I Think I Love My Wife (2007)
Directed by: Chris Rock
Premise: A remake of the French film Chloe in the Afternoon. Chris Rock plays Richard, a married banker who meets Nikki, an old female friend (Kerry Washington), and begins to socialize with her. The single woman ignites restlessness in Richard’s life and he considers having an affair.
What Works: In its best moments, I Think I Love My Wife exposes the everyday grind of suburban and married life. The content is presented in a way that suggests the reasons for Richard’s dilemma and toys with its different angles, including how it affects his home life and his job. More than other films, this story of potential infidelity reaches into the man’s psychology and does not apologize for his maleness. Rock smartly chooses to put some restraint on his performance, more so than in many of his other films, and gives a much more real performance than anything he has done before.
What Doesn’t: The better qualities of I Think I Love My Wife are offset by gags and sequences that are out of place in this film, namely a Viagra scene and a musical number that seem as though they were ripped right out of The 40 Year Old Virgin. The film drags on and on in its second act, not sure where to end because the film is not sure where it is going. Rock narrates the picture and this gets tiresome because he only states the obvious and the narration lacks Rock’s characteristically sharp humor. The film would be stronger without it.
Bottom Line: I Think I Love My Wife is an uneven film. The themes of the picture have been seen a lot lately and were done better in films like The Last Kiss and as the subject of Rock’s stand up routine. It is still interesting and Rock has potential as an actor. He just needs a collaborator to write with him on a project like this one.
Episode: #134 (March 25, 2007)