In Clark Gregg's adaptation of writer Chuck Palahniuk (Fight Club)'s novel, Sam Rockwell plays Victor Mancini, a heritage tour guide who suffers from a sex addiction. Victor makes regular trips to see his Ma Ida (played by Angelica Huston) who is in a care home suffering from delusions and mild dementia.

To pay the vast care home bills, Victor does a neat trick in restaurants, feign a choking fit and falling into the arms of rich eaters who he hopes will give him money afterwards out of pity.

During his regular trips to the care home Victor gets to know a doctor there (Kelly Macdonald), who after a while even seeks procreation with the libidinous Victor, although she insists they do it in a chapel.

Choke is ok. It's a sharp comedy that begins well, is well-edited, and has snappy dialogue. The set-up is good with a tour guide sex addict, trying to find out the true story behind his history and parentage. The actors are also watchable - Sam Rockwell, Angelica Huston and Kelly Macdonald particularly and I also liked the seamless way childhood flashbacks are blended with the movements of present-day.

It tries too hard to be funny at times, resulting in it being unfunny. A prime example is the number of coital encounters here - by the time you've seen Victor getting it off for the tenth time, you pretty much get the drift of his addiction.

The film also slightly trivialises the subject matter where it could have been more provocative and disturbing.

As a breezy teen comedy though, it should appeal to young males (and maybe females) in the 16 - 25 age bracket and it's a step up from things like American Pie.