Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. Evidently, Chris Rock was talking about us talking about his film when he was on Howard Stern’s show earlier in the week. I guess he was surprised we’ve been running reviews and pleased that so many of them have been positive. Will Capone and MiraJeff continue that streak, or will they disagree? The movie’s open now, so it’s time for the rest of us to check it out for ourselves. Right now, we’ve got MiraJeff up first:
Greetings AICN, MiraJeff here with a look at I Think I Love My Wife, the latest from writer-director Chris Rock. I gotta tell ya folks, I think I liked this movie. It’s definitely the best “Chris Rock” film, which means it’s the standout amongst such cinematic achievements as CB4, Pootie Tang, Down to Earth and Head of State. All Rock joints, and all duds of various degrees. Fortunately, I Think I Love My Wife, a remake of the Eric Rohmer film Chloe in the Afternoon, re-teams Rock with writing partner Louis C.K., a guy whose track record of success isn’t pretty, but whose sense of humor I happen to personally enjoy. I’m not gonna pretend I’m some huge closet Louis C.K. fan from way back. The first time I ever heard of the guy was last year’s already canceled HBO show, Lucky Louie. The show was charming in its own low-budget way and it often depicted a pretty realistic marriage with a poignant though perverted sense of humor. It was a show with something funny to say about marriage, which is more than I can say about most of the shows on network TV, where all the characters seem to be stuck in the same loveless relationship. C.K. reminds me of Married With Children’s Al Bundy, and perhaps that’s why I instantly fell for his shtick. Rock stars as Richard Cooper, a “happily married” businessman and father of two who is becoming more than a little bored with his life, which is charted out for him years in advance and seemingly holds few surprises. There’s also that small but significant fact that his sex life with wife Brenda (Gina Torres, looking damn good herself) is colder than an Alaskan snowball. Enter Nikki (sexpot Kerry Washington), the ex-girlfriend of one of Richard’s friends (Orlando Jones in a flat cameo). She shows up at his workplace, needing him to sign a letter of reference, but impressed with his office digs and expensive suit, and relieved that he’s happily married (i.e. he doesn’t try to hit on her the first chance he gets), she decides to strike up a playful friendship with him, an irresistible possibility that Richard fancies quite a bit. They start going out to lunch together and it’s not long before Nikki asks Richard to escort her to Washington DC so she can pick up her things at her latest ex-boyfriend’s apartment. The platonic pair also embarks on a series of misadventures and close calls that leave Richard in deep and deeper shit with his wife. Of course, the problem with this secret friendship is that as Richard sneaks behind his wife’s back with his bootylicious new friend, he experiences all of the guilt and none of the fun of an affair. He’s going to all the trouble of sneaking around with Nikki and lying to his wife about it, but he’s not even getting any of that oh so fine ass. This line of thinking isn’t lost on Richard’s co-worker/conscience, George (Steve Buscemi), who cheats on his wife constantly but is hardwired not to feel any guilt. As George the Guardian Angel puts it, some men are predisposed to feeling guilt, even when they haven’t done anything to be ashamed of, as is Richard’s dilemma. I Think I Love My Wife is like a comedy of errors. With Rock and C.K. at the helm, the laugh factor isn’t the problem. It’s got some dry patches and minor pacing issues, but on the whole, it’s pretty laugh-out-loud funny stuff. The audience full of “creative screenwriters” that I saw the film with really seemed to enjoy it. The film delivers on its promise to entertain, and suggests to the audience that whatever problems their marriages are having, love is an unbreakable bond that’s worth fighting for, even if there are some stumbling blocks along the road to Paradise. Torres’ casting is perfect. In one look she can convey a caring mother, or a fearful dictator of a wife. At the beginning of the film, it’s clear she has Richard planted firmly under her thumb, and by the end, I think they both realize they need to loosen up and live the lives they have built together, rather than the life they always thought they wanted. Meanwhile, this has to be Washington’s breakout role. I think she’s a very talented actress and her sexuality just leaps off screen… right into the viewers’ lap. She’s been working pretty steady for a few years now, as far back as 2002’s Bad Company with none other than Rock himself, but I don’t think I heard of her until Mr. And Mrs. Smith. She was good in last year’s The Last King of Scotland but what really made me sit up and take note of this beautiful, talented actress was her scorching performance as a prostitute in The Dead Girl. If there’s a weakness amongst the cast it’s that Rock has written a role that requires slightly more than his acting abilities allow, although being the writer, there also seems to be a real connection to the material. I know some of the material in the film is drawn upon from Rock’s own marriage, and while this is a fictional film and Rock is playing a character, it doesn’t necessarily feel like that. Now I’ve never been married, nor do I plan to get married anytime soon, but make no mistake, married people are this film’s target audience, and that’s why I predict it will be a word-of-mouth success. Some might argue that white audiences have yet to embrace Rock at the box office, but I can totally see married folks talking each other into seeing this film, regardless of their skin color. Race isn’t a factor in the film, but considering that Rock stars as an upper middle-class, non-threatening black character, it