Chokeslam Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.0

Chokeslam Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman April 3, 2018

Chokeslam is one of those unassuming “little” films that may charm certain viewers despite a few narrative hurdles along the way. The film opens with an enjoyably goofy vignette documenting a supposed robbery of a deli where Corey Swanson (Chris Marquette) works. Corey is attempting to explain calmly to a bizarrely masked thief that this is a deli, not a bank, and therefore any hopes of a cash windfall may be misplaced. Perhaps more problematically, Corey recognizes the would be villain as Luke Petrie (Michael Eklund), an obviously somewhat addle pated guy Corey went to high school with. Luke’s less than stellar intelligence is on display due to the fact that, while he’s wearing a mask, his hands are covered with telltale tattoos that instantly identify him, much to his chagrin. With the ostensible robbery in tatters, and with Luke decked by a (female) employee of the establishment, the two erstwhile classmates reacquaint themselves with each other, which leads to the probably too coincidental fact that the pair’s ten year high school reunion is about to happen. That element establishes the foundation for what is in essence a sweet if silly romantic comedy where Corey tries to reestablish contact with Sheena DeWilde (Amanda Crew), an imposing girl with a volcanic temper who has turned her instinct toward rage into a successful wrestling career. Now that at least is something a bit unusual, an element that Chokeslam weaves relatively artfully into a depiction of small town Canadian life, where, instead of Friday Night Lights (so to speak), townsfolk gather to watch outsized characters pummel each other in a ring.

Co-writer and director Robert Cuffley strikes me as a preternaturally gifted sort who just might need a bit of editing to make his work really click. Chokeslam is a riot of outré characters, but that’s actually one of the problems with the film: a whole gaggle of eccentric types are more or less plopped down into the story with little or no context, and, aside from Corey and Sheena themselves, absolutely no back story. That makes introductions of people like an Indian Canadian (that sounds odd, I know, but I guess no odder than Indian American) hardware store worker kind of whimsical but ultimately not very relevant to the actual story.

Structurally the film falters a bit at times as well, spending what is arguably an undue amount of time in the early going detailing the nascent friendship between Corey and Luke before finally getting to the “goods”, the relationship between Corey and Sheena. Even here, the film isn’t especially artful, dancing around the fact that Corey obviously carried a serious torch for Sheena back in the day before revealing a horrifying memory of their high school days in a flashback that occurs after Sheena decks Corey in current time.

Chokeslam delivers in dribs and drabs in a rather vignette laden enterprise, managing to eke out a few laughs due to Luke’s inveterate lunk headedness, or in the obvious mismatch between nerdy Corey and the almost Amazonian Sheena. With a number of other wrestling personalities entering the fray, the film tips over into pure silliness at times, something that tends to fritter away at the edges of what is actually a kind of sweet tale of love rediscovered, or maybe more accurately, actually discovered for the first time.

If there are hurdles in the writing and presentation at times, the film really succeeds quite well on a performance level, with Marquette offering an appropriately disheveled take on Corey, a guy who obviously has a huge heart but who seems to be pretty spectacularly incapable of really growing up. Crew’s Sheena is a force of nature, an almost freakishly tall woman who has real anger management problems which initially helped her burgeoning wrestling career but which is now creating not just career problems but personal issues as well. The supporting cast, which includes Niall Matter as Sheena’s hunky boyfriend Tab and real life “superstar” Mick Foley as the proprietor of the local wrestling establishment, is colorful and often provides at least baseline elements of wry comedy, if few actual gut busting moments.

Where Chokeslam really hits the bullseye, though, is in its depiction of an insular community where “everybody knows your name”, and therefore all of your business, whether or not you want them to. That makes some of the underlying discomfiture of things like Corey still living with his mother as he approaches 30 seem almost sweet, since even if he moved out, she’d probably still be totally “there”. Chokeslam doesn’t really push any serious envelopes in terms of where it goes or in fact even how it gets there, but it has a modicum of laughs and an actual surplus of heart.

Chokeslam Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Chokeslam is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of MVD Visual with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.38:1. Technical data on this shoot is pretty hard to come by (I frankly couldn't find anything I'd consider authoritative), but this looks like a typically digitally captured production, with a sleek and somewhat flat appearance that nonetheless supports good detail levels virtually all of the time. The Saskatchewan locations offer some nice scenery, but much of the film actually plays out in interior locations, some of which are on the drab side. The palette is completely natural looking, not over amped in any way, and therefore perhaps looking a little drab itself at times. There is one brief moment of noticeable banding when instead of a fade out, there's a "fade to white", but otherwise this is a problem free transfer.

Chokeslam Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Chokeslam features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 tracks. As expected, most of the raucous surround activity comes courtesy of some of the wrestling scenes, where things like crowd noises spill quite effectively into the side and rear channels. Otherwise, though, this is a somewhat subdued film from a sound design perspective, offering excellent fidelity but little "wow" factor in terms of immersion. All elements are presented faithfully and with good prioritization without any problems.

Chokeslam Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Behind the Scenes (1080i; 2:27) is a fairly random montage of snippets, but has some fun footage of various actors romping around in the ring.


• Trailer (1080p; 1:25)

Chokeslam Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Chokeslam has some undeniably enjoyable elements, but it could have really been a home run (to mix sports metaphors) with a little more solid direction and some more focused writing. The performances are all top notch, helping the film deliver fitful stabs at comedy as well as some more heartfelt dramatic material. This both is and isn't a traditional rom-com, which may either interest or dissuade, depending on what you're in the market to see. Forviewers in the mood for something undemanding which offers a few laughs and some sweet if nerdy romance, Chokeslam comes Recommended.