I Think I Love My Wife Movie Review
Chris Rock’s new movie, “I Think I Love My Wife”, is a very adult dramedy which basically played out like a disgruntled married man’s diary. Chris Rock fans will find quite a bit of the marital material familiar, yet slightly less humorous on screen. Chris Rock plays Richard Cooper, a husband of eight years to the beautiful and intelligent Brenda Cooper (played by Gina Torres), father of two, and investment banker who needs some a$$ and adventure. Being bored out of his skull and undersexed makes him easily susceptible to the wiles of his old friend, the free-spirited (read: barely employed so has plenty of time to gallop around town and provide entertainment) and sexy Nikki (played by Kerry Washington). For much of the movie Richard and Nikki’s friendship has a strong undercurrent of tension and teeters on the line of being inappropriate.
Without spoiling the movie, there are several observations I made from the movie:
1) There was an obvious difference in how Nikki (the single woman) was portrayed versus Brenda (the dutiful wife and mother) was portrayed. Nikki was always scantily clad, had no couth/class, was very unreliable, and just came off as kind of lost and in need of rescuing. On the bright side (I guess), she was also portrayed as very desirable (i.e. scantily clad), adventurous, unbridled (i.e. no couth), and passionate. Brenda on the other hand was always slightly conservatively dressed, dignified, practical, and proper (with respect to behavior and language). It kind of made me wonder, is this a subtle or not so subtle commentary on how a woman is supposed to conduct herself in order to be taken seriously?
2) Is it always inappropriate for a person in a relationship to have a friendship with a single person of the opposite sex? The one thing that was interesting about the movie is that it really does beg the question, at what point is a friendship crossing the line? Is a lunch with two people sitting across the table from each other harmless? Is it okay to be friends with someone as long as there is no physical/sexual interaction? What if the person makes disparaging comments about your mate…is it harmless then? All questions that I’m sure every person will have to answer in their relationship.
3) One final point is that, the movie showed just how EASY it is to come off as fun and adventurous and exciting when you don’t have to deal with the day to day pressures of a relationship and family. Of course Nikki was exciting, she had no responsibilities! Brenda on the other hand had to juggle her career as a teacher, with being a mother, and being a wife…so of course she doesn’t have the time on her hands to be a bundle of spunky energy. It seems like sometimes people take the energy a person invests into all aspects of a relationship for granted, while idolizing the energy the person outside the relationship puts in that pales in comparison.
So anyways…what is the moral of the movie? Wives: F*%k your husbands, Husbands: be responsible, don’t play with fire, and don’t cheat! Overall, “I Think I Love My Wife” is a pretty good movie. Perhaps the theme of marital infidelity makes me take it more seriously than the movie intends, but it’s still a funny movie. This is definitely a great water cooler movie, so it’s a must see if for no other reason than to be able to participate in the lively debates surrounding it.
So HM readers let’s have a discussion.
Have you checked out the movie? What did you think about it? What exactly constitutes cheating? Would you be okay with your partner hanging out with a single person of the opposite sex? Have you had an experience similar to the movie (whether you were the single person, the person in the relationship, etc.)? I’m interested in hearing your thoughts…so don’t be shy!
Posted by Reecie
Like Black Snoke Moan this movie probably could had done better at the box office if it was release at a different date instead of teh same day of major box office movies.
I think this is one of Chris Rocks better performances as an actor. I would like to see him stick to what he does best, which would be comedy about real life situations such as these. As a single guy, I can only imagine what a married man goes through in terms of temptation and the every day struggle of keeping a relationship going. I think its up to both parties to spice up things and keep the relationship exciting to make it last and as the guys, it’s also about know yourself so if you have a sweet tooth, stay away from the cookie jar. Even Roeper gave it two thumbs up, you can check out his review at http://www.atthemoviestv.com, great site for full length, high-production movie reviews online. Just thought I’d share that with all the movie fans out there since I work with Ebert and Roeper.
While your observations are interesting I would like to know if you thought this movie was funny. I haven’t seen it yet though I have read a review about how funny it WASN’T. All feminist movement/suffrage aside what did YOU think?
I revised the review to include my overall review of the movie. I guess I went off on a tangent and neglected to state that originally!
