I have this theory. See, I’ve noticed that in a predominantly black cast, the more affluent the character, the more likely he/she is to be morally bankrupt (Temptations: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, The Best Man Holiday, Jumping the Broom, etc…). My theory is that wealth and power are things we associate with being white, hence, the “whiter” you get, the more your values stray from the reservation. I could be wrong about this, but I doubt it. All I can say is adultery knows no demographic, and pretending there is one? That’s not gonna solve race relations in America, folks.
I hate a bad set up. Hate it. This film is, unfortunately, Addicted to all sorts of poorly considered givens. Zoe Reynard (Sharon Leal) is, what? 35 maybe and is a successful business owner despite marrying her high school sweetheart and having kids “shortly after.” Yeah. I’m sure hubby Jason (Boris Kodjoe) bankrolled her career big time with his lucrative “studying to be an architect” job. Sorry, they’re both a little young to have two teen children and be magazine cover successful. Zoe is so successful, in fact, she can afford a team of yes men who take her coat as she enters and bring her coffee without asking. Ah, I see director Bille Woodruff knows exactly as much about being a modern CEO as the actress does, which is to say, nothing.
The following scenes actually show me that Zoe couldn’t hold down normal employment, let alone build a company from the ground up. We open with her initial trip to therapist Dr. Spencer (Tasha Smith) where we learn of how Zoe turned from normal unsatisfied housewife to true sex addict. Apparently twice nightly Boris wasn’t doin’ it for her, so she got involved with a multilayer cliché — artist Quinton Canosa (William Levy). Wait, I’m gonna count the clichés here: 1) he’s a artist, 2) vaguely foreign with a thick Latino accent 3) whose face is initially unknown to her despite the fact that this is her business 4) a client 5) a hunk 6) unattached 7) has a real date-rape-y come on, but it’s ok, because she “wants it” 8) lousy sense of h
umor and 9) a great lay. Oh, and I missed my favorite cliché: she marvels at his work in the gallery while he pretends he’s just another patron.
Geez, the sex had better be really freaking good.
It is and it isn’t. I mean, you go to a movie like Addicted assuming there will be some hot ‘n’ heavy action. It doesn’t disappoint, but still falls shy of full disclosure. Also, nobody bothers to point out how much Quinton’s art starts to suck after the affair begins. Zoe basically tanks on her entire life so thoroughly I was left unconvinced she had any hand in building it up in the first place. Nobody who worked that hard to become queen of her castle could or would voluntarily see it crumble without making a better effort.
Addicted represents the worst of our societal double standards. If a man a has an affair so destructive that he tears apart his family and ruins his company in the process, we see him as the worst of the worst. He’s not an addict; he deserves comeuppance. When Nikolaj Coster-Waldau gets his at the hand of Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton, we cheer hard. We don’t imagine he’s a victim here. That’s insane. When you start a film with a woman voluntarily going to therapy, you’re taking a stance of acceptability. She’s a victim, not a playah. That’s not what happened here. Zoe destroys her own life of her own volition. Yes, she may be an addict, but she doesn’t even spend the down time trying to mend fences. And you want us to treat her differently than the cheating husband in The Other Woman? Good luck.
♪As boss you rule, but you’re a jerk
Not sure, you jive with work
Your tongue bathes, your breasts swell,
Family life? Oh, what the Hell?
You can’t make a single choice
That doesn’t answer another voice
When two is gone, you go for three
You’re as selfish as one can be
Ohh oohh
You like to think that you care about kin … oh yeah
Pretty obvious your excuses are thin
You know you’re gonna have to face it
The sex scenes aren’t good enough to justify this level of indulgent behavior♫
Rated R, 105 Minutes
D: Bille Woodruff
W: Christina Welsh and Ernie Barbarash
Genre: Psych negative 101
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: People who live to see Sharon sharin’
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: Actual recovering addicts
♪ Parody inspired by “Addicted to Love”
