One of the main problems of
The Ex could have been solved by simply casting a different actor in the lead role. While I have admired Zach Braff in past roles, he seems wrong as the flustered and constantly humiliated hero of the story. The film needs someone with more experience in broad humiliation-type humor like Ben Stiller. Even with a different star, that still wouldn't fix the numerous other problems present in the film. The movie is shot in a highly amateurish style that brings to mind a sitcom rather than a full-length feature film. And while there are a couple of passing moments of amusement,
The Ex really just does not add up to a whole lot.
Having just lost his job, Tom Reilly (Zach Braff) is now faced with a difficult situation, as his loving wife Sofia (Amanda Peet) has just given birth to their first son and quit her job in order to be a full-time mom. Desperate for work that can support a family, Tom is forced to take a job at an ad company run by Sofia's new age-obsessed father (Charles Grodin, in his first film performance in 13 years). At the new job, Tom is placed under the guidance of an employee by the name of Chip Sanders (Jason Bateman). Chip is paralyzed from the waist down, but that apparently didn't stop him from having sex with Sofia back when they were in high school. It seems that Chip still holds strong feelings for Sofia, and is willing to do just about anything to destroy Tom's life and his reputation at the job. Chip tries everything from sabotaging one of Tom's ad campaign ideas to humiliating him in public. A bitter war ensues, with Tom desperate to expose Chip as the evil and scheming mastermind he truly is.
Not a lot makes sense in
The Ex, least of which being the title. The film was originally set for a January release under the name "
Fast Track", and was changed to its current title for reasons unknown. It's strange, since I'm assuming that the ex in particular refers to Chip. The problem is, the movie makes it clear that Chip and Sofia never really dated, it was simply a one night thing. Toss in the fact that despite Chip's desire for Sofia, she never once seems truly interested in going back to him, and the title makes even less sense. Regardless, a January release probably would be more appropriate for a film such as this. While never quite painful or unwatchable, the movie just seems highly mediocre. It obviously wants to be a politically incorrect comedy that frequently takes shots at the physically handicapped, new age business practices and experimental marriage therapists, but it lacks the satirical edge that such material needs. The entire film plays out like a watered down Farrelly Brothers comedy.
The Ex obviously wants to have a comedic mean streak, but it's afraid to go all the way and always seems to be holding itself back. A potentially hilarious moment involves Tom under the impression that Chip is not paralyzed, and tries to force him to walk. A better comedy could have thought of a number of hilarious things to do with this idea, but in this movie all we get is a pratfall as Chip goes tumbling down the stairs. More often than not, the movie goes for the most predictable gag, rather than holding out for more.
To make matters more uninspired, the direction by Jesse Peretz is often flat and lacking. He seems to simply point the camera at the actors, moving the camera as little as possible. This too adds to the overall small screen feel of the film, as the action is frequently stagnant, with characters standing around and talking and doing little else. The editing is odd as well, with many scenes starting and stopping with no lead-in or warning. This disjointed method prevents the scenes from flowing naturally into each other. The movie is constantly starting and stopping, with numerous characters and sub plots introduced, but never really developed to any sort of degree. I once again find myself comparing this film to a TV sitcom, as the characters often seem to walk in and out of this movie at random like so many wacky next door neighbors. The fact that many of these supporting characters are played by gifted comic actors like Amy Poehler (
Blades of Glory) and Paul Rudd (
The 40-Year Old Virgin) makes it all the more disappointing. Even Mia Farrow is reduced to a mere cameo as Sofia's mother. The fact that her performance barely registers as a walk-on leads me to believe that most of her scenes were cut from the final film, as I don't think she would willingly take a role where she does nothing but stand in the background.
Then again, not even the lead roles seem to be that memorable in
The Ex. As I mentioned, I have enjoyed many of Zach Braff's past film performances, but here, he seems to not be very interested with the material he's been given. I can understand wanting to do something a little bit sillier after the slightly more serious
The Last Kiss, but he should have held out for something better. Amanda Peet is likeable as Tom's wife and she has good chemistry with Braff during their scenes together, but her role seems very limited. She's never given anything particularly funny to do, and there's a lot of wasted comedic potential during the scenes where she's dragged into a bizarre new mother support group. As the evil and smarmy Chip Sanders, Jason Bateman certainly seems to be relishing his role, and is appropriately slimy and hateful. The problem once again is that he is seldom given anything funny to do. He's good at being a jerk, but seems to be at a loss as to why we're supposed to be laughing at him being a jerk. As for Charles Grodin, while it is nice to see him on the big screen again, I wish it could have been in a better movie.