I wouldn’t describe it as a “disgruntled married man’s diary.” (People who don’t find purpose in what they do get disgruntled, someone who just wants the best in that they value gets unhappy). I think it is more so a tale of, “an unhappy marriage resulting from change.” (mainly because he married her and wanted to be married, he wanted to make it work, but kids, life, work got the best of them). I enjoyed the humor, given that I’m a fan, but better appreciated the message - SACRIFICE. People need stimulation, spontaneity, desire, responsibility, success, and most importantly they need intimacy. So I feel the wife was wrong for not having sex with him, no matter how tired she was! Wrong for always watching home improvement shows, and calling his job about wall deco, going to the car show and looking at mini-vans, wanting to shop (for BD’s – big draughs) on the days he loved to just hang around the house. I’m sure the movie exaggerated this point, but still. All of this would be fine if it was done in moderation. Throw some cute panties in the mix, do some things he liked, etc. But the man wasn’t coming that strong either. His hair line was always jacked up, wasn’t really in good shape, didn’t seem desirable to his wife, could have tried to be more romantic to get some intimacy, and that time they went out and she fell asleep - he should have woke her up and then put her back to sleep (if you know what I mean). But we all can get caught up in the day to day…
This is where tasty Kerry Washington comes into play. To remind him of the thrills possible in life. To not be redundant I will not go into the female characters but I will conclude this…if a man has a mix of Nikki and Brenda he’ll be all good! There is a time for sexy and there is a time for dignified. But you can always be sexy and dignified at the same time – his wife didn’t master that in the movie.
Opposite sex friends will not work unless they are both in relationships and very happy within them. And they also must not interact very much. Attraction and desire always grown when you don’t have the full story.
We don’t care about the energy you spend living. Well we care but we spend it too. Less then women when kids are involved, but we spend it too. It takes more energy to put on big panties then it does small ones. It takes less energy to be intimate then it does to argue. It takes less energy to prevent a problem from happening then it does to solve one that has already presented itself. We do appreciate you, but the full package must be there. He said he would do the dishes no problems, he’ll check on the kids, pushed the stroller, he was down as he should be, but he just needed a little more.
Moral –never get comfortable. Always new, always fresh. It may make you even more tired to do the little things, but in the end it will be worth it. Also, don’t risk forever for something temporary.
Cheating is anything you wouldn’t tell your partner about that jeopardizes your situation. Some things will just make them mad that you wouldn’t tell like hanging with a female friend. Now hanging with a female friend you like and if you were in the wrong situation and the wrong time you would ‘jump that off’ – you’re setting yourself up and jeopardizing your marriage. Cheating primarily isn’t a single act. It’s a build up. Constant temptation until you fold.
To your morals/conclusions—
Wives: F*%k your husbands,
Its so much more then just sex.
Husbands: be responsible, don’t play with fire, and don’t cheat!
Its so much more then just this
Both – need to find someone who you like to challenge and who likes to challenges you- and always accept the challenge.
Anything you desire in a mate try to give them that same desire from you!
(ex: If you want her to want you, show her you want her!)
“To your morals/conclusions—
Wives: F*%k your husbands,
Its so much more then just sex.
Husbands: be responsible, don’t play with fire, and don’t cheat!
Its so much more then just this”
Really?
The only negative aspect of the marriage that the movie allowed us to see was the lack of sex. So Reecie you’re right with your instructions to the women. In adding to that couples must not get into too monotonous of a lifestyle within their marriage. I think Richard really showed us how predictable his martial life was.
lol @ really
lol@Mr.O at his lol@really
great movie. i really enjoyed it.
here’s the kicker: i saw it with a guy who, halfway into the date, tells me he has a girlfriend.
oh, the irony
“here’s the kicker: i saw it with a guy who, halfway into the date, tells me he has a girlfriend.
oh, the irony”
Wow that sucks! Perhaps the movie inspired him to renew his fidelity…after your date was over of course.
Lol @ L-dizzle. I guess he felt a bit of conviction.
I wish my date would had some “loving” stuff to say after that movie instead making dumb comments that caused us to argue too much. How could you say, “she just wanted to much. she wanted the perfect marriage!”
PLEASE!!!!