character is sad, depressed, lonely, and basically living on the bottom rung. And this person also has relationship issues. That’s about it. Dotted through this film are pieces to explain to us how Victor came to be. His mother went from place-to-place, Victor was often put in foster care, and there is a more than a hint that Victor was taken by Ida from another couple.

 

This is one of the most honest movies in regards to portraying relationships and sexuality. As I’ve stated earlier: funny, brutal, messed-up, but honest.

 

Kudos to Clark Gregg who not only wrote and directed this (based on the novel), but had a part as Lord High Charlie. Funny.

 

My grade: B

September Movie Releases

 

 

“Bangkok Dangerous” – One night in Bangkok and the world is Nicolas Cage’s oyster. Or maybe not. The Pang brothers remake their film about a hitman who falls for a local woman and has camaraderie with his errands boy. USA title: “Time to Kill.” Opens September 5, 2008

 

“Burn After Reading” – Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand work in a fitness club and stumble upon the memoirs of a CIA agent (John Malkovich). When they try to blackmail him, things get crazy. Opens September 12, 2008

 

“Phoebe in Wonderland” – Elle Fanning plays the titular character, a little girl who doesn’t want to deal with the rules of the grown-up world. Also stars Felicity Huffman and Bill Pullman. Opens September 12, 2008

 

“Righteous Kill” – Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino are two cops on the trail of a serial killer. Will there be one-liners involved? Opening September 12, 2008

 

“Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys” – Love, career, wealth, relationships, affairs… all between two families struggling to work together. Stars Jennifer Hudson, Kathy Bates, Cole Houser, Robin Givens, and Tyler Perry. Opens September 12, 2008.

 

“The Women” – Let me run down the cast list for ya: Meg Ryan, Annette Benning, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, Candice Bergen, Bette Midler, Cloris Leachman, Carrie Fisher… it’s endless. Opens September 12, 2008

 

“Battle in Seattle” – The 5 days in 1999 when demonstrators protested against the World Trade Organization. Stars Michelle Rodriguez, Charlize Theron, and Woody Harrelson. Opens September 19, 2008

 

“The Duchess” – Keira Knightley plays 18th aristocrat Georgiana Devonshire. Opens September 19, 2008

 

“Ghost Town” – “Office” and “Extras” creator Ricky Gervais is a jerk dentist who, after being dead for 7 minutes, is able to see ghosts. He’s imposed upon by Greg Kinnear to stop his former wife (Tea Leoni) from getting married to the wrong guy. Opens September 19, 2008

 

“Igor” – CG film with John Cusack voicing the main character; a lab assistant who dreams for more. Also features the voices of John Cleese, Eddie Izzard, and Jay Leno. Opens September 19, 2008

 

“Lakeview Terrace” – Samuel L. Jackson is an LAPD officer with a problem: his next-door neighbors are an interracial couple. Solution: force them out. Opens September 19, 2008

 

“My Best Friend’s Girl” – Dane Cook is hired by his best friend (Jason Biggs) to take an ex-girlfriend (Kate Hudson) out on a date in order to win her back. What?!?! Opens September 19, 2008

 

“Blindness” – A plague hits the Earth, causing everyone to go blind. Stars Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore, Danny Glover, and Sandra Oh. Opens September 26, 2008

 

“Choke” – Sam Rockwell is a re-enactor who sleeps with every woman that he can and elicits money from sympathetic people when he chokes on food in restaurants. Based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk (“Fight Club”). Opens September 26, 2008

 

“Eagle Eye” – Shia LeBeouf is a slacker who is being hunted down by a government agency who must team up with Michelle Monaghan to get some answers. Also stars Rosario Dawson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Michael Chiklis. Opens September 26, 2008

 

“The Lucky Ones” – Tim Robbins, Rachel McAdams, and Micael Pena are all U.S. soldiers who return from Iraq to find life has gone on without them. Opens September 26, 2008

 

