the rich man 's wife is one of those movies like final analysis or body double , where the story and characters are so one - dimensional and contrived that you know you should n't be enjoying yourself .
but somehow , the movie just tries so hard that you begin to forgive it and get into the swing of things .
not that it 's bad , it 's just that it 's been done before ; and better , in my opinion .
i realize that this is going to sound pretty bizarre , but it 's probably the best analogy that i can come up with right now ; you know how when you see a spider or something in your toilet , striving helplessly to get out , and instead of just flushing him ,
you end up kind of rooting for the little guy ?
that 's basically how i felt about this movie .
i mean , it 's not very good , but it 's not completely bad either .
the wife of the title is josie potenza ( played nicely by halle berry ) .
she is married to tony ( christopher mcdonald . . .
you know , the guy who looks like joe piscapo ) , a really stressed - out businessman who drinks way to much and does n't give josie the attention she deserves ( * cough , cough * ) .
thus , she is driven into the arms of another man , jake golden ( clive owen ) .
near the beginning of the film , josie decides to try and work things out with tony by dumping jake and going on a vacation to a remote cabin in the woods .
once there , however , tony has to leave almost immediately due to business details ( i 'm still not quite sure what line of work he 's in ) .
making the best of her situation , josie stays there and begins making the rounds at the local bars .
one night , she meets a stranger named cole ( peter greene , finally getting a meaty role ) .
they have dinner together , and eventually , both josie and the audience start to realize that cole is homicidal .
after learning that she is not happily married , cole offers to " take care " of the problem .
managing to escape from the psychotic maniac , josie returns home and starts a reconciliation with her estranged and very wealthy husband .
but then one night , cole shows up .
. .
and here is where the fun begins .
from this point on , it 's going to be a
no - holds- barred cliche - fest , ripping off every movie from strangers on a train to the usual suspects .
this is why most critics panned this movie when it first came out .
and for the most part , they 're right
; the rich man 's wife has nary one original bone in it 's body .
but who cares ? if you 're looking for good ol' dumb suspense movie , you ca n't do much better than this .
and if you suspense buffs are n't already sold , it has a killer of an ending too .
you end up kind of rooting for the little guy ? that 's basically how i felt about this movie . i mean , it 's not very good , but it 's not completely bad either good ol' dumb suspense movie , you ca n't do much better than this . and if you suspense buffs are n't already sold , it has a killer of an ending too