I Think I Love My Wife

*.5/****     I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE (R)

Chloe in the Afternoon is a 1972 French film by director and screenwriter Eric Rohmer. The movie was the sixth and final film in Rohmer’s series of the Six Moral Tales, and follows a young lawyer named Frederic who begins to ponder the notion of cheating on his wife Helene when a former friend named Chloe arrives at his office and begins to hint towards wanting a passionate relationship with him. 35-years later, comedian Chris Rock has written, directed and starred in a remake of Chloe in the Afternoon, entitled I Think I Love My Wife.

Rock (Madagascar, The Longest Yard) plays Richard Cooper, a married man and father of two who is madly in love with his wife Brenda (Gina Torres), but has become extremely bored in their marriage, which no longer includes any sexual activity for the couple. Cooper admits to often fantasizing about other women that he comes into contact with on a daily basis, but has never once considered acting on the impulses.

But an encounter with his friend’s former girlfriend Nikki Tru (Kerry Washington) leads Cooper on a dangerous path, as the attractive and free-spirited Nikki takes Richard down a road of temptation that begins to threaten his successful career. Yet, it’s not until Nikki’s friendship develops into a deliberate seduction that Richard begins to feel conflicted and he soon finds his will, morals and marriage tested.

An overly familiar but watchable flick, I Think I Love My Wife’s biggest problem comes from Rock’s inability to find a suitable mix between the movie’s comedy and melodrama. Once the film’s tone shifts towards a dramatic element, the actors and the plot’s half-truths about relationships make the film worth considering, but all is eventually lost amidst the unneeded crude language and the unwarranted, horrendous conclusion.

Rock follows up his directorial debut in 2003’s Head of State with a much more serious and mature picture that shows that he has grown as both an actor and a film director, but his writing still leaves a lot to be desired. None of the characters in the film are ever provided much depth or backstory for their actions, and the lack of probing into their decision making serves as a hindrance to the story, and makes it less compelling.

Instead of focusing his story on the problematic relationship with Richard and Brenda, Chris directs the majority of the story towards Nikki, who should serve as the least likeable character in the picture, but comes off as the most relatable. And while this remake seems to have also been heavily inspired by some of Rock’s schtick in his 2004 HBO Comedy special Never Scared, most of the humor in the flick is tiresome and shows a true lack of originality on Rock’s part.

An uneven look at a troubled marriage and a world of temptation, I Think I Love My Wife is a standard relationship film that is better than Rock’s previous work, but still below average for most.