Clark Gregg, Choke

by Carrie Dagenhard
09/30/2008

When it comes to film renditions, I’m usually a “the book was better” type. But with the wildly successful Fight Club as its predecessor, I sat down for Choke on Friday night and prepared myself to be blown away.

Writer/director Clark Gregg crammed a 300 page, emotionally intricate novel into 89 minutes. I’ve seen TV series finales about that long, and with less plot holes. Gigantic portions of background were either severely underexplained or missing altogether and left those who had not read the book in a haze of “what the hell is going on?”

Gregg missed the opportunity to explore the inner workings of a deranged and lonely sex addict and instead focused strictly on sexual humor and innuendo. It did more to shock the 50-year-old women seated behind me than it did to inspire contemplation. The childhood memory sequences were choppy, somewhat shoddy, and few and far between. The film played like a research paper written the night before due date - well planned, but poorly executed.

The film lacks the narrative elements necessary to truly do the story justice. The humor elements far outweigh the stomach-churning imagery that made the book such a cynically magnificent piece of fiction. And instead of embellishing on crucial aspects of the story, the movie includes a handful of completely unnecessary scenes. I can’t help but wonder what vital portions were left on the cutting room floor. And without turning this into a spoiler, I must mention that the ending was all wrong.

I do, however, have some small bits of praise to offer. The characterization was spot on. I couldn’t have envisioned a better Victor Mancini than Sam Rockwell. Anjelica Huston played her usual Wes Anderson-esque coolly perturbed mother role to a hilt. Kelly Macdonald played the calm, collected, and deeply conflicted Paige Marshall as if the character had been written specifically for her.

Overall, I’m not sure I could say anything to justify paying even matinee ticket prices for this flick. It’s worth a watch, but probably better suited for small screen. Wait for the DVD, and read the book first.

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