First, let's congratulate Chris Rock and his co-screenwriter Louis C.K. for taking on such an unusual project, said Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune. This remake of Chloe in the Afternoon, one of French director Eric Rohmer's 'œmoral tales,' follows a family man who contemplates straying from his marriage. Rock's version even begins to examine the moral quandaries Rohmer's film explored, though 'œthe results fall short of the grown-up comedy about seven-year itches it could've been.' I Think I Love My Wife is 'œradical in concept but timid in execution,' said Christopher Kelly in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Rock uses the F-word freely, but never explores truly dangerous territory by challenging monogamy or dissecting the sinister aspects of the male mind. He makes several refreshingly daring insights about race—the middle-class black family's position between African-American and white culture, for example—but 'œeach time the emotions in the movie threaten to turn especially knotty, Rock quickly backs down.' This film just isn't very funny, said Eleanor Ringel Gillespie in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Rock's onstage comedic rhythm doesn't work in movies, and I Think I Love My Wife is 'œyet one more frustrating film in Rock's frustrating film career.' It looks like he's heading for a stand-up legacy as strong as Richard Pryor's, and a film career just as weak.
Rating: R
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