Engaging 'Choke' exceeds expectations

The hero of this sordid tale is the pathetic sex addict Victor. In his dreary life -dominated by an increasingly demented mother (Anjelica Huston) and a dead-end job as a "historical interpreter" in an all-too-serious colonial theme park - sex is Victor's only means of escape. He has grown so dependent on the "beautiful blissful nothing" of orgasm that he has lost his appetite for life. Victor says that "even the worst blow job is better than the scent of the best rose or watching the greatest sunset." In short, Victor is a scheming liar who lives his life by the mantra, "What Would Jesus Not Do?" One day, while visiting his mother in a nursing home, the womanizer meets a beautiful doctor. To his surprise, he does not want to bed her but instead hopes to get to know her better. Suddenly, the eternal bad boy has to grapple with the one possibility he never considered: He might be a good person.

With its antihero and depraved characters, "Choke" is as shocking as "Fight Club." Beyond its initial bite, however, Victor's tale showcases how the male sex drive has transformed in a time when all sorts of debauchery are just a click away. The film underscores its conservative critique by juxtaposing the cynical Victor with the Puritan ideal of colonial America in his job as a costumed tour guide. This comparison forces the viewer to understand how the country has moved away from its strict roots to the opposite extreme: free-loving sexual anarchy without the love.

While the movie wrestles with some fascinating ideas, it is also hysterically funny. In one scene, Victor seeks out a sadomasochist interested in rape fantasies. Rather than finding this bizarre role play erotic, Victor seems out of his league. After the female commands Victor to hit her, he asks, "With the knife?" The stupefied pseudo-victim responds, "No, when you hit someone with a knife it's called stabbing!"

Most of the cast takes on their humiliating roles with panache. The grizzled Sam Rockwell completely slips into the skin of Victor, a man resigned to his affliction. The protagonist's transformation into a kinder person is rendered authentic and difficult through his visible frustration and fear at his change of heart toward himself and others. Rockwell makes Victor into more than a one-note antihero.

Huston, too, delivers a multifaceted performance as Victor's domineering mother. Reminiscent of the actress' finest roles as a conniving femme fatale, Huston imbues Ida with a commanding presence. Her steely delivery in several flashbacks, in which she exposes her young child to the world's hypocrisies, reveals how an absent mother can cast a damaging spell over her son. When playing Ida in her older years, Huston replaces this inner strength with a tangible sense of regret. Minute gestures - like a single tear flowing down the actress' face - show how a mother's love outlives even the perils of dementia. "Choke" transcends its comedic trappings thanks to Huston's moving performance.

If the plot and cast were less on target, the production might have been weighed down by its flaws. Most notably, director Clark Gregg is outshined by "Fight Club" filmmaker David Fincher. Though the latter gave his Palahniuk adaptation a surprising visual dimension, Gregg's bag in "Choke" contains far fewer tricks. As a result, his overused gags quickly go from shocking to blase. Every time Victor spots a woman, the film cuts to him fornicating with her or imagining her naked. Wow, an old nun naked. How scandalous! The movie establishes Victor's lothario image so well that Gregg's continual stress on this overdone point seems unnecessary.

Gregg, who wrote the script, might also be faulted for some of the film's most egregious lines, which border on cliche with their low dose of irony. After Victor's friend calls Victor's doctor/love interest "perfect," Victor replies, "Maybe she is!" Saccharine moments like these seem more in tune with "The Notebook" than with anything by Palahniuk.

Even with its weaker points, though, "Choke" engages the mind as much as it does the eyes. The film's appeal extends far beyond that of the typical Hollywood comedy. For those who love "Fight Club," you will get a Tyler Durden-esque protagonist who lives at sexual heights that most can only dream of. For everyone else, "Choke" stands as an affecting comedy that goes for far more than just laughs.