History Film / IThinkILoveMyWife

%% * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Richard.

* TheFinalTemptation: At the end of the story, after being gone for a long time, a seemingly reformed and engaged Nikki shows up in Richard's life again. But then it's made clear she came back in order to try to resolve their UnresolvedSexualTension once and for all by proposing to actually sleep togethe before she gets married. [[spoiler: Richard almost goes through with it, but backs down at the last second.]]

* GilliganCut: Richard insists he's not flying to Washington. Gets cut to him arriving to Washington.

* HollywoodMidLifeCrisis: While Richard is a HappilyMarried man who loves his family and has a succesful, he also can't help but feel somewhat bored with how mundane his life has become. So when NewOldFlame Nikki appears into his life, he easily falls for her ToxicFriendInfluence.

** Nikki thinks Richard is this when he critizes her for marrying a man who doesn't truly make her happy, as she believes he's also married to a woman who doesn't make him happy, and she sees her marriage as following his footsteps of settling down into a "boring but stable life".

* MasterOfTheMixedMessage: It's ambiguous to both Richard and the audience how much Nikki is actively flirting with him or not. Something she's being TheTease and seemingly taking advantage of his attraction to her so he helps her, others she seems to actually treat him as a guy friend who she can discuss her love lifewith.

* RagingStiffie: After a romantic date with Brenda, Richard is under the impression they'll finally break their SexlessMarriage and takes some Viagra... but when he gets into his bedroom all he finds Brenda fast asleep. Cue him trying to sleep on the bed while having a full erection. And when 4 hours pass and he ''still'' has the erection, he ends up needing medical attention.

* TranquilFury: Brenda is clearly when Richard comes home after disappearing all night with an [[BlatantLies obviously fake excuse]], but she keeps her voice calm and talks to him in a non-nosense fashion to him.

* UnresolvedSexualTension: Richard and Nikki were friends who were attracted to each other in their youth, and when they meet again as adults their interactions are still filled with sexual tension, which is exarbated with Nikki's natural sexual magnetism and Richard's sexual frustration and mid-life crisis.

* AllWomenArePrudes: In-universe, Richard believes this of his marriage, complaining that Brenda never wants to have sex with him unless it's for having a baby. Averted when Brenda is talking to her friend Jennifer about her fears of infidelity.
-->'''Jennifer:''' Did you find anything on his computer?
-->'''Brenda:''' Just a little Asian porn, nothing serious.

* AwfulWeddedLife: Very much defied. Richard and Brenda are happy ''except'' for the no sex part. They both love each other, their life, and their kids, but Richard is sexually frustrated and bored out of his mind by the mundane patterns they've fallen into as of late.
* BettyAndVeronica: Brenda is Richard's Betty and Nikki is his Veronica.

-->'''Brenda''': ''(seductively over the phone)'' I can't wait to ''suck your dick.''
-->'''Richard''': And then after you get married, you get calls like:
-->'''Brenda''': ''(seductively over the phone)'' I can't ''wait'' for you to get home and see these ''drapes!''

-->'''Nikki:''' You like my shoes?
-->'''Richard:''' You're wearing shoes?
* EveryoneCanSeeIt: Nearly everyone in Richard's office picks up on the UnresolvedSexualTension between him and Nikki.
-->'''Richard''': I'm not fucking her.
-->'''George''': No, she's fucking you; you just don't know it.

* {{Fanservice}}: Plenty, as Nikki is played by the gorgeous Kerry Washington. She wears skimpy clothing and is in only a bra in three different scenes.
* ForeignRemake: Of ''Film/ChloeInTheAfternoon''.

