I Think I Love My Wife

'I Think I Love My Wife...nuff said'

Chris Rock started off as a comedian doing stand up, was discovered by Eddie Murphy, did a stint on SNL for a bit, and then took off after Beverly Hills Cop II. You might remember him in CB4, or Dogma, or even in his first movie he directed, Head of State. One thing is for sure, he always likes to try and discuss interesting and relevant topics, but as time has worn on, so has his stand up as the topics he covers not only repeat but are covered so thoroughly by other comedians as well that he has faded in humor in my mind. His recent directing follow-up of I Think I Love My Wife is no exception to this trend of his and it doesn't help that the script was written by him and fellow comedian Louis CK. However, despite the broach of new topics or ideas, there is a lot that Chris Rock gets right in this film, especially in the casting.

I don't know how this came up, but Chris Rock and Louis CK decided to make their own movie inspired by the French film Chloe in the Afternoon by Eric Rohmer, which I haven't seen...it's French and I don't care! Anyhow, it is a typical tale of a man who grows bored in his marriage and flirts with the possibility of cheating on her despite the fact that he loves his kids and his wife, but dammit men are just animals that require sex right? So, there is the generic setup. The difference is that the movie shows this typical story through the lens of a suburban black family and what it means to be a healthy black family dealing with the same issues of everyone else while trying to distance themselves from 'gotta be Black' culture. Chris Rock of course plays the main leading man and for once it feels almost as if he is trying to pull a Jim Carey and act his way through a movie, which is refreshing as is the lack of the gotta be loud to be funny. In fact, there is one scene in particular that reminds me of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm where Rock is trying to have a fight with his wife to find an excuse to go meet with another woman. Rock's character works for a firm of some sort on Wall Street. It's a very different role for him and he plays it well. The real trouble with the movie is in the script. There are several sections where Rock tries to explain that the character thinks about having affairs with other women all the time and some of the scenes used to portray the inner thoughts of the characters are ridiculously hokey and cheesy. The last scene in particular where Rock and his wife break out into song, although it fits in the context of the script, the tone shift from the more ordinary this is life type scenes to an abstraction symbolizing their love is very caustic and hard on the viewer. That is the problem in the script, the abrupt tone shifts at times, that and sometimes the character motivations don't make sense. Rock's flirtatious mistress, Nikki Tru played by Kerry Washington, while sexy and easily understandable that Rock would want to cheat on his wife with her, it makes little sense why she preys upon Rock and why she chooses to come into his life at that moment in time. She is the outside catalyst that forces him to decide if he loves his wife, but even catalysts need motivations and reasons too. On the whole though, as a white caucasian man, I find the movie to be an interesting look into an educated black family's life and I think it is refreshing and possibly an excellent movie that should be seen by wanna be gansta thug rappers. The problem is that it really offers nothing new to the majority of the world.

The casting for the film, however, is perfect. Rock's wife, Gina Torres puts in an amazing performance as a strong loving mother. When Rock acts ashamed and afraid of her, he has good reason to be. Torres proves once again why she should be earning much more than she currently does and making top line films. Kerry Washington does an excellent job of playing the typical seductress who happens to be into the club scene. Even Chris Rock does a good job of being the loving father and tormented husband. Steve Buscemi is also great as the adulterer co-worker who pops viagra pills. Rock did a great job of casting relative unknowns who would get the most out of the half-cooked script. Another excellent thing on Rock's part is the one interesting part of the cinematography where time and the images would become blurred during moments of crisis or decision by Rock's character. It helps to give a feel of what is coming without any words and helps to highlight Rock's dilemma.

Conclusion:
Rock's second outing as a director is nothing new. It's just nice to see him in a role with a good cast and with a good message directed at a crowd of people that I don't think his movies are usually aimed at with a new message. On one side, it humanizes all of the black happy families who go to work while at the same time promotes that lifestyle to black audiences. Of course, I'm sure there will be criticisms that the movie is too "white" for some black audiences and because it doesn't offer any new ideas or concepts for white people it will be called boring and unoriginal. The point is, it is an independent film made with good intentions but will be unable to deliver its message because it can't seem to target an audience. This is probably why the film is tanking in the box office so far and why we might never see a Chris Rock film again. It's sad, because for once I think he has tried to do the right thing and I'm sad to say that I think it will hurt his career for it.

3.2 out of 5

Wannabe