Clark Gregg, the mild-mannered scene stealer familiar to fans of "The New Adventures of Old Christine" and "Iron Man," has delivered a singularly vulgar piece of work in his feature directorial debut. "Choke," an adaptation of a book by cult pulp novelist Chuck Palahniuk ("Fight Club"), might appeal to Palahniuk's niche of fans, but for the most part it's a grim, joyless turnoff.

Sam Rockwell, who's becoming alarmingly adept at playing weaselly, chinless antiheroes, plays Victor, a compulsive womanizer, con man and Colonial theme park reenactor whose myriad life issues stem from a troubled relationship with Mommy. The survivor of a chaotic childhood, Victor is a devoted son, visiting his now-addled mother (Anjelica Huston, barely holding on to her dignity) in a nursing home. There he meets a gorgeous doctor (Kelly Macdonald), who manages to convince him that his early life might have been even more storied than he thinks.

"Choke" is a slight, cynical bagatelle, filmed without much distinction of style. The only parts that pop feature Gregg, as Victor's supercilious boss at the theme park, who insists on never breaking 18th-century character. And look out for an unrecognizable cameo from Joel Grey (Gregg's father-in-law, as it happens) as one of Victor's cohorts in a sex-addiction 12-step program.

-- Ann Hornaday (Sept. 26, 2008)

Contains strong sexual content, nudity and profanity.