* HeroicBSOD: A subversion. Richard stupidly listens to Nikki, starts a fake argument with Brenda, and goes to the club where Nikki is supposed to meet him. He has some drinks, dances, smokes some weed and acts a fool, only for Nikki to send one of her friends to tell him she ran off with a guy named Compassion and isn't coming after all. Richard realizes he just risked his marriage over someone so flaky and inconsiderate, races home and manages to salvage things with Brenda. He then cuts off contact with Nikki for what appears to be several weeks or months.
* HurricaneOfPuns: When Nikki insists Richard come with her to go clubbing, she tells him to just start a fight with Brenda and act like he's storming out. Richard apparently couldn't think of anything legitimate, so he goes off about Brenda serving him chicken too much. Brenda is understandably baffled, but the "argument" is hilarious given Richard's responses.
-->'''Richard''': I'm goin' out of my finger-lickin' mind eating all this chicken! Chicken hawks don't eat this much chicken! I can't take it anymore!
-->'''Brenda''': Where are you going?!
-->'''Richard''': To get some DUCK!
* {{Hypocrite}}: George cheats on his wife constantly, which Richard overlooks, but jumps down Richard's throat the second he thinks Richard is sleeping with Nikki. Richard rightfully calls him out on it.
* ImagineSpot: Richard has a moment thinking about what he'd do if he returned to being a single man again. Naturally, none of what he does would happen in the real world, but he still thinks about having wild sex with random pretty women.

* {{Hypocrite}}: George has a constant wandering eye when out with his wife and family and regularly cheats on her with no regrets, yet calls Richard out when he thinks he might be doing the same.
* {{Jerkass}}: It's extremely difficult to decide whether Nikki is simply a troubled, immature woman who uses Richard as an emotional crutch since she can't find anyone single she likes or if she's just a shallow, opportunistic narcissist who enjoys his doting nature and wants to take advantage of him for her own selfish needs. However, given that she is about to marry a man she doesn't love so she'll be financially stable and yet still is about to cheat with Richard, it's likely Nikki is more of a manipulative {{Jerkass}} than a troubled girl.
* JerkassHasAPoint: George is a cheating bastard...but he's not wrong about Nikki.
-->'''George''': I can fuck a girl, go home, kiss my wife on the mouth, and sleep like a baby. You, however, got emotions. You're like Captain Save-a-Ho. You like to be needed and that bitch knows it.

---> '''Brenda:''' Are you talking to some...little bitch? Are you talking to some whore? In my house?!
---> '''Richard:''' No, it's just George.
---> '''Brenda:''' George? ({{beat}}) What kind of down low shit is that?

%% * OnlySaneWoman: Brenda.

* SexlessMarriage: What drives the conflict in Richard's life. He and Brenda have stopped sleeping together, with the latter only citing being "tired" as the reason, and Richard is also relatively bored with his happy but mundane life. Then Nikki comes along and brings a heap of UnresolvedSexualTension with her.

* StupidSexyFriend: Richard's relationship to Nikki embodies this.
%% * TranquilFury: Brenda, when Richard comes home after disappearing all night with an [[BlatantLies obviously fake excuse]].

* {{Jerkass}}: George has a constant wandering eye when out with his wife and family and regularly cheats on her with no regrets, yet calls Richard out when he thinks he might be doing the same.
** It's extremely difficult to decide whether Nikki is simply a troubled, immature woman who uses Richard as an emotional crutch since she can't find anyone single she likes or if she's just a shallow, opportunistic narcissist who enjoys his doting nature and wants to take advantage of him for her own selfish needs. However, given that she is about to marry a man she doesn't love so she'll be financially stable and yet still is about to cheat with Richard, it's likely Nikki is more of a manipulative {{Jerkass}} than a troubled girl.

-->'''George''': I can fuck a girl, go home, and kiss my wife on the mouth. You, however, got emotions. You're like Captain Save-a-Ho. You like to be needed and that bitch knows it.

* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: Richard ''almost'' gives in to having sex with Nikki, but he comes to his senses just in time before he's done anything more than kissing and goes back to Brenda.

** It's extremely difficult to decide whether Nikki is simply a troubled, immature woman who uses Richard as an emotional crutch since she can't find anyone single she likes or if she's just a shallow, opportunistic narcissist who enjoys his doting nature and wants to take advantage of him for her own selfish needs. However, given that she is about to marry a man she doesn't love so she'll be financiall stable and yet still is about to cheat with Richard, it's likely Nikki is more of a manipulative {{Jerkass}} than a troubled girl.

%% * ScaryBlackMan: Nikki's ex, Teddy.