Choke (2008)
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Reviews Counted: 138
Fresh: 74 | Rotten: 64
While bolstered by strong performances from Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston, Choke struggles to capture the tone of Chuck Palahniuk's novel.
Average Rating: 4.9/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 22
While bolstered by strong performances from Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston, Choke struggles to capture the tone of Chuck Palahniuk's novel.
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Average Rating: 3.2/5
User Ratings: 34,402
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Movie Info
Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) has got some problems -- when he's not at Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings hunting for women to bed, he masquerades as a choking victim in restaurants as a scheme to gather money from unsuspecting strangers, which he uses to keep his ailing mother (Anjelica Huston) in a high-end extended-care facility for her extreme dementia. But what happens when this messed up Colonial-era theme-park employee finds Mrs. Right in the guise of his mother's doctor -- and how can he
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Cast
-
Sam Rockwell
Victor Mancini -
Anjelica Huston
Ida Mancini -
Kelly Macdonald
Paige Marshall -
Brad William Henke
Denny -
Clark Gregg
Lord High Charlie -
Bijou Phillips
Ursula -
Gillian Jacobs
Beth -
Jonah Bobo
Young Victor -
Paz de la Huerta
Nico -
Viola Harris
Eva Muller -
Joel Grey
Phil -
Isiah Whitlock Jr.
Detective Palmer -
Heather Burns
Gwen -
Matt Malloy
Detective Foushee -
Kathryn Alexander
Agnes
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Choke Trailer & Photos
All Critics (143) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (75) | Rotten (65) | DVD (7)
'Choke' never manages to be as edgy, amusing, insightful or plain messy as you'd hope it would be, especially considering its 'naughty' promotional poster and the distribution of anal beads as a marketing device.
Top CriticI found it choppy, I found it dull, I found it disinteresting.
This movie is only marginally enjoyable.
Choke tries to be dirty but manages merely to be dingy.
Rockwell has an off-center charm and, as his gorgon mother, Anjelica Huston is more imposing than this movie deserves.
Choke is disappointing not for what it is but what it could have been.
We'll allow this sad little premature ejaculation of a movie to choke on its own insufficiencies.
Choke is an admirably fearless no-net movie, but rather than wowing the crowd below, it lands in the center of the big top with a resounding thud.
Squandered dime-store philosophy.
Talky odyssey about a lewd leading man and glum sex addict in sexaholic rehab when not, well, having sex. Possibly the first on screen designated dirty young man ever. I See Nude People.
Despite the busy plotwork, surprisingly little actually happens.
an erotic gospel for the secular age
Uneven and oddly compromised in tone, Choke is a competent enough black comedy, but in the shadow of that other film, it never shines.
Choke is a confused sex comedy by Clark Gregg that blunders around for 90-odd minutes trying to look butch and sensitive.
For all its flaws and fumbles there is a certain guilty pleasure in Choke.
This adaptation of a novel by American provocateur Chuck Palahniuk is profane, offensive and obscene, and packed with balefully weak jokes.
Choke was never going to win any prizes for subtlety, but by toning down Palahniuk's nastier absurdities in favour of obvious laughs, Gregg's adaptation is no more provocative than the average Carry On film.
But his sterility and romantically curved plot, twisted as it might be, feel respectively reductive and pat next to Palahniuk's fast, filthy and scabrous satirical stabs.
It's hard to know what aspect is the most offensive: the glib, cynical approach to mental illness; the sleazy sexism; the infantile attempts at blasphemy; or Rockwell's smug, boorish performance.
Audience Reviews for Choke
Great performances from the cast with Anjelica Huston (who I love) really shining.
Super Reviewer
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Latest News on Choke
September 22, 2008:
Five Favorite Films with Chuck PalahniukIn honor of his latest novel-cum-film, Choke, opening this week nationwide, bestselling author Chuck...
January 28, 2008:
Frozen River, The Wackness Lead 2008 Sundance WinnersThe dust has settled in Park City, and now that the votes have been counted and the hardware's been...
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The best thing for me was Kelly McDonald. I seem to have caught a few of her movies lately and I've been quite impressed with her. The flashbacks to his childhood with his mum, played by Angelica Huston, were also fun to watch.