''Chokeslam'' is a 2016

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film directed by

Robert Cuffley Robert Cuffley is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He began with music videos, directing over 40 in all, before moving into short films, and later, drama. Career In 2001, Cuffley directed ''Turning Paige'' (2001), starring Nicholas Cam ...

and starring

Chris Marquette Christopher Marquette (born October 3, 1984) is an American actor. He began his career with a main role as Adam Brody on the ABC sitcom '' Aliens in the Family'' (1996) before his breakout with a main role as Marc Delgado on the Lifetime medic ...

Amanda Crew Amanda Crew (born June 5, 1986) is a Canadian actress. Following her film debut in '' Final Destination 3'' (2006), Crew had lead roles in films such as ''Sex Drive'' (2008), '' Charlie St. Cloud'', ''Repeaters'' (both 2010), '' Charlie Zone'' (20 ...

Niall Matter Niall Matter ( ; born October 20, 1980) is a Canadian-American actor. Following recovery from a serious accident sustained while working on an oil rig, Matter chose to pursue a full-time acting career. He received his first significant break in 2 ...

Michael Eklund Michael Eklund is a Canadian television and film actor who is known for playing the role of the villain or antihero. His characters are often described as being "creepy". His roles include a kidnapping, kidnapper who terrorizes characters playe ...

and

Mick Foley Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler and author. He is signed to WWE, under a Legends contract while also serving as an ambassador. Foley worked for many wrestling promotions, including the W ...

. The film follows Corey Swanson (Marquette) prior to a high school reunion, as he tries to make amends with a girlfriend who had publicly rejected him, and had since become a

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. It premiered at the

Calgary International Film Festival The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October. CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. In 2020, thei ...

in October 2016, and was given a wide Canadian release on April 7, 2017.

Plot

Ten years since high school graduation, deli clerk Corey Swanson (

) still lives in the shadow of the humiliating public rejection of his marriage proposal to high school sweetheart Sheena DeWilde (

). Sheena is now a successful, if troubled, Pro-Wrestler, and is returning to town for their high school reunion. When she announces her retirement, Corey attempts to win back her affections by arranging for one last match, to take place in the town's wrestling arena. Thwarted by the efforts of his overprotective mother (

Gwynyth Walsh Gwynyth Walsh (born 1956) is a Canadian actress best known for her role of the ''Star Trek'' character B'Etor, one of the Duras sisters. She also played constable Nimira in the '' Star Trek: Voyager'' episode " Random Thoughts", and provided th ...

), well meaning friend Luke (

), who is concealing his own motives, and by Sheena's brash boyfriend/manager Tab (

), Corey struggles both to make the event a success for Sheena, and to remind her of what they once had.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by CHAOSafilmcompany Inc. and Karma Film. It was developed through the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded in 1988 by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally launched as a film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for ...

and Just for Laughs 2014 Telefilm Canada Feature Comedy Exchange. It received funding from Creative Saskatchewan, which supports projects filming in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. Cuffley, who had been working on this project since 2002, co-wrote the screenplay with frequent writing partner Jason Long. The film also sees the director reunite with two of his previous collaborators in

, who starred in Cuffley's 2012 feature ''Ferocious'' and

, with whom he has worked on several projects including ''Ferocious'' and the 2007 feature ''

Walk All Over Me ''Walk All over Me'' is a 2007 Canadian film written by Robert Cuffley and Jason Long. The film stars Leelee Sobieski as "Alberta", a small-town girl who assumes the false identity of her former babysitter and current dominatrix roommate "Celene" ...

''.

had no previous wrestling experience, and trained extensively for her role, in order to obtain an authentic physique. She also received advice and assistance from both

and

Impact Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busine ...

professional

Chelsea Green Chelsea Anne Cardona (née Green; born April 4, 1991) is a Canadian professional wrestler. She is signed to WWE, where she works on the WWE SmackDown (brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Chelsea Green and is the lea ...

Filming

Filming took place in Lumsden and Regina,

, in 2015. The wrestling scenes were shot in the historic

Regina Exhibition Stadium Regina Exhibition Stadium, also known as Regina Stadium and Queen City Gardens, was an indoor arena at Evraz Place in Regina, Saskatchewan. Constructed in 1919, the venue was home arena of the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League before the c ...

, with local residents serving as extras. As well as

, wrestlers

Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadians, Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known ...

, Harry Smith (son of "The British Bulldog"

Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Boy Smith and The British Bulldog. Smith ...

and nephew of

Bret Hart Bret Sergeant Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling background at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal U ...

), and

performed in the wrestling matches.

Release

The premiere took place at the

on 2 October 2016, as the closing gala film, with the cast and crew in attendance. The film was shown at the 2016

Whistler Film Festival The Whistler Film Festival (WFF) is an annual film festival held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 2001, the festival is held the first weekend of December and includes juried competitive sections, the Borsos Awards, and the Pand ...

, where it was picked up by A71. ''Chokeslam'' previewed in selected Canadian cinemas on March 15, 2017, and premiered across Canada on April 7, 2017.

Critical reception

The film received praise from film festival critics, cited as a "a strangely entertaining fusion of comedy, romance, and sport that stands out in a sea of repetitive rom-coms".

's performance in particular received high praise. The film won in four categories at the 2017 Rosie (AMPIA) Awards: Best Dramatic feature or Made-for-TV Movie: Carolyn McMaster, producer; Best Director (Drama over 30 minutes:

; Best Screenwriter (Drama over 30 minutes):Jason Long and Robert Cuffley; Best Editor (Drama over 30 minutes):Bridget Durnford. However, the film holds an approval rating of 29% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 4.5/10.

References

External links

* * {{Facebook, chokeslammovie 2016 films Canadian sports comedy films English-language Canadian films 2010s English-language films Women's professional wrestling films 2010s sports comedy films 2016 comedy films Canadian wrestling films 2010s Canadian films English-language sports comedy films