The protagonist of ""I Think I Love My Wife"" describes his life rather succinctly: ""I'm bored out of my f***ing mind."" Within the first 30 minutes, audiences will be checking their watches and thinking the same thing themselves.
Chris Rock plays Richard Cooper, a husband of eight years and father of two kids whose boredom with married life has made him prone to fantasies involving the multitude of women peppering his daily commute. The movie picks up as he gets back in touch with a sexy club diva from his single days named Nikki Tru (the gorgeous Kerry Washington). Nikki drops in to visit Richard at work with increasing frequency, reminding him daily of the joys of not being tied down by family. After a 90-minute fling with the temptress, Richard eventually chooses family and makes the titular conclusion, ""I think I love my wife.""
It's hard to believe this comedy fits within its cookie cutter length, seeing as the movie feels excruciatingly long from the get-go. The movie has a very simple plot that should be a delivery system for Rock's comedy, but instead it drags on and on as Richard goes back and forth between chasing Nikki and retreating to the safety of the suburbs and his family. Any point that Rock was trying to make in his direction or writing about the perceived boredom of marriage is lost to actual boredom of the audience.
The plot drags due to bland performances from everyone in the film. Rock is uncharacteristically mute in the film, even at its most extreme (see Viagra jokes and cursing about chicken). This might work for actors like Jim Carrey in serious roles, but this is supposed to be a comedy. Classic Chris Rock could have livened up the pace a bit here. Washington serves her purpose as the sexy diva, but little else. The ""chemistry"" between her and Rock comes off onscreen as that of a hot girl and a prepubescent boy—awkward at best, painful at worst. Gina Torres, as Richard's wife, convincingly makes marriage seem suffocating and boring, but not anything positive that seems worth going back to. Not even Steve Buscemi can throw in some valuable performance here, as any fun he could have in his buddy role is crushed under the plodding pace of the movie.
The movie finds some redemption in Rock's writing, but not much. Brief fantasy sequences tow out a few laughs, as do other scenes that seem to best channel the humor of Rock's comic style. Shakier are the marriage jokes, which fall into hits (classic sequences with a marriage counselor) and horrendous misses (a random musical sequence at the end). The writing remains firmly R-rated, but rarely takes any chances beyond sex and f-bombs.
Rock deserves some credit for taking stereotypes and placing them in a world occupied by people who do not reflect them but have to face them regardless. However, this writing is so poorly delivered that any insight is lost. Nikki acts surprised that Richard has two kids from the same mother, but the surprise is insincere and the remark comes off more offensive than groundbreaking.
In the end, the audience is left 90 minutes poorer with little to show for it but some second-rate Chris Rock material. There's probably a DVD or special on TV somewhere that would be a better use of your time and money.
