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 shouldn'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 doesn'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 can't do much better than this . and if you suspense buffs aren't already sold , it has a killer of an ending too . 
