| | | From the Author of Fight Club.
Features: DVD, Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 1.85:1, English, Spanish, Subtitled
Based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club), Choke is a dark and wickedly funny joyride from the depths of sexual compulsion to the heights of the Second Coming! Beside working at a colonial reenactment theme park and trying to hook up with everything on two legs, sex addict Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) courts the love and money of complete strangers via a demented con that might just kill him. But first, Victor must save his dying, delusional mother (Angelica Houston) by seducing and impregnating her comely physician, a task easier said than done, in this gleefully twisted tale of dysfunction, salvation, love, and libido.
"A fantastical sex farce, and a highly amusing one at that..." Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
"...romantics will find Choke easy to swallow." Jenni Miller, Premiere
"An outrageous and delightfully dirty movie." Joshua Rothkopf, Penthouse
"A dirty-minded satirical-psychotic comedy." Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"A strangely warm, affectionate look at bad behavior amid emotional damage and a stranglehold of identity issues." Sean Axmaker, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Editor's Note
CHOKE's protagonist, Victor Mancini, shouldn't be a likable character. He's an unrepentant sex addict who has sex with the woman he's supposed to be sponsoring. He purposely chokes in restaurants so that rich patrons will save him and send him money. And he sometimes wishes that his mother, who suffers from dementia, would just get it over with and die. But because Victor is played--and played quite well--by Sam Rockwell (THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY), it's hard not to have a little sympathy for him. He spends his days working at a colonial tourist attraction with his best friend, Denny (Brad William Henke), incurring the wrath of his authenticity-craving boss (Clark Gregg, who also directed and wrote the film). His evenings are spent visiting his mother (Oscar winner Anjelica Huston) in a private hospital, but she mistakes her son for men in her past and wonders when Victor will visit. But young, pretty Dr. Paige Marshall (NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN's Kelly Macdonald) has a radical idea about treatment that may bring his mother's mind back, and Victor's devotion to his mother--and a desire to sleep with Dr. Marshall--makes him eager to try. CHOKE rivals some soft-core porn with its abundance of sex, nudity, and adult toys, but there's more here than just the shocking and the steamy. This dark comedy is based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuk, most famous for writing the book FIGHT CLUB. Like the adaptation of that novel, CHOKE is a surefire cult favorite that meditates on the themes of culture, religion, fathers, sexuality, and identity. It's a mean, misanthropic film at times, but similar to its protagonist, it's hard not to like. Gregg has made an assured directorial debut, and his script retains the blackly humorous tone of the novel.
| Features | Audio Commentary With Director/Writer/Actor Clark Gregg & Actor Sam Rockwell | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound | | Audio: French, Spanish Dolby Digital Stereo | | Deleted Scenes With Optional Audio Commentary By Clark Gregg & Sam Rockwell | | Dubbed: French, Spanish | | Featurettes: A Conversation With Clark Gregg & Chuck Palahniuk; My Name Is Victor, & I'm A Sex Addict; A Mother's Love; From The Los Angeles Film Festival; & Fox Movie Channel Presents Casting Session | | Gag Reel | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, Spanish |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Foxvideo |
| Release Date: 10/20/2009 |
| Running Time: 92 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2008 | | Catalog ID: 2254390 | | UPC: 00024543543909 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed, Spanish Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, Spanish | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew | Brad Henke | | Kelly MacDonald | | Clark Gregg | | Jonah Bobo | | Sam Rockwell | | Anjelica Huston | | Derrick Tseng - Executive Producer | | Lyle Hysen - Music Supervisor | | Tripp Vinson - Producer | | Mary Vernieu - Executive Producer | | Mike Ryan - Executive Producer | | Tim Orr - Director of Photography | | Gary Ventimiglia - Executive Producer | | Chuck Palahniuk - Source Writer | | Ken Weinstein - Music Supervisor | | Temple Fennell - Producer | | Nathan Larson - Composer | | Johnathan Dorfman - Producer | | Beau Flynn - Producer | | Clark Gregg - Screenwriter | | Clark Gregg - Director |
| Awards |
Sundance Film Festival (2008) | | | Clark Gregg, Nominee, Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic |  | Sam Rockwell, et. al., Winner, Special Jury Prize - Dramatic |
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| | Professional Reviews | Box Office