“Miracle at St. Anna” – Spike Lee movie about 4 black American soldiers in Word War II who are trapped in a Tuscan village. Opens September 26, 2008

 

“Nights in Rodanthe” – Richard Gere is a work-obsessed doctor whose wife left him. Diane Lane is a mother whose husband cheated on her with her hest friend and now he wants to come back. James Franco is Gere’s estranged son. Opens September 26, 2008

Movie News and Views June 20, 2008 Trailer Edition

 

 

 

“Diminished Capacity” – Matthew Broderick takes a vacation to see his uncle (Alan Alda) has the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s but most importantly, a genuine mint baseball card. Along with Virginia Madsen they go up to Chicago to try and sell it. Opens July 4, 2008 View the trailer at:

http://www.worstpreviews.com/trailer.php?id=1224&item=0

 

“The Stone Angel” – Ellen Burstyn, Ellen Page, and Christine Horne in a movie based on a book by Margaret Laurence. Romantic stuff. Opens July 7, 2008 View the trailer at:

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-stone-angel/27423/trailer?trailerId=2146633

 

“The X-Files: I Want to Believe: – It’s been a few years, but Mulder is called back on a case and enlists the help of Scully. Also stars Xzibit, Amanda Peet, and Billy Connelly. The Truth Is Out There… Opens July 25, 2008 View the trailer at:

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/x-files-i-want-to-believe/31906/trailer?trailerId=2147524

 

“Vicky Christina Barcelona” – Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Christina (Scarlett Johansson) are sisters who go to Barcelona, where they meet an artist (Javier Bardem). Bardem seduces them and when his ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) shows up, things really get out-of-hand. Opens August 15, 2008 View the trailer at:

http://www.worstpreviews.com/trailer.php?id=1147&item=1

 

“Death Race” – Briton action star Jason Statham is a NASCAR driver who is framed for the death of his wife. Punishment: he’s sent to a prison where the female warden cuts him a deal. If he can survive a no-holds-barred souped-up muscle car race, then he’s free to go. But will the warden let him survive? Also stars Ian McShane. Opens August 22, 2008 View the trailer at:

http://www.worstpreviews.com/review.php?id=931

 

“Burn After Reading” – Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand work in a fitness club and stumble upon the memoirs of a CIA agent (John Malkovich). When they try to blackmail him, things get crazy. Opens September 12, 2008 View the trailer at:

http://www.worstpreviews.com/trailer.php?id=1046&item=1

 

“The Women” – Let me run down the cast list for ya: Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing, Candice Bergen, Bette Midler, Cloris Leachman, Carrie Fisher… it’s endless. Opens September 12, 2008 View the trailer at:

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-women/30317/trailer?trailerId=2138376

 

“Choke” – Sam Rockwell is a re-enactor who sleeps with every woman that he can and elicits money from sympathetic people when he chokes on food in restaurants. Based on the book by Chuck Palahniuk (“Fight Club”). Opens September 26, 2008 View the trailer at:

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/choke/12950/trailer?trailerId=2144430

 

“Eagle Eye” – Shia LeBeouf is a slacker who is being hunted down by a government agency who must team up with Michelle Monaghan to get some answers. Also stars Rosario Dawson, Billy Bob Thornton, and Michael Chiklis. Opens September 26, 2008 View the trailer at:

http://www.moviefone.com/movie-trailer-hub?movieId=30536&movieTitle=eagle-eye

 

“Punisher: War Zone” – Ray Stevenson plays the Marvel character who, this time, is taking on a New York underworld boss it wants to control it all. Opens December 5, 2008 View the trailer at:

http://www.worstpreviews.com/trailer.php?id=322&item=0

 

“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – Brad Pitt is the title character: a man who was born looking ancient and regresses in outward age as he progresses with his inward age. Complications arise when he falls in love with Cate Blanchett. Opens December 19, 2008 View the trailer at:

http://www.worstpreviews.com/trailer.php?id=168&item=0