could mean that older white audiences may find the film an easier pill to swallow. I think if this movie had been made with Matthew McConaughey and a white cast, it wouldn’t work nearly as well as it does here, where Rock is a natural fit for the material since he co-wrote it. There are few connections to the source material, and as in Rohmer’s film, the shirt over the head has been replaced by Rock’s necktie, a fitting metaphor if there ever was one, as Richard can either put his tie and go to work and make the best of his life, or he can throw it all away with one bad decision, effectively hanging himself with it. Speaking of, the film ends on a bit of an awkward note, with Richard and his wife bursting into song a la The 40 Year-Old Virgin. This is Rock’s way of avoiding the conventional romantic comedy ending and putting his signature stamp on things. Might as well try something different and see if you can get away with it if you’re being encouraged to break the formula. Fortunately, it works for the most part. At the Q and A after the screening, I couldn’t help myself when I was chosen to ask the last question of the night. I asked Rock how he convinced Michael K. Williams (Omar on The Wire) to wear a ridiculous Cosby-looking sweater in a hilarious cameo. The small percentage of the audience who noticed the sweater and had the good mind to know Williams’ work on The Wire found the question pretty hilarious. I Think I Love My Wife isn’t some profound meditation on fidelity and marriage. It’s an adult comedy that knows its audience and its subject matter. The pacing drags a bit but the movie has a lot of laughs, even if the trailer plays it a bit tame. This is a small studio, Fox Searchlight, really taking a chance and letting Rock do his thing. It’s not as raunchy as some of his stand-up, but it should please most of his fans, and that should mean decent box office once the behemoth known as 300 cools down. The moral at its center is to be grateful for the family that you have, because you don’t get another one, and honestly, I don’t think most men want two families to support. One is more than enough hugs and headaches for a lifetime. That’ll do it for me, folks. I’ll be back with some interesting stuff including a script review of M. Night’s latest. ‘Til next time, this is MiraJeff signing off…
And here’s our own Capone with his take on it:
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here with an urgent announcement: Someone call off the comedy hounds from Chris Rock's film career, at least for now. One of the great stand-up comics in history has finally made an R-rated comedy (not directed by Kevin Smith) that is worth his talents and our time. Loosely based on, of all places, French director Eric Rohmer's 1972 morality play Chloe in the Afternoon (the final part in Rohmer's six-film, self-described Moral Tales), I Think I Love Me Wife concerns successful investment banker Richard Cooper (Rock), who has a beautiful wife, Brenda (Gina Torres from Serenity) and two perfect children. He's also stupendously bored with his routine-driven, largely sexless marriage. Rock skillfully narrates Richard's pain and suffering as a man who knows he's got it good, but can't stop looking and fantasizing about every beautiful woman that crosses his path. One day at the office, in walks Nikki (Kerry Washington of Last King of Scotland), the former girlfriend of one of Richard's college buddies. And while there's a great deal of flirting going on between the two, the end up managing to be just friends, taking long lunches, going out for drinks after work. But Nikki's presence in his life stirs up a hornet's nest of pent-up frustration. She reminds him how much fun he used to have when he was younger and single. Often, she's the little devil on his shoulder tempting him to a new club or urging him to blow off work, which results in problems on every front of his life. And as funny as Richard's observations on married life in are, co-writers Rock and his fellow comic and constant writing partner Louis C.K. cull together some astute and sometimes painful observations about temptation, male/female relationships, and the workings of the male mind. With the exception of his role in the Neil LaBute film Nurse Betty, Rock has never struck me as much of an actor, but here he is called upon to wear many hats. He's as believable as a dedicated father playing with his two young children as he is a sex-deprived married man seriously considering cheating on his wife. I also liked the way the women in Richard's life are portrayed. Brenda isn't a demanding harpy; she's a lovely woman who feels overworked and underappreciated. Even the temptress Nikki has some curious traits to her, and we are never meant to view her as evil or villainous. She's a 32-year-old woman working the club scene looking for a man like she did when she was 22, and the game has taken it's toll on her outlook on life. I Think I Love My Wife succeeds because it treats its character like human beings and not simply the means to a punchline or stupid sight gag. This is not to say that the film avoids the occasional dip into lowbrow humor, but most of the story seems well realized and authentic. If I had one complaint, it could be that Steve Buscemi (as Richard's co-worker and emotional confidant) is completely underutilized here. Most of the time he's simply peering out of his office and into Richard's whenever Nikki shows up to visit. I felt in a film filled with such interesting characters, fleshing out the one played by the master Buscemi might not have been the worst idea. This is a minor glitch is what is a beautifully executed comic episode on the shiny things and lifestyles that seduce us. It's also extremely R-rated for language, with plenty of F-bombs and a healthy smattering of N-words for everybody to enjoy. I pray Chris Rock has spent a lot of time watching French films lately. Capone
