Choke

I heard about this movie through a friend. They liked it, so I gave it a try. I thought it was so-so, if your a Sam Rockwell fan you'll like it. Not to mention this movie was directed by Agent Colson!

...it tanked. I really wanted to love this film, but I believe they spent their 5 great jokes in the first 35 minutes. After that, it dove deep into the realm of pre-teen recycling bin of cheesy punchlines.

its realy stupid not funny at all

I think the movie was ok. I laughed at some parts and it had a weird twist but overall not that great of a movie.

This psychological comedy-drama is based on the novel by Chuck Palahniuk, who’s best known for his first novel, Fight Club. Palahniuk has written several books, but the two that got made into movies are about men in their extreme. The protoganist here is Victor (Sam Rockwell), who’s stuck on step four of his twelve-step plan to defeat sex addiction, stuck in a job he doesn’t care for (costumed in a reconstituted colonial village), and stuck with a mother (Angelica Huston) too self-absorbed to raise a child, now too dementia-addled to recognize him. His best friend is another sex addict, a compulsive m*********r. The film completely avoids sentimentality by allowing Victor to seem like a jerk at times and by injecting a fair amount of often-vulgar (but sometimes-dry) humor. To be sure, the laughs frequently come from mocking some of the minor characters. There are the more-perverted sex addicts (versus Victor’s garden-variety promiscuity), the silly old folks in Mom’s nursing home, and even a sex partner of Victor who interrupts her rape fantasy to berate his acting skills. Dramatically, Huston shines in the flashback scenes of a younger Victor, and Kelly Macdonald brings a warmth to her role as the nursing-home doctor who challenges Victor’s fear of intimacy. Though the movie isn’t that much like Fight Club, I had the same feeling about it, which is that, despite being consistently watchable, there was kind of a put-on quality about it. The way the nursing-home patients unnaturally gravitate toward Victor is one example. Some of what I initially found implausible, like the doctor’s affection for Victor, gets explained later. (A few small twists substitute for the one major one in Fight Club.) And there’s enough originality that I can easily see Choke gaining favor with many, although probably not the cult following that Fight Club attracted. But for me it was kind of funny but not that memorable.

A few funny 1-liners and some decent acting but overall not very interesting or entertaining.

Evolution of characters, small surprises, an interesting ending, nice use of humor, and an occaisional erotic image. Far better than what most movies offer. A very nice break from formula films, chase scenes, violence, and vulgarity.

I found it more poignant and quirky than anything else, though there's definitely a streak of dark comedy. The development of the main character through his interactions with others and flashbacks really make you root for the guy. In total, a film that manages to doff its cap to idealised hopes of family bonds and romance, even while it chums up to our own jaded experiences with reality.

even colonial girls get the blues. liked the music too

I kept checking my watch through this movie. I'm a huge Chuck Palahniuk fan, and I thought the Fight Club movie was a little better than the book. That should be the standard for converting Chuck's books to film. This movie was kinda predictable (and that's not because I read the book when it came out). The idiots at Fox are also guilty for dumbing down an intelligent story. On top of that, the funniest parts were really kinda mediocre. The only reason this does not get one star is because it's a great book. If you're from Fox and reading this, please don't touch Survivor or Invisible Monsters. Please.