“Choke” is characterized by a sex addict con man Victor Mancini, played by Sam Rockwell, who goes through life with no attachments or passions, until he is woken up by a patient posing as a doctor, Paige Marshall, played by Kelly Macdonald.

Clark Gregg’s directorial debut falls short of the novel, “Choke” written by Chuck Palahniuk, the acclaimed transgressional fiction author of “Fight Club”.

By working at a colonial theme park and scamming people by choking on food in upscale restaurants, Mancini pays for full-time elder care for his mother saddled with dementia.

Finding true feelings with Marshall, Mancini goes through many hoops in hopes that she will help his mother explain who his father was, only to find that she is a patient herself.

This is not unveiled until the end where his denouement precursors the first kiss the main character gives, yet has random sex exploits sprinkled throughout the film.

The act of a kiss in this case represented a more mutual joining of compassion and not just another act of benevolent lust.

The elder care facility was not portrayed as disturbing as it was described in the novel and many details seem to be cut to keep the flow of the film on a stepped up pace.

Fueled by the failing health of Ida, Mancini’s mother, played by Anjelica Houston, he struggles with the fact that he does not know who his father was.

Mancini’s best friend, Edwin, also shares an addiction to sex, they go to Sex Anonymous meetings together, and he tells Mancini to move to the forth step in the program yet Mancini refuses until he realizes he might never find out how to love or be loved.

Edwin, following the 12 steps, finds his peace of mind when he starts to create this mound of stones that he had collected for each day he was sober, another glaring detour from the novel, its significance downplayed to keep the pace of the film apparently.

Throughout the film, flashbacks to when Mancini was a child keep the even keel between what becomes more and more twisted in present time, also cleverly placed in an order true to the style Palahniuk writes in.

This film is rated R for its strong sexual content, nudity and language.

This film is not “Fight Club”, so do not expect it to be so, although the humor is just as creepy and seedy.

This film is not for everyone, but if you like dark and sometimes grimy sense of humor this is definitely recommendable.