Movie Review

A Wife Addicted to Lust, No Matter the Cost

‘Addicted,’ a Cautionary Tale About Lust

If there were an award for best-looking cast, the director Bille Woodruff’s “Addicted” would take the prize — or at least be nominated. Led by Sharon Leal and Boris Kodjoe, the actors are uniformly handsome and mostly serviceable, though the same can’t be said about the filmmaking or the writing.

The screenplay, adapted by Christina Welsh and Ernie Barbarash from the best-selling erotic novel by Zane, is anything but subtle. This cautionary tale charts what happens when a restless businesswoman, Zoe (Ms. Leal), with an incredibly doting husband (their love is forever, “always has been, always will be”), two adorable children, a helpful live-in mother and a raging sex drive, suppresses her needs for too long. But it’s also a sultry, melodramatic romance, a flaccid thriller and a sloppy attempt to seriously explore sex addiction, and something rarely seen on the big screen: black female sexuality.

Zoe seems to have it all, but there are cracks in the foundation of the life she has built with her husband (Mr. Kodjoe, effective despite being given too little to work with). They have a seemingly healthy sex life — sometimes they have sex two or three times a day — but she still yearns for more. Maybe it’s that craving that has blinded her to the laughable come-ons of a painter (William Levy), a Latin lover cliché with mommy issues. In no time they are in a torrid affair. (He had her the moment he proposed to paint her and put the picture above his bed “so when you’re not here I can satisfy myself with the mere thought of you.”)

As Zoe takes on another lover (Tyson Beckford) and falls deeper into sex addiction, her world begins to crumble. (She misses her son’s soccer games and an important meeting with a businessman.) Her concerned therapist (Tasha Smith) is ineffectual, but she never really stood a chance. Instead of delving into the real problems, there are more sex scenes, which, in this film at least, are Mr. Woodruff’s strength. With a mix of shots, including close-ups of sculpted body parts, there is a propulsive energy in these scenes that the movie as a whole lacks.

“Addicted” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Sex (in the shower), sex (on the hood of a car), sex (in a public bathroom) and more sex (sometimes in a bed).

Addicted
Opened on Friday
Directed by Bille Woodruff; written by Christina Welsh and Ernie Barbarash, based on the novel by Zane; director of photography, Joseph White; edited by Bruce Cannon; music by Aaron Zigman; production design by Jeffrey Pratt Gordon; costumes by Lorraine Coppin; produced by Paul Hall; released by Lionsgate/Codeblack Films. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes.
WITH: Sharon Leal (Zoe Reynard), Boris Kodjoe (Jason Reynard), Tasha Smith (Dr. Marcella Spencer), Tyson Beckford (Corey), Emayatzy Corinealdi (Brina), Kat Graham (Diamond) and William Levy (Quinton Canosa).