3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Gregg has achieved something unique -- part Wes Anderson, part Mel Brooks -- and a rare American comedy that is simultaneously brainy and unafraid to be in touch with the human body." 09/01/2008 p.90-91New York Times
"[Mr. Rockwell] distills a skeptical attitude of an under-40 everyman from the educated class: bored and cynical, concealing his hurt under layers of defiance, sarcasm and feigned indifference. Mr. Rockwell makes you see all the layers as well as feel the pain that lies beneath." 09/26/2008 Entertainment Weekly
"CHOKE has a stylized synthetic zaniness...it builds its motifs into an amusing neurotic playground....It's an indelibly warped cartoon of lust and despair." -- Grade: B 10/03/2008 53 Premiere
"Sam Rockwell's Victor Mancini is still as sleazy and sad as the version Palahniuk originally penned, but Rockwell brings out a certain sympathy in the audience....Black-hearted romantics will find CHOKE easy to swallow." 09/25/2008 Empire
3 stars out of 5 -- "[The film] utilises Palahniuk's droll dialogue whenever he can in a series of self-effacing voiceovers that star Sam Rockwell delivers with aplomb." 12/01/2008 p.86 ReelViews 7 of 10
Sometimes, the conversion of a novel into a movie can result in a loss or diminution of the author's tone or the book's characters. With Choke, director Clark Gregg has maintained writer Chuck Palahniuk's voice but the men and women populating the film come across as the half-finished constructs of a filmmaker's imagination. It's as if there are scenes missing - not critical scenes that impact the plot or change the narrative's trajectory, but little scenes that get us to accept the protagonists as more than people with a quick wit and a cynical point-of-view...The movie veers with surprising ease between comedy and tragedy. Some scenes are hilarious; others are somber. Director Gregg, who adapted the book, is on sure ground in leading his actors through the minefield of shifting tones. The four leads are all good, and Sam Rockwell's voiceover narrative rarely threatens to become overbearing nor does it douse the viewer with superfluous information. There's good chemistry between Rockwell and Macdonald and better chemistry between Rockwell and Henke...Despite solid performances and witty dialogue, Choke never gets us into Victor's skin. We can piece together all the clues and understand intellectually why he is the way he is, but we don't feel it. And that's what keeps this movie from ascending above the category of "entertaining diversion." It's aspires to be more, but falls short of achieving it. There are things I like about the movie, in particular its willingness not to throttle back on some of the raunchier aspects, but those expecting another cinematic eye opener like Fight Club (which was also based on a Palahniuk novel) will be disappointed. Despite its focus on sex, there's nothing shocking to be found here. There are enough clips to string together for a top-notch, R-rated trailer but, although the full feature offers context for those highlights, it doesn't offer much more. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 7 of 10
All the pieces are here, but you have to glue the kite together to make it fly. "Choke" centers on a character who is content to be skanky and despicable, and who does not reform, although the plot seems to be pushing him alarmingly in that direction. His name is Victor, and he is a sex addict...Yes. So much is without joy in his life that he would live, if he could, in a constant state of orgasm. He probably perks up when the TV ads warn about four-hour tumescence. He's the kind of guy who attends Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings and sneaks out halfway to have dirty sex. His comrade-in-arms is Denny, who is a compulsive masturbator. I believe he only puts on his pants so he can reach inside...Victor is played by Sam Rockwell, who seems to have become the latter-day version of Christopher Walken -- not all the time, but when you need him, he's your go-to guy for weirdness. Denny is played by Brian William Henke. The fact that he has his sight disproves many warnings...In addition to sex, Victor's life centers around sadness and fake near-death experiences. He spends a commendable amount of time at a nursing home, where his mother, Ida (Anjelica Huston), has absolutely no idea who he is, which makes two of them...The movie was written and directed by Clark Gregg, who adapted a novel by Chuck Palahniuk ("The Fight Club"). Some stretches are very funny, although the laughter is undermined by the desperation and sadness of the situations. Victor is presented as not so much a zany screwball, but more of a case study. The film makes a flywheel kind of progress toward its conclusion, feeling like it has arrived not at a resolution but at a rest stop. Still, one of the problems with sex addicts may be that they cannot get enough rest. - Roger Ebert
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