Gagging for more

“Choke” is one of the strangest books, as well as the only Chuck Palahniuk novel I’ve ever read besides “Fight Club,” so I was anxious (as I always am when good books get made into movies) to see if it was done right. Though the execution wasn’t perfect, it was a worthy adaptation of Palahniuk’s novel.

Victor Mancini (Sam Rockwell) is a sex-addicted, medical school dropout who makes his living by going into restaurants and choking on his meal. Victor meticulously selects the rich-looking patron who will perform the Heimlich maneuver, then milks his collection of good Samaritans for the rest of their lives.

But this con-artist does have a softer side, one that starts to become more visible when he meets Dr. Paige Marshall (Kelly Macdonald), who works at the private hospital where his dementia-riddled mother (Anjelica Huston) is spending her final days.

This morbid comedy is not afraid to shock the audience with a parade of nubile breasts and other uncomfortable visualizations.

Victor’s numerous sexual episodes are portrayed throughout the movie, and he also has this horrible habit of mentally undressing everyone he meets, which is fine until he starts doing it to the nuns who are responsible for his mother’s care. 

Anjelica Huston is classy as always, imbuing her flashback scenes with “young Victor” with the kind of austere yet genuine affection that her performances are famous for.

Sam Rockwell and Kelly Macdonald played their parts with the endearing earnestness of talented actors who have yet to break the surface of mainstream stardom.

Gregg makes a valiant attempt to adapt Chuck Palahniuk’s style to the big screen, and the movie ultimately satisfied the curiosity of someone who hasn’t read Palahniuk since high school.

Die-hard fans will probably be more disappointed – the sordid, compulsive tone that characterizes his work is largely absent from this movie adaptation. Still, you honestly can’t go wrong with a movie about con artistry, sex addiction, kidnapping, mental patients and Colonial Williamsburg re-enactors.