From: Kong' Steamin' Pile O' Chocolately Goodness
Date: 07 Apr 2009
Time: 15:59:50
Remote Name: 63.239.248.1
Not sure what to make of this film. First let me say, watch it. Though it's no cinematic or comedic breakthrough it's got enough yuks to keep you entertained for two hours. And it's at least half a black comedy, but what freaks me out is the other half is 100% pure chick-flick, and not mock chick-flick either, it's the real fuckin' deal and nothing i say NOTHING ruins a good black comedy like a genuine love story thrown in the mix. Think of the best black comedies ever made: Repo Man, Freeway, Life of Brian, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Heathers etc. Did these films have real love stories in them? HELL NO! What little of that shit was in them was there just for the sake of comedy, it was mocked 69 ways from Sunday and that's what a black comedy is supposed to do for fucks sake!! Shit on everything!! Especially LOVE!! GAWD!!!!!!. It's not even just the sub-plot, the whole movie goes straight from funny sicko sex perv comedy straight to lovey-dovey-huggy-smoochy-you complete me- BULLCRAP!! Two great comedies in 2008 were utterly ruined this way, the other one failed even more miserably (Zack and Miri Make a Porno SUCKED ASS.) And I had such high expectations for this film because it's based on a Chuck Palahniuk book and Fight Club is one of my top ten movies of all time, ever.
The main weakness of Fight Club is showing a bit in this movie too though. In Fight Club Palahniuk foreshadowed the big plot twist way too much. By the time it was revealed that he and Tyler were the same guy I already had it figured out because he'd already hinted it to death by then, you'd have to be a moron not to have seen it coming. Same thing in Choke, he leaves too many clues about the big suprise coming and then makes way too big of a deal out of it when it arrives.
But by far the biggest flaw in this film was casting Anjelica Huston as the mother, and not only the old mother, mind you, they actually try to make this dessicated flower look young again and let her play her character 30 years younger! WTF!!! They smear cover-up all over her face because her skin looks like the surface of the moon. She does not look a day younger than her actual age, all the makeover and vintage clothes do for her is make her look like some tattered old barfly who hasn't bought new clothing or changed her hairstyle since 1978. The most unintentionally funny line of the whole film is in one of these scenes when the ten year-old version of our main character says to her, with all seriousness, "you're pretty." That's an impossibly large pill to swallow for those of us who remember what a babe she was in the eighties. And though she still knows how to act, she's just not convincing as an old lady losing her marbles. Her presence is just too clear, calm, articulate and engaging, not at all confused, disjointed, defeated and shaky like people with real senility.
I did really like the fact that the sex scenes were more funny than hot, especially because the theme of this film is sex addiction. It was either disgusting, lude or clinical, but hardly ever what I'd call hot, unless of course disgusting, lude and clinical are what pumps your inner tube.
The last thing I want to say about this film is: Sam Rockwell. Fucking great as usual. But he's really becoming typecast as a sleazeball shitbag kind of character. Matchstick Men, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, even back in Galxaxy Quest he was the loveable slimeball of the bunch. I think he's capable of more, I want to see him in some different kinds of roles because I think there's a great actor inside him just waiting to be offered a different kind of character to play.
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