Choke
Fox Searchlight Pictures | Release Date: September 26, 2008 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
47
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
10
Mixed:
10
Negative:
7
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
It's an indelibly warped cartoon of lust and despair. Read full review
75
PremiereJenni Miller
While the movie will definitely not be to everyone's taste, black-hearted romantics will find Choke easy to swallow. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen Holden
It adds up to an entertaining collection of vignettes strung together by a sarcastic loudmouth whose heart is breaking under his sophomoric bravado. Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'Hehir
A fantastical sex farce, and a highly amusing one at that, without being the least bit momentous or memorable. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianM. E. Russell
Rockwell is spectacular here, infusing Victor with a charm that makes you root for him despite the essentially sleazy con-man emptiness of his existence. Read full review
63
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The movie veers with surprising ease between comedy and tragedy. Some scenes are hilarious; others are somber. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Some stretches are very funny, although the laughter is undermined by the desperation and sadness of the situations. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerSteven Rea
While Choke, adapted for the screen and directed by Clark Gregg, is by no means a disaster, it is disappointing - and oddly dull. Read full review
63
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Yes, it's not for the squeamish or easily offended, but its sordidness is more superficially shocking than wickedly satirical. Read full review
63
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
Fine performances from Sam Rockwell and Brad William Henke deserve some passing attention. Read full review
60
Film ThreatMark Bell
The film feels flat. I don't know how to express my criticism much more than to say that things unfold before you, but you never really engage in the world beyond just watching it. Read full review
60
EmpirePhilip Wilding
An uneven take on Palahniuk’s fourth novel, Rockwell and Huston shining brightly enough to eclipse a patchy directorial debut. Read full review
58
Seattle Post-IntelligencerSean Axmaker
A strangely warm, affectionate look at bad behavior amid emotional damage and a stranglehold of identity issues. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesRobert Abele
As the story of a wallowing pig, Choke is often pretty entertaining, but when it comes to where-do-I-come-from poignancy, it can't always keep from gagging. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick Groen
Maybe this stuff works on the page, in Chuck Palahniuk's darkly comic novel, but Choke is awfully tough to digest on the screen. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
Disappointing not for what it is but what it could have been. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubTasha Robinson
Cluttered, flavorless Choke, which crams the novel's nervy narration into an irritating voiceover, and leaps around in time and space with all the attention span of an ADD-addled child. Read full review
40
The Hollywood ReporterJames Greenberg
For much of the way, the film just feels like it's pressing too hard to make an impression. Read full review
40
VarietyDennis Harvey
Palahniuk's antic absurdism is duly present, but the hurtling pace and barely-underlying nihilism that transferred to screen so vividly in "Fight Club" aren't much in evidence here. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley Jones
Mancini's character boils down to a lot of self-loathing and unresolved mommy issues – which is as tedious as it sounds. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle Smith
CHOKE tries to be dirty but manages merely to be dingy. Read full review
30
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
Sam Rockwell strips himself down to pure appetite and has a buoyant spirit. But the film sure doesn't. It's bizarrely flat--it has no affect. Read full review
30
Village VoiceRobert Wilonsky
They explain and explain again the genesis of Victor's demons, to the point where the novel and movie play almost like parodies of novels and movies in which a character has to get in touch with his feelings in order to become a better man. Read full review
30
SlateDana Stevens
I walked out of Choke feeling hustled, which is appropriate enough, I guess, for a movie that's a portrait of a compulsive hustler. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
These ideas may well have cohered in Chuck Palahniuk's best-selling satirical novel, which I haven't read, but in this screen adaptation by writer-director Clark Gregg they seem more like an assortment of gimmicks. Read full review
30
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
A singularly vulgar piece of work. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChronicleRuthe Stein
An annoying little film that attempts to be lascivious but is merely ludicrous. Read full review
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