When you get right down to it, there's certainly nothing wrong with
The Ex that another couple drafts or a fresher look at the subject matter couldn't have fixed. The movie is filled with workable ideas, but seldom if ever goes after them. I kept on sitting there, waiting for the screenplay to bear its satirical teeth and dig into its own material. I did laugh a couple times during the film, but it was more a polite laugh. My only guess for why this movie is being released with the summer movie season underway is that the studio hopes no one will notice it, and it can quietly slip off to DVD where it belongs. Given the mediocrity of the entire endeavor, I think it's safe to assume that's almost a sure thing.
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One of the main problems of The Ex could have been solved by simply casting a different actor in the lead role. While I have admired Zach Braff in past roles, he seems wrong as the flustered and constantly humiliated hero of the story. The film needs someone with more experience in broad humiliation-type humor like Ben Stiller. Even with a different star, that still wouldn't fix the numerous other problems present in the film. The movie is shot in a highly amateurish style that brings to mind a sitcom rather than a full-length feature film. And while there are a couple of passing moments of amusement, The Ex really just does not add up to a whole lot.
Having just lost his job, Tom Reilly (Zach Braff) is now faced with a difficult situation, as his loving wife Sofia (Amanda Peet) has just given birth to their first son and quit her job in order to be a full-time mom. Desperate for work that can support a family, Tom is forced to take a job at an ad company run by Sofia's new age-obsessed father (Charles Grodin, in his first film performance in 13 years). At the new job, Tom is placed under the guidance of an employee by the name of Chip Sanders (Jason Bateman). Chip is paralyzed from the waist down, but that apparently didn't stop him from having sex with Sofia back when they were in high school. It seems that Chip still holds strong feelings for Sofia, and is willing to do just about anything to destroy Tom's life and his reputation at the job. Chip tries everything from sabotaging one of Tom's ad campaign ideas to humiliating him in public. A bitter war ensues, with Tom desperate to expose Chip as the evil and scheming mastermind he truly is.
Not a lot makes sense in The Ex, least of which being the title. The film was originally set for a January release under the name "Fast Track", and was changed to its current title for reasons unknown. It's strange, since I'm assuming that the ex in particular refers to Chip. The problem is, the movie makes it clear that Chip and Sofia never really dated, it was simply a one night thing. Toss in the fact that despite Chip's desire for Sofia, she never once seems truly interested in going back to him, and the title makes even less sense. Regardless, a January release probably would be more appropriate for a film such as this. While never quite painful or unwatchable, the movie just seems highly mediocre. It obviously wants to be a politically incorrect comedy that frequently takes shots at the physically handicapped, new age business practices and experimental marriage therapists, but it lacks the satirical edge that such material needs. The entire film plays out like a watered down Farrelly Brothers comedy. The Ex obviously wants to have a comedic mean streak, but it's afraid to go all the way and always seems to be holding itself back. A potentially hilarious moment involves Tom under the impression that Chip is not paralyzed, and tries to force him to walk. A better comedy could have thought of a number of hilarious things to do with this idea, but in this movie all we get is a pratfall as Chip goes tumbling down the stairs. More often than not, the movie goes for the most predictable gag, rather than holding out for more.
To make matters more uninspired, the direction by Jesse Peretz is often flat and lacking. He seems to simply point the camera at the actors, moving the camera as little as possible. This too adds to the overall small screen feel of the film, as the action is frequently stagnant, with characters standing around and talking and doing little else. The editing is odd as well, with many scenes starting and stopping with no lead-in or warning. This disjointed method prevents the scenes from flowing naturally into each other. The movie is constantly starting and stopping, with numerous characters and sub plots introduced, but never really developed to any sort of degree. I once again find myself comparing this film to a TV sitcom, as the characters often seem to walk in and out of this movie at random like so many wacky next door neighbors. The fact that many of these supporting characters are played by gifted comic actors like Amy Poehler (Blades of Glory) and Paul Rudd (The 40-Year Old Virgin) makes it all the more disappointing. Even Mia Farrow is reduced to a mere cameo as Sofia's mother. The fact that her performance barely registers as a walk-on leads me to believe that most of her scenes were cut from the final film, as I don't think she would willingly take a role where she does nothing but stand in the background.
Then again, not even the lead roles seem to be that memorable in The Ex. As I mentioned, I have enjoyed many of Zach Braff's past film performances, but here, he seems to not be very interested with the material he's been given. I can understand wanting to do something a little bit sillier after the slightly more serious The Last Kiss, but he should have held out for something better. Amanda Peet is likeable as Tom's wife and she has good chemistry with Braff during their scenes together, but her role seems very limited. She's never given anything particularly funny to do, and there's a lot of wasted comedic potential during the scenes where she's dragged into a bizarre new mother support group. As the evil and smarmy Chip Sanders, Jason Bateman certainly seems to be relishing his role, and is appropriately slimy and hateful. The problem once again is that he is seldom given anything funny to do. He's good at being a jerk, but seems to be at a loss as to why we're supposed to be laughing at him being a jerk. As for Charles Grodin, while it is nice to see him on the big screen again, I wish it could have been in a better movie.
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