Choke (D+ or 1.5/4 stars)
I'd rather choke than watch 'Choke' (directed by Clark Gregg) ever again. Sex addict & theme park worker, Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell), has devised a scam to pay for his mother's hospital bills while she suffers from Alzheimer's; the disease that's hiding the truth about his childhood. The scam? Choking on restaurant food. Then, the person who 'saves' him will feel responsible for Victor's well-being for the rest of their lives. Yes, you read that correctly. Aside from some clutch acting from Rockwell, Anjelica Huston & Kelly Macdonald, this is a dirty, dingy, gross, revolting, annoying, weird & incredibly listless movie.
Victor makes his living (barely) as a colonial re-enactor at a historical theme park but, as a sex addict, he's always finding a time & place to have a quickie (this includes elderly ladies .... ew). When he's not having sex, he's intentionally choking at restaurants so that the eventual onlooker will step forward, give him the Heimlich, & attach themselves to him for life (monetarily). With the $$, he can keep his ailing mom, Ida (Huston), in her expensive private hospital. One day while visiting her, Victor encounters a new doctor at the hospital, Paige Marshall; (Macdonald), whose beauty, intelligence, & overall presence forces him to re-evaluate his addiction, his mother's situation, & the mystery surrounding his childhood.
This movie is nothing but a series of odd scenes strung together to make an 88 minute motion picture. At the center of this film is an unlikeable, sleazy, saracastic protagonist in Victor, his disgusting friend (Brad William Henke), his lying mother, his blasphemous girlfriend & the myriad of other sex addicts he enjoys (one girl WANTS to be raped with a knife). I could barely take it anymore. The 1st hour is so excruciatingly bad, that I was surprised to get 'something' out of the last 20 min. or so, at all (and it's a big reason why this film gets at least 1 star). But even with the stellar last 20 min., 2 big revelations occur in the script, and because we barely know or care about these characters, the 'reveals' don't really work. The emotional impact is nil.
Based on a popular book, perhaps the page-to-screen adaptation is poor; it's tough to digest. Maybe the movie just wasn't my taste. Whatever the reason, I know that it is NOT good movie. There's nothing memorable about it. And its tone is uneven (vulgar, comedy, serious, comedy, tragedy, etc.). As mentioned, Rockwell is stellar, particularly near the end. But the direction of his character (by Clark Gregg) & every other character is abominable. And I don't know what Anjelica Huston was thinking signing up for this film. I'm just severely disappointed because I was looking forward to 'Choke'. When all is said & done, it's nothing but a grim, joyless affair. A tedious turn-off.
Victor makes his living (barely) as a colonial re-enactor at a historical theme park but, as a sex addict, he's always finding a time & place to have a quickie (this includes elderly ladies .... ew). When he's not having sex, he's intentionally choking at restaurants so that the eventual onlooker will step forward, give him the Heimlich, & attach themselves to him for life (monetarily). With the $$, he can keep his ailing mom, Ida (Huston), in her expensive private hospital. One day while visiting her, Victor encounters a new doctor at the hospital, Paige Marshall; (Macdonald), whose beauty, intelligence, & overall presence forces him to re-evaluate his addiction, his mother's situation, & the mystery surrounding his childhood.
This movie is nothing but a series of odd scenes strung together to make an 88 minute motion picture. At the center of this film is an unlikeable, sleazy, saracastic protagonist in Victor, his disgusting friend (Brad William Henke), his lying mother, his blasphemous girlfriend & the myriad of other sex addicts he enjoys (one girl WANTS to be raped with a knife). I could barely take it anymore. The 1st hour is so excruciatingly bad, that I was surprised to get 'something' out of the last 20 min. or so, at all (and it's a big reason why this film gets at least 1 star). But even with the stellar last 20 min., 2 big revelations occur in the script, and because we barely know or care about these characters, the 'reveals' don't really work. The emotional impact is nil.
Based on a popular book, perhaps the page-to-screen adaptation is poor; it's tough to digest. Maybe the movie just wasn't my taste. Whatever the reason, I know that it is NOT good movie. There's nothing memorable about it. And its tone is uneven (vulgar, comedy, serious, comedy, tragedy, etc.). As mentioned, Rockwell is stellar, particularly near the end. But the direction of his character (by Clark Gregg) & every other character is abominable. And I don't know what Anjelica Huston was thinking signing up for this film. I'm just severely disappointed because I was looking forward to 'Choke'. When all is said & done, it's nothing but a grim, joyless affair. A tedious turn-off.