First off, I should note I’m not the biggest Chuck Palahniuk fan. I know, I know. I’m probably the only person in the entire world saying this, but it’s true. I just couldn’t get into his books. I probably need a penis or something to properly enjoy them.

But there’s something to be said when your not so great novels become really good movies, like Fight Club – which I saw 4 times in the theater. And while Choke is no Fight Club, it’s still pretty darn good.

Choke follows Victor Mancini and his best friend, who both kinda sorta work at a colonial theme park and also happen to have sex addictions. So this, of course, means that the film is littered with good sex jokes, and lots of tit and ass. But the main story actually revolves around Victor’s journey in tricking his Alzheimer-afflicted mother for any information leading to the identitiy of his real dad. Loads of flashbacks reveal that maybe the mom, played by the always talented Angelica Houston, doesn’t have Alzheimer’s, but is in fact a crazy, free spirit who likes to run from the law while dragging her son along because she needs someone to pay attention to her. So it’s no wonder that the adult Victor, played by the also ever talented Sam Rockwell, seeks attention, but from others sources – like doing it with anything that has boobies and making himself choke on purpose in fancy restaurants just so he can feel the euphoria of being cradled by the person who just saved him.

Even with all this random sex being had there’s still a love interest, who to me, sounded like a 10 year old trapped in a 30 year old body. That slight flaw aside, she’s sweet and nice and everything you want to counterbalance this crazy sex addict choker schemester.

Like all Chuck Palahniuk book’s there’s a twist or two you didn’t expect to happen. And even in the screenplay (written by Clark Gregg, who also directed and acted in the film),  I was slightly shocked by the turn of events. Of course I can’t give anything away, but you will hit yourself for not realizing the obvious. And then you will like it because you didn’t realize the obvious.

This is the first movie I’ve seen at SIFF that was just a simple, good, different without trying too hard to be different, entertaining, funny movie. And with all the crap out there these days, I think that’s saying a lot.

Choke is playing this Saturday, June 7 at 4:00 pm in Uptown Cinema