Chris Rock can't find his groove in I Think I Love My Wife, a comedy about a husband who can't find his groove, either.

In a movie inspired by Eric Rohmer's 1972 Chloe in the Afternoon, Rock plays Richard Cooper, an investment banker who's married with children but has become bored with domestic bliss. When Richard is visited by the sexy former girlfriend (Kerry Washington) of one of his pals, he becomes enmeshed in an internal tug of war: He's tempted by Washington's Nikki but also frets about being unfaithful to his wife.

All this makes it sound as if Rock has caught the "serious" bug that afflicted Jim Carrey in The Number 23. But unlike the terminally sober Number 23, I Think I Love My Wife turns out to be a kind of semi-comedy with a few attempts at drama. Rock, who wrote the script with comic Louis C.K., mires the movie in tin-eared humor, much of it delivered by Richard, who narrates the movie.

Whatever his intentions, Rock can't resist trying for at least one major laugh , a sequence in which Richard takes Viagra and then must grapple with problems caused by a four-hour erection that requires a visit to a hospital.

Long before we get to that point, we've learned that Richard's domestic life may not be quite so wonderful. After eight years of marriage, Richard's wife (Gina Torres) won't have sex with him, and sessions with a therapist don't seem to be helping.

The movie takes for granted the notion that busy wives aren't interested in sex, a conceit that - at minimum - evokes memories of a million or so stand-up acts.

Washington's Nikki comes off as sexy and a bit dangerous. Washington (the best reason to see the movie) certainly brings her to full, irresponsible life, even though it's never entirely clear why Nikki would be attracted to Richard in the first place, a small matter but one that probably could have used a bit of elaboration because it provides the basis for the entire movie.

At times, it seems as if Rock had trouble deciding whether to go for laughs or drama. In one of the movie's most jarring moments, Rock's character is beaten up by one of Nikki's former boyfriends. She's trying to leave him, and they're caught attempting to remove her stuff from his apartment. The scene includes a shooting that seems out-of-place in a movie that runs no risk of being confused with The Departed.

Indecision may have been a great subject for Rohmer, but it's not equally kind to Rock, who spends time showing us how obsession with another woman not only threatens Richard's marriage but could cost him his job. Richard's attendance at work takes a plunge. The more preoccupied he becomes with Nikki, the more he allows his work to slide.

The script offers little diversion from the main event. The supporting characters - notably Steve Buscemi as a philandering co-worker who warns Richard about the pitfalls of straying - aren't developed in interesting ways.

I Think I Love My Wife may be an attempt on Rock's part to expand his repertoire - but not too far. The off-color humor and R-rated language seems an attempt to reach out to his fan base, but in all, this attempt at "realistic" comedy never seems funny or emotionally insightful enough to matter.

By the way, Rock also directed - his second behind-the-camera effort since Head of State. Let's just say two wasn't the charm.

I Think I Love My Wife

A husband battles with temptation.

• Grade: C-

• Rating: R

• Running time: 94 minutes

So good on HBO, yet . . .

Could Pootie Tang be the zenith of Chris Rock's big-screen career? It didn't make much money, but at least it's revered, which is more than can be said for most of Rock's film catalog:

• 2001: Rock plays multiple roles in the blaxploitation send-up Pootie Tang, which makes just $3 million at the box office but is later heralded by the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival as a cult classic.

• 2002: Rock is the voice behind a white-blood-cell cop in the animation- meets-live action film Osmosis Jones, which fails to lure either live-action or animation film fans. It makes $13 million.

• 2003: Rock teams with Anthony Hopkins in the CIA buddy flick Bad Company. The movie lives up to its title and tumbles to a $30 million box office.

• 2004: Rock tests whether bad directing was behind the bad box office. Nope. He helms Head of State and it makes $38 million.

• 2005: Rock finds the secret to success: take a smaller role in an Adam Sandler film. The Longest Yard scores with $158 million. Or be an animated zebra. Madagascar makes $193 million.