REEL CRITICS:Few bright spots in Chris Rock effort

Chris Rock tones down his aggressive stand-up routine to direct and star in this mainstream romantic comedy. “I Think I Love My Wife” is full of predictable problems faced by hard-working parents of young children. They are too busy, too hassled, too distraught and too tired to have any real romance in their lives.

But the arrival of a femme fatale into Chris Rock’s business world turns his boredom into many sexy possibilities. Kerry Washington plays the hot babe who has men drooling over her at every turn. Rock’s character takes many risks to his job and marriage to pursue the mystery woman while flirting with the ultimate plunge into adultery.

Gina Torres does a good job as Rock’s bewildered wife watching her husband get stranger as the story evolves.

Overall this is an uneven comedy that has some inspired moments and insights. But it also has plenty of contrived scenes that ring hollow and leave viewers wishing there was more meat on the bones of this sometimes-intriguing plot.

Beautiful tale of a transplanted familyDirector Mira Nair’s “The Namesake” is a beautifully told story about love and family that is tender, funny and sexy. Based upon the best-selling novel, it gently wraps you up in the lives of the Gangulis, an Indian family transplanted to America.

Quiet, bookish Ashoke (Irfan Khan) lives in New York but returns briefly to Kolkata for an arranged marriage to Ashima (the lovely Tabu).

She likes him for his stylish Western shoes. He is taken with her beauty and knowledge of poetry.

Eventually, the Gangulis have two children and move to the suburbs.

Their son Gogol is named for his father’s favorite author, and he gets a lot of teasing from his peers about his name.

As the teenage and adult Gogol, Kal Penn (“Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle”) is a revelation for his multilayered performance.

When we first see him, he is sullen and embarrassed by his parents’ gentle, old-fashioned ways. But as he matures, he learns to appreciate his parents for who they are.

Gogol gains newfound respect for his heritage and strives to honor his parents by keeping to the old traditions, even if they don’t always work out.

And it is wonderful to watch the affection between Ashoke and Ashima deepen into love, although they never actually say the words.

“The Namesake” brought smiles and tears. I didn’t want it to end.