Choke (2008)

Director:

Clark Gregg

Writers (WGA):

Clark Gregg (screenplay)
Chuck Palahniuk (novel)

Release Date:

30 October 2008 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

From the author of Fight Club

Plot:

A sex-addicted con-man pays for his mother's hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death.

Plot Keywords:

Restaurant | Theme Park | Scam | Choking | Choke

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Kathryn Alexander	...	Mousy Girl / Agnes
Teodorina Bello	...	Jamaican Lady
Kate Blumberg	...	Edwin's Wife
Jonah Bobo	...	Young Victor
Willi Burke	...	Deranged Socialite (as Wilma 'Willi' Burke)
Heather Burns	...	Internet Date / Gwen
David Wolos-Fonteno	...	Edwin (as David Fonteno)
Matt Gerald	...	Detective Ryan
Clark Gregg	...	Lord High Charlie
Joel Grey	...	Phil
Viola Harris	...	Eva Muller
Brad William Henke	...	Denny
Paz de la Huerta	...	Nico (as Paz De La Huerta)
Michelle Hurst	...	Shapely Nurse
Anjelica Huston	...	Ida J. Mancini

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, nudity and language.

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (DeLuxe)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #44083) | UK:18 | Ireland:16 | New Zealand:R18 | Singapore:R21 | Canada:18A (British Columbia) (Canadian Home Video rating) | Brazil:18 | Australia:R | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:18 | South Korea:18 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | France:U (with warning) | Australia:MA (Cable TV rating)

Filming Locations:

Essex County Hospital Center - 204 Grove Avenue, Cedar Grove, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Fox Searchlight Pictures

Trivia:

The movie was finished 3 days before its screening at Sundance.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Victor is attempting to feed his mother cannelloni in their first meeting scene, the camera changes angle and she is not wearing the napkins he previously placed under her chin. When the camera moves back to another angle the napkins have miraculously returned.

Quotes:

Victor Mancini: I still wonder about Paige.Another beautiful psycho like my Mother... Or a twisted soulmate sent to bring me back to life. Only one way to find out.

Movie Connections:

References Groundhog Day (1993)

Soundtrack:

There's Been An Accident

Raunchly Amusing Dark Comedy

The trailer for this movie looked promising, even though the reviews were mixed. I liked Sam Rockwell in 'Matchstick Men' and 'Confessions of a Dangerous Mind', so I thought I'd take a chance & check this out.

The plot of the movie is Vic (Sam Rockwell) is a sexually obsessed colonial era theme park employee and part-time con man, who is supporting his invalid mother (Anjelica Houston), who resides in a nursing home, which costs $3000 per month.

The film is a series of vignettes, with the central themes being Vic's childhood, his mentally ill mom, his descent into sexual addiction, his relationship with his best friend Denny (excellently portrayed by Brad Henke) and his group therapy sessions with other sex addicts.

Vic re-counts his upbringing with his mom, which was chaotic, because his mom was basically nuts. Vince never knew his father, & much of the movie (when we aren't subjected to Vince's actual and imagined sexual encounters), is in trying to figure out who his father was. At one point, Vic was lead to believe his mom had been artificially inseminated with semen derived from the DNA of Jesus Christ. Needless to say, this generated a lot of funny bits.

At the nursing home where his mother lives, Vince befriends Dr. Paige Marshall (Kelly Macdonald), who also happens to be very close to Vince's mom. This is a key relationship in the film, & figures prominently in the film's conclusion. I won't spoil the ending further, but it was a good one.

This was a very good film, well written & acted.