Je crois que j'aime ma femme

Chloe in the Afternoon, Eric Rohmer's much acclaimed 1972 film, will remain as a fine little pillar of the old story of a male character in infidelity and morality with living a life with a significant other, long after I Think I Love My Wife sits in the video stores and gets mass replays on TV. Chris Rock's film, as co-writer/director, is never one to really go down the path of dangerous contrivances or of the annoyances with the quirks in characterizations. This is mostly due to it being a comedy, and with Rock's own brand of sensibilities sort of filtering into this otherwise very straightforward examination of truth and desire in marriage, which is also very easy in some ways.

In fact, as one who may pay attention to Rock's stand-up, at least ten to fifteen minutes of material in the film- from the line near the start "married and bored out of my f***ing mind", to the scene where the married couples have finner- can be found in the 2004 stand-up special Never Scared. This isn't a bad thing, though, and there's even a hilarious wink to moments that come unexpected, either from past Rock bits like the table-dance song in the club or the unfortunate, ecstatically tasteless scene in the ambulance van.

But more than anything it's Rock, as star and filmmaker, an attempt at making a vehicle that knows it's being a little silly at times, and still reaching truths that are worthwhile. The joist of the plot concerns Richard Coopper, Rock, as an investment banker in New York city, married with two kids and quite successful, tempted by the suddenness of Niki Tru (Kerry Washington, almost a 180 of the bland 'good girl' type of woman in Ray), who as Steve Buscemi's character describes to Richard: "she's f***ing you, you just don't know it." At the core of the film there is some momentum in the fact that Richard doesn't go on to cheat, even as one might think this is the 'safe' route.

There is more of a safe turn that happens, which is to be sort of expected, where Richard has a change of mind after letting go of the temptation, and this part loses its credibility in relation to the rest of the picture. But this isn't too much of a hindrance, so much of there being something small, though noticeable, that is even less credible. It reminds one of a similar problem in the Last Kiss, last year's similar romantic-morality tale of tranquility broken by another woman, because on the two sides neither is entirely satisfying. Niki is a cold, tramp kind of girl who actually gets exposition even though, despite Washington's portrayal, is annoying, yet Gina Torres's Brenda, Richard's wife, doesn't get much put into her as a noticeable character, except as a slightly blasé, male portrayal of her being a good mother, yet disengaged in the sexual sense.

Yet there is some good that comes out of Rock's connections to both women that wasn't like the Last Kiss- he's able to garner a successful tone of balance between the drama and comedy, and to the degree that both are neither trying for anything great stay believable up to a point. Buscemi's character is one who's added for a slight change in tone, as at first the straight-laced friend for Richard, but then with his own special idiosyncrasies, really involving Viagra and his own complex with marriage. Meanwhile, Rock goes through his motions of faces in his performance, and it's almost too perfunctory, like his direction. It's definitely amiable and sympathetic, however, so it's not really anything that makes it a bad excursion as a date movie. There's some great songs mixed in, and a fantastic seduction scene towards the end, plus a possible tip of the hat to The 40 Year Old Virgin's end scene.

If you need a good date movie right now, this would surely be one that doesn't offend, and doesn't really make you call everyone you know to see it, but it is smart enough for what it's worth, as opposed to any other lot of romantic comedies where the characters are positively sociopaths. Most you'll find here is a jealous hoodlum who puts a stomping to Richard at one point (which is actually very, very funny, even as a loose end). Not a bad remake, but not one to be put on the same pedestal either.

Chris Rock, whom made his living as a comedian, tries to go dramatic, and as one would expect, it just doesn't work. He doesn't seem to be able to star in a hit film. Perhaps he should just stick to TV work where he was great on SNL. Rock plays Richard, a middle aged family man whom has become bored with his wife, whom just isn't interested in sex any more. One day an old friend stops by his office. Nikki still looks great and seems to be having fun stringing Richard along even though she has a boyfriend. She begins inviting him out to lunch and to just go places. And Richard, just seems not able to say no. He doesn't really want to cheat on his wife, yet he wants to bring some excitement to his life. And Nikki seems safe since she has a man. But, Nikki breaks up with her guy and wants to spend even more time with Richard. Richard starts the lies with his wife, but still manages not to get caught. And I guess if you want to say there is a big dramatic scene, it is whether or not Richard will cheat.

