While out with friends for dinner not long ago, my wife stopped me from eating upon spotting a metal screw on my plate. We obviously reported it to the waitress who quickly whisked the plate away. While it was gone, however, I pondered whether she and the manager would accuse me of placing that there. After all, there are those who do such things in hopes of getting something free, ranging from a meal to a possible lawsuit payout or settlement (thankfully, they discovered that the screw had popped out from one of the cooking lids).
Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) is one such person, although his ploy is a little more devious, complicated and yes, dangerous. And rather than be after some financial remuneration from the eating establishment, he's looking for a guardian angel benefactor who will not only save his life from truly choking, but then also go all Nurse Nightingale on him and develop the need to support him financially.
For most characters in most films, that would be enough, but "Choke" -- based on the novel of the same name by Chuck Palahniuk who also penned "Fight Club" -- isn't through with Victor just yet. Beyond that somewhat sadomasochistic scam, he's also a colonial reenactor at an 18th century theme park where his boss (Clark Gregg) nearly always stays in character.
Then there's the fact that he's fallen for the doctor (Kelly MacDonald) caring for his mother (Anjelica Huston) who thinks he's her lawyer and thus confides in him about her son who's disappointed her. Oh yeah, and he also just so happens to be a sex addict, much like his best friend and coworker (Brad William Henke) who's in love with a hooker named Cherry Daiquiri.
If that doesn't sound offbeat and quirky I don't know what does, and for viewers who don't mind the decidedly adult material, there are some pleasures to be found in this imperfect but moderately entertaining offering. Chief among them is Rockwell who can usually do no wrong in the roles he picks, and here he takes what could and probably should have been a despicable sort and turns him into a flesh and blood character, warts, faults and addictions all. It takes a certain sort of performer to deliver with a persona such as Victor's, but Rockwell easily makes the character interesting, engaging and even charming to a degree.
It certainly doesn't hurt that there's good chemistry between his and the other characters, all of whom similarly suffer from their own demons but make up for at least some of that via their quirky idiosyncrasies. As the best friend, Henke nearly steals the movie out from beneath his costar, while Huston predictably is spot on as the mother waning in mental and physical decline. Gregg, who also happens to be the film's writer and director, is quite funny as the all-too serious reenactor, and MacDonald brings a certain sweetness to her role that masks what's really lurking beneath the veneer.
At its core, the film repeatedly plays with and off the "appearances can be deceiving" theme that runs throughout it. From the faux colonial reenactment to people who aren't who and what they say and Victor being unable to consummate the act with Paige (despite being a supposedly ready to go at any moment sex addict) due to actually developing feelings for her, the plot sets up characters and situations one way, only to tear them down and reveal what's true, or have them transform into something else.
It isn't as deep or potentially depressing as it might sound, and Gregg and company certainly keep things moving along on a light and lively beat, but it certainly adds another layer of interest to the film that might otherwise just look like yet another sex comedy. Granted, there's plenty of that sort of content, but the charm and quirkiness certainly make the risqué material easier to go down, without any sort of constriction along the way. Not for everyone but certainly different and entertaining enough, "Choke" rates as a 5.5 out of 10.
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