I’m not a huge Chuck Palahniuk fan. I’ve only ever read Fight Club though some of his other novels are on my to-read list. After viewing the film adaptation of Choke, I can safely guess that the age-old adage, ‘the book was better’ still holds true. Actor/Writer/Director Clark Gregg (who appeared as SHIELD Agent Coulson in Iron Man) spent years developing the script and streamlined the novel into a less than 90 minute runtime. Something was certainly lost in translation.
Choke feels like five different films semi-coherently edited into one movie. Sam Rockwell plays a sex addict who works as a colonial re-enactor, is best friends with a chronic masturbator dating a stripper, visits his sick mother in a mental hospital (where old ladies believe he’s the messiah) while falling for her doctor. He also chokes in restaurants on purpose to scam money from his rescuers. Someone should have told Gregg he needed more than 89 minutes. Flashbacks involving the protagonist’s childhood are awkwardly shoehorned in.
Rockwell has perfected these kinds of sleazy, damaged roles, but he’ll be remembered this year for his performance in Snow Angels rather than this forgettable stab at dark comedy. The always adorable Kelly McDonald brings a small ray of sunshine to an otherwise flat and dreary production.
Rating: **