As I've said, Rock is a comedian and not a dramatic actor. He doesn't bring a lot to this role. And this movie is not some romance comedy.

FINAL VERDICT: It's OK, but the story is nothing great and Rock is miscast. It's not worth renting.

Perhaps my expectations were to high. Perhaps I was expecting a different kind of film, or perhaps it just wasn't very good. For whatever reason, I Think I Love My Wife, Chris Rock's second feature as director, comes as a massive disappointment. Written by Rock and Louis CK, the absolute two funniest men alive, I Think I Love My Wife seemed to be a sure fire hit from the two Emmy winning writers. Unfortunately, the two men opted to make more of a dramedy than edgy comedy like they are known for. There isn't much new ground here. Infidelity has been the topic of a number comedy/drama pictures in the past so the story of a married father (Rock) tempted by an old flame (Kerry Washington) doesn't get many points for originality. Had Rock and Louis CK tried to approach the material with the R-rating in front of their minds instead of making essentially a PG-13 comedy with some F-words thrown in, they might have had more success. However, with the focus on drama, the proceedings often fall flat. Part of the problem is with Rock's directing. Rock is still a new director who has yet to find his style and footing. This seems more like a debut than that of a second time director. Louis CK could have done a better job at the helm as he has proved to have a much firmer grasp on film-making with his prior directing work. Rock behind the camera is inadequate. He does shine in a few brief moments (the Viagra scene, the fantasy sequences) and he does surprisingly well with some of the emotional scenes towards the finale, though for the most part, he leaves much to be desired. Fans of Rock and Louis CK may want to check this out, but I can't imagine anyone else being terribly interested. 4/10

I was really looking forward to I Think I Love My Wife, I saw the commercial advertisement for the DVD and this movie looked like so much fun. So I finally got the rental and watched it this morning and I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with it. You know what lost the major points with me? Now, I know Chris Rock's humor, I know he likes to joke about the white man, but this movie just seemed to keep mentioning the white race which I wasn't impressed with. Just because if it were the other way around with a certain line like "Is your wife white?", now if it was a white woman saying "is your wife black?", most people would have been insulted. I'm just sick of the humor, it's getting old and we need to grow up. The story is just the typical man with a mid life crisis with a typical marriage, at the least the horror version.

Richard Cooper is a married man with two beautiful children, awesome job with good pay, a big house, sounds like the perfect life, right? Well, wrong! Him and his wife do not have sex any more and his life has become a bit predictable, that is until he meets and old crush, Nikki and temptation is knocking down the door. Richard plays naive at first acting completely oblivious to her moves, yet when he realizes what she's after, he just keeps hanging out with her risking his job that she visits constantly and family. But Richard tries to remain tough while living a life that he's already over since he's been married.

Over all, I Think I Love My Wife isn't a bad film, it just wasn't what I expected. The acting was fine, it was just the story that seemed unbalanced and not to mention the racial lines that were just unnecessary. So if you're looking to watch this film, I would say to give it a look, I think me taking those lines seriously is a bit much, but I'm just sick of that "humor", I think we need to grow past it if we want a better future, you know? But judge for yourself, other than what I mentioned, it's just an average mid life crisis movie, nothing more.

3/10

I wasn't going to comment until I saw all the negative and I thought unfair comments about this movie. I've always said that movies reviews often show what's going on inside us as much as what's went on on the screen. I for one was at first reluctant to see this movie because I thought Chris Rock's other movie attempts were juvenile. But when I read his announcement that this was his first "adult" movie, I became interested. I appreciated that this was a slice of life movie. I heard a complaint that there was no plot but since when does life present a neatly contrived plot? The movie represented a period out a man's life, a particularly rough patch in his marriage. It was exaggerated where it needed to be for comic effect, which for me, I'm happy to say was very successful, since most attempts at comedy leave me stone faced. In general both my boyfriend and I have discriminating tastes in movies. It's tough to surprise us, please us, make us laugh, while at the same time presenting a realistic life issue that makes one think. This movie did that. It wasn't strictly formula. My suggestion is to not automatically believe the negative reviews. Don't even take my review as gospel. But I think any movie that creates such divergent reactions deserves a look. I would suggest you definitely check it out and decide for